REM’s Michael Stipe was on the OrangePlaylist show on ITV last night, and when asked what his favorite video was, he named Radiohead’s ‘Pyramid Song’.
“It’s a very sad song that leaves you optimism and hope. A beautiful thing.” He also said the most overwhelming moment in his life was the when the Radiohead crowd were singing along to the line ‘bring down the government’ during ‘No Surprises’ at the Hollywood Bowl last year.
and…
In the NME you can find an interview with Slash, who the NME claims is from Velvet Revolverbut we all know is from G’N’R, entitled ‘WHY I LOVE RADIOHEAD’. Someone over at At Ease was kind enough to transcribe (perhaps it was Mandy?), which is good, because we can no longer afford a subscription.
“I’m sort of a new fan of Radiohead. I wasn’t hip to them when they first came on the scene, but I discovered them later. So I went out and bought all their fucking records and now love them all. I probably didn’t get turned onto them until 2001- I guess it had to be Kid A that got me first.
They have the best guitar sounds, regardless of how much techno sonic stuff they have going on around them. I’ve haven’t heard guitar sounds like that in god knows how long. And Thom Yorke has an amazing voice. He has such depth of character and emotional strain. The drummer’s great, the guitar players are great, their ideas are great- they have a wonderful fucking imagination.
Some of the stuff that sounds like straight-form rock’n’roll, they put a twist in it you’d never expect. They are one of those bands who are really prolific. I know they get compared to U2 and Yes, but they really do have a unique thing onto themselves.
There was a point in time where they came out with ‘Hail to the Thief’ which was when this band of mine, Velvet Revolver, were first starting- Hail to the Thief is one of the few records that has come out in the last few years that I’ve bought. There is a mood that goes along with listening to those guys and sometimes it can be a little draining, but I remember driving around in my car with that record on and that led to me to their other records. So for a couple of months I listened to nothing but Radiohead every day. I thought their music was so compelling.
I wouldn’t try to sound like them. I get influenced by people and I try to pick up whatever positive tiny nuance that might be added into my repertoire, I do it subconsciously. I appreciate bands doing something different to what I do, and leave it at that. So I become more of a fan that someone who is trying to alter his life so he can be like them.
Would I work with them? No, no way. I’m too introverted to actually go seek these people out. The closet I came was when I was trying to get to a concert they were playing at the Hollywood Bowl. I’ve never seen them live, only on TV. But the concert on TV was great. I like anything that has sincerity and originality and integrity and some fucking balls. And Radiohead have all those things.
(Thanks to At Ease.)
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