Drop the Debt!
Today millions of people around the world who support Jubilee 2000, including Thom Yorke, launched an email action against world leaders telling them to drop the debt owed by the world’s poorest countries.
For more information about this, and what you can do to help out, click here.
Thom Yorke’s remarks about G7 in NME
From NME.com:
RADIOHEAD’s THOM YORKE has deflected attention from the band’s unanimously well-received comeback tour by again embroiling himself in the campaign to end third world debt.
Yorke, a longtime and vocal supporter of the Jubilee 2000 movement, has posted a message on his page on Radiohead’s website www.radiohead.com/thom.html attacking the leaders of the world’s richest nations – the G7 – for not fulfilling promises made last year to cancel debts and crippling interest repayments owed by developing countries to the West.
He has also encouraged fans to send an email to Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President Bill Clinton urging them to act before this year’s G7 summit due to begin in Japan on July 21.
The Radiohead frontman wrote: “Dear whoever is reading this. Please do the following if you agree with Jubilee 2000. The G7 have snaked their way out of most of the promises they made last year and this is the best way to shit them up for this yearÌs summit. The G7 in its apathy and ineffectual gesturing is now responsible directly for the deaths of millions of people this year. Years of misguided economic policy and thinly-veiled imperialism must be changed.”
The attached message to be sent to the world leaders calls it an “outrage” that children die because “money that should go on clean water and medicines is STILL being used to pay off foreign debt to rich countries.” It claims that the action, if successful, can save the lives of more than 19,000 children a day.
Yorke signs off saying: “I suggest we stick this in the G7Îs pipe and make em smoke it, love Thom.”
Yorke is just one of a number of high-profile world names to become involved with Jubilee 2000. Led by U2’s Bono, the movement has seen R.E.M’s Michael Stipe, Muhammad Ali and even the Pope pledge support.
Meanwhile, the band have posted several photographs of themselves taken during time off from the opening nights of the tour on the website. They can be seen wandering in and around Milan and Barcelona.
Radiohead play their only UK show of the current leg of the tour next Saturday (July 1) at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The night, part of Scott Walker’s Meltdown Festival, has already sold out.
New Song Played!
A new song was played last Monday night in Milan. The title is still unknown and was played only after Thom attempted to play “Killer Cars” acoustically for the second encore, but gave up in the middle because he forgot the words.
Tonight in Florence
That’s right, the boys take on Florence, Italy tonight after yesterday’s day off. More info about this show will be posted in the 2000 Tour Guide after the show.
Thom’s page is updated
Here’s the latest from Thom Yorke:
” dear whoever is reading this. PLEASE do the following if you agree with Jubilee 2000. the G7 have snaked their way out of most of the promises they made last year and this is the best way to shit them up for this years summit. the G7 in its apathy and ineffectual gesturing is now responsible directly for the deaths of millions of people this year. years of misguided economic policy and thinly veiled imperialism must be changed. (please refer to Jubilee2000 website for more info if you have not as yet been followed this message.)”
RADIOHEAD’s THOM YORKE sings a duet with POLLY HARVEY on her new album and provides backing vocals for two more tracks, nme.com can reveal.
Following speculation that the two had collaborated, Harvey rang nme.com to explain that she wrote the duet, called “This Mess We’re In”, specifically with Yorke in mind. She said of Yorke: “He just came over to the studio for a couple of days. He’s an extremely wonderful musician, he came up with some very unusual ideas for the songs. He’s
Yorke also sings on two more tracks, “Beautiful Feeling” and “One Line”. Other track titles include “Big Exit”, “Kamikaze” and “The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore”.
Recent Radiohead Shows
Time for catch up here…
For the setlists and other info on recent shows in Frejus, France, and the two Milan shows, head on over to the brand spankin’ new 2000 Radiohead Tour Guide! Just click on the date of your choice.
If you were lucky enough to catch one of the recent shows, why don’t you spread the wealth the rest of the world! Please send us your concert reviews, setlists, photos, audio, or anything else deemed interesting and ‘head.
Speaking of the Frejus show, Sam over at okcomputer.ctw.cc has put up the mp3’s of that show!
Nigel speaks
The dynamic duo of Aurelien and Mona, maintainers of the French Radiohead fanclub ne pas a.v.a.l.e.r., recently talked to Nigel Godrich (Radiohead’s producer) at the Arles, France show last week. He said that the new album will be released at the beginning of October, but there is still no exact date set. He was really excited to see what the new songs will be like in front of an audience, and was seen dancing along with the concert in the sound booth. He couldn’t reveal the title of the album, but said it “will all make sense”.
[check out ne pas a.v.a.l.e.r.]
RealAudio of new songs
For those who can’t bother with the hassles of downloading the mp3’s recorded and encoded by Sam at okcomputer.ctw.cc, go to the Green Plastic Audio section for all the new songs in streaming realaudio, along with some of the Eureka Street soundtrack songs that Ed worked with, courtesy of James Ballardie.
Did you get yours?
Tickets for the Newport, London, Glasgow, and Cheshire Tent shows went on sale last Saturday and all three London dates sold out like hot cakes. Ticket still remain for the other three cities, so check out www.radiohead.com/03.html for info on purchasing tickets.
If you would like to purchase a package deal that includes hotel stay for one or more nights and a ticket to one or all of the September London shows, go to latestevents.com!
Bjork Slots Soundtrack Date, Chat
“Selmasongs,” Bjork’s soundtrack to “Dancer In The Dark,” the award-winning film in which she also stars, is now set for release on September 19.
Songs from the album will be culled entirely from music and dialogue in the film and, according to Bjork’s spokesperson at Elektra Records, “will be more like a Broadway cast recording than a soundtrack.”
“I’ve Scene It All,” a duet between Bjork and Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, also will be included on the soundtrack.
Last month, Bjork earned Best Actress honors at the Cannes Film Festival for her portrayal of “Selma,” a Czech immigrant living in the United States who has a hereditary disease which causes blindness. The musical, which was helmed by “Breaking The Waves” director Lars Von Trier, also won the festival’s Palme D’Or for best film.
“Dancer In The Dark” is scheduled to hit U.S. theaters in the fall.
Bjork will discuss the soundtrack and other topics during a live Web chat on the ARTISTdirect network (www.artistdirect.com) on Thursday at 4 p.m. (ET).
[from MTV]
Jonny made an appearance at the official Radiohead message board yesterday and was asked about how big the tent would be that they will be bringing on tour with them this Fall. “We can get 10000 in, apparently,” Jonny said,”but it feels tiny. The reading festival tent in about 8000, if you know it, so it’s not much bigger.”
[thanks to Middi]
VH-1 wants you!
Here is a press release for a new show on VH-1:
A new television series called SOUND AFFECTS, which will begin airing on July 21st, is looking for inspirational stories about how a particular song or artist/band has affected your life.
We want to hear specific stories on how Radiohead’s music has inspired you, motivated you, helped you get through a rough situation, or served as a “soundtrack” through a profound or difficult time in your life. Are you where you are today because of a Radiohead song? We want to know how. The more detailed the story, the better the chance of getting contacted for an on-camera interview. Interviews will be held in Chicago June 24/25, Detroit June 27/28, Cleveland June 30, Austin July 2/3, Waco July 6, Dallas July 8, New York July 29/30, Los Angeles TBD. Please e-mail your stories, name, contact number, age, occupation, and city and state where you live to: SoundAffects@vh1.com . Check out http://www.vh1.com/soundaffects for info. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Thom in R.E.M. documentary
The Independent Film Channel is showing the R.E.M. documentary in which Thom makes an appearance. The documentary is called “This Way Up” and follows the band around during the making of their album Up and the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington DC in 1998. Thom is shown rehearsing with R.E.M., singing their song “Be Mine.”
Showtimes are:
Monday June 19, 2:30/1:30pm central
Friday June 23, 11/10am central
Saturday June 24, 4/3am central
Sunday June 25, 7/6pm central
Monday june 26, 5/4am central
[thanks to mARSHALL]
MPIE on Musique Plus
Canadian TV channel Musique Plus will be airing Meeting People is Easy on Wednesday June 14th, at 10:30 PM.
[thanks to Paul-Emile]
Thom’s site updated
Check out Thom’s page on the official Radiohead site. He’s updated it with some new pictures!
PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke
As we reported last month, it is rumored that PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke will be singing together on a track from Harvey’s new album, scheduled to be released later this year. NME is reporting that more credibility has been given to the rumor, and quotes a PJ Harvey site by saying that “there may just be some truth” to the rumor.
Stay tuned, as always, for more on this topic!
This is from Planet Telex:
More information on the Spanish press conference:
Ed mentions the influence that the Public Enemy documentary had on the band (see his diary for more), and trouble with the electronic side of things – “one day we decided to leave our instruments and try to get the songs out electronically. It ended up becoming a bit of a competition and it wasn’t clear whether progress was being made or not.”. He confirmed that everything surrounding the track ‘Innocents Civilian’ was just a hoax. It was one of their worst songs that they had discarded ages ago because they didn’t like it, but as a joke to all the papers who were hanging on his every word in his diary, Ed decided to mention in his diary that it was the best thing they’d ever done and that they’d lost the master tapes, and that they hoped they hadn’t been stolen. He also talked about the first webcast where they could get some feedback from the fans, and to also show them that the band weren’t as serious about everything as they seemed. Also speaking about the imminent European tour – it is a way of relieving some of the pressure they are under and to shake off some of the disproportionate, so he feels, expectation and attention that OK Computer left them with. Talking about that pressure, he said that they’ve never stopped being self-critical as a band, and it was hard to keep neutral distance from the whole thing. Overall he said that the record is going “to surprise everyone” as they have taken a lot of time over it, which is a positive thing, as it has given them time to stop, reflect and examine the work very carefully, and work with very diverse styles that are not necessarily what people expect from Radiohead. “Before, the tracks were recorded in a very direct way, with everyone playing simultaneously. Now, everything is a bit more fragmented, using computers, and looking for a sound that’s different from usual of just plain guitars. In our opinion its got something to do with a desire to innovate, to risk something in the new record which is something you don’t see in the current so called ‘alternative’ English music scene. The new records from Oasis and Richard Ashcroft are a let down because they’re repeating the same formulas over and over again and doing what everybody expected of them.”
Thom on the official message board
Thom was on the official Radiohead message board today and made a few comments about the upcoming European tour and supporting acts,
“probably we’ll change as the tour goes on. its possible we might have two supports. it depends on logistics in the tent. im trying to keep an open mind, see who can fit in where. doesnt help much does it? sigur (sigur ros) sent me their album which is really great. theres lots of other possibilities though. are we spreading ourselves a little thin? im surprised about how much im getting to like the broadcast album. its really growing on me. but we want to ask a load of electro people as well. no names really yet.”
Another date in Nijmegen
Another show at Goffertpark in Nijmegen, Holland, might go on sale soon. The show will be the night after the first on, on September 16, 2000. Stay tuned…
Green Plastic’s first giveaway!
Congratulations to the two winners! The whole giveaway was a huge success, with close to 3,000 people registering for it! The random drawing was held today and both the winners were notified by email.
A new giveaway will start shortly, so keep your eyes open!