Radiohead documentary nearing completion
By RICHARD JOHN -- Jam! Showbiz Tuesday, 2 June, 1998
According to Radiohead, 'meeting people is easy'. That's the title
of their 'on the road' documentary that is currently in the editing
stages, says a report from the NME.
The documentary was filmed on tour over the last year with
Grant Gee, the same director the band used on the 'No Surprises'
video. It tracks Radiohead as they trekked the globe in support of
their Grammy-winning album 'OK Computer' (Best Alternative
Music Performance).
Radiohead had originally conceived of shooting videos for every
track on 'OK Computer' but scrapped the idea when it proved to
be too costly. This documentary of Radiohead's recent tour life is
the cheaper alternative.
In a recent interview guitarist Ed O'Brien gave NME, he stated
"[the editing]'s coming on really well... Grant's got about eight
hours' worth of stuff and it's got to be condensed, obviously. It's
very honest, but it's not a rockumentary, that's the last thing we
wanted it to be because that would be so Spinal Tap."
According to the interview, the basis of the film is to convey the
life of a band on the road. To meet this end, the band gave
director Gee free reign to film what he wanted.
Says O'Brien, "You make a record... then after that, you go out
and tour this record and that's when it gets bizarre, then it's the
rock'n'roll circus thing. It's not normality and it's not real. It's
[Gee's] slant on that and I think it's going to be quite interesting."
There is currently no release date for 'Meeting People Is Easy',
but a summer release has been hinted.
In other Radiohead news, the band recently picked up two Ivor
Novello awards, England's songwriting equivalent of The Brits.
'Paranoid Android' won for Best Song Musically and Lyrically
and 'Karma Police' took the award for Best Contemporary Song.
On the new album front, the band has been recording new
material, O'Brien says. A new album, however, shouldn't be
expected anytime this year. The band plan on going back into the
studio in November.
For Canadians, a small consolation for the lack of a new album -
and to help with the wait for 'Meeting People Is Easy' - can be
found in the recent release of the 'Airbag/How am I driving?'
single and 'Seven Television Commercials' home video collection.