Wow, we picked the wrong time to go on vacation. In case you didn’t hear last week, Ed O’Brien announced during an interview with BBC 6 Music that Radiohead are “a matter of weeks” away from completing their next studio release.
He told 6 Music’s Adam Buxton that the Oxford five-piece changed their working methods on the new material, to avoid the lengthy recording process involved in recent albums such as In Rainbows.
“It was such a slog. We decided at the end of the record never to do it like this again. That was kind of the end of Radiohead mark two.”
To listen to the interview, go here.
Meanwhile, Thom and Jonny delighted everyone with a surprised slot at Glastonbury on Friday night. Organiser Michael Eavis introduced the pair, saying, “Welcome to the biggest surprise of the weekend. There’s two superstars, I’ll not name them but they’re standing right there.” Thom Yorke then rather unnecessarily introduced himself with “Hi, my name’s Thomas Yorke” before launching into ‘The Eraser.’
The pair played a mix of Yorke’s solo material and Radiohead favourites, including ‘Harrowdown Hill,’ ‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,’ ‘Idioteque’ and ‘Street Spirit (Fade Out).’ Their rendition of ‘Karma Police’ naturally prompted a mass crowd singalong.
The lucky few who had witnessed this most special of impromptu sundown shows Tweeted rapturously about the experience afterwards. It was fitting that Radiohead, a band whose 1997 headline slot is widely considered one of the all-time classic Glastonbury performances, should show up to make sure the festival’s 40th anniversary year was one to remember.
Setlist:
01 The Eraser
02 Harrowdown Hill
03 Black Swan
04 Cymbal Rush
05 Arpeggi
06 Pyramid Song
07 Idioteque
08 Karma Police
09 Street Spirit (Fade Out)
What’s that? You want some video? Greg Clarkson at your service! Here’s ‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi’ shot from the 2nd row. Check out his YouTube Channel later as he says he’ll upload more.
