Author: Dylan

At Ease reports-
Radiohead are mentioned in a ‘New Statesman’ article on Curtis White’s book ‘The Middle Mind: Why Americans Don’t Think for Themselves’: The Highway of Despair. Oprah Winfrey and J K Rowling are the villains; Radiohead are the cultural revolutionaries. The latest howl of rage against capitalist culture and American mediocrity exemplifies the sentimental, self-indulgent non-thinking it sets out to attack.
Elsewhere in review: “With the public safely elided, it is a straight fight between capitalism and its stooges and cultural revolutionaries such as Radiohead. ‘In these inspired moments of Mahlerian sweetness the band rises above the shit of our shared condition. (What else does Mahler try to do, in symphony after symphony, but dramatise this shared desire?)’ Right, and Wagner is heavy metal. Radiohead, it should be said, are not with Rupert Murdoch. They are with EMI. ‘We are obliged to create our art though international mega-corporations,’ White imagines them explaining themselves, adding that maybe they are self-indulgent – ‘But hey, some folks are.’ A genuine radical would have paused to wonder whether being ‘obliged’ to pocket millions might make their sweetness part of the shit.”
The Curtis White book has an entire chapter on Radiohead – mostly in defense of Kid A, and the artistic risks that the band took while making it. The full article will be published in ‘New Statesman’ on February 23rd.
(Thanks to At Ease.)

As reported earlier, Thom was briefly interviewed last evening on Virgin Radio. When asked how the new album was coming along, he replied “Not doing a new album, because we’re out of contract. So we go into our studio and make some stupid noises and then…”
He goes on to say that Jonny goes in on Mondays, Thom on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Phil’s got Thursdays, and sometimes they share on Fridays.
Remember when the boys said they were going to take a bit of a (well-deserved) break? And how they may not follow the traditional album release pattern next time around? Maybe they meant it? Either way, the Japanese and Australian shows are coming up (Coachella too), and they’ll naturally be besieged by the press, so expect some more expounding on just what is happening now around then.

At Ease reports that Virgin Radio (UK) will broadcast an NME awards special on Saturday 21st (technically Sunday morning) from 1am GMT. Virgin claims to have “all the backstage goss and atmos, a few exclusives too, plus interviews with the likes of the Libertines, Kings of Leon and Radiohead!”
(Thanks to At Ease.)

Climbing Up the Walls knows, and now so do you. As previously reported, select record stores will sell the Limited Edition Bodysong Original Score CD, which comes with a 7″ featuring two new B-sides. The Bodysong Score will be released in the US on February 24th. Below is a list of stores that will have the Limited Edition, which should help you out…unless you happen to live in the South, in which case you may need to start calling your friends at NYU.
Here’s the list:
Newbury – MA, NH
Bull Moose – ME
J&R – NYC
Gallery Of Sound – PA
Record & Tape Trader – MD
Tower Village – NYC
Other Music – NYC
Gramaphone – NY
New World – NY
Tower Carle Place – NY
Spaceboy – Philadelphia
Chester County Book & Music, West Chester – PA
CD Warehouse – DC
Revolution Records – DC
Sonic Boom – Seattle
Easy Street – Seattle
Music Millenium – Portland
Jackpot – Portland
Twist & Shout – Denver
Hoodlums – Phoenix
Dimple – Sacramento
Rasputin Records – San Francisco
Zia – Phoenix
Independent – Denver
Grey Whale – Salt Lake
Los Angeles – http://www.lincsonline.net/ & Amoeba
Atomic – Milwaukee, WI
Luna – Indianapolis, IN
Vintage Vinyl – St. Louis, MO
Let It Be – Minneapolis, MN
Shake It – Cincinnati, OH
Gem City – Dayton, OH
My Generation – Cleveland, OH
Rockabilly – Shelby Township, MI
Electric Fetus – Minneapolis
Homers – Omaha/Lincoln, NE
Reckless – Chicago, IL
Evil Clown – Chicago, IL
Hi-If – Chicago, IL
Switched On CD – Novi, MI
B-Sides – Edinboro, PA
This is of course subject to change, so you may want to call before you run out to get in line.
(Thanks to Climbing Up the Walls.)

Jane from FuseLeeds04 wrote in to give us a little clarification on what exactly to expect at the event. We’ll pass it straight to you-

Dear Greenplastic,

I thought i should clarify things a little about Jonny Greenwood and Fuseleeds04. He has been commissioned by the festival to write a new piece- Smear, which is being performed by Valerie Hartmann-Claverie & Bruno Perrault. Jonny will be in Leeds on the day and although he will not be performing in the concert he will be taking part in a pre-concert talk with the other composers.

This talk is not at the Playhouse but is at ‘The Venue’ nearby and takes place just before the concert. Access to the pre-concert talk is by production of your concert ticket only and seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis as the venue for the talk is smaller than the Playhouse Theatre.

I hope this helps clear things up a little. Please don’t hesitate to call if you want any more information.

With warmest wishes

Jane Earnshaw

FuseLeeds04
So, when they say The Venue, they don’t mean the venue as in the Playhouse where the concert is taking place, they actually mean The Venue. For those going, The Venue is just down St. Peters Street from the West Yorkshire Playhouse, on the corner of York St. The Venue is situated above the new BBC headquarters. Access to the Venue is via a glass bridge from the College?s One Bar Inn.
Let us know if there are any further questions, we’ll be happy to pass them along to Jane.

This week’s NME has a nice interview with Thom and Jonny regarding the NME Awards.
NME: Have you got a message for the NME readers?
Thom: Jonny?
Jonny: What can I say? It?s nice for people to have patience with what we?re doing.
NME: Its ten years since you last came to the awards, Thom…
Thom: I know, we?re old. U2 were here I think last time. I had a video camera. I remember getting back home with the videotape and I?d just recorded this women?s breasts because it was on while I was talking to her. I showed it to my girlfriend, she wasn?t impressed.
NME: Do you still remember saying the NME Awards were going to send shockwaves though the music industry?
Thom: Who said that?
NME: You did. We have it on tape. Who would your God Like Genius be?
Thom: Whoever turns up! How about the Pixies? They?re reforming. We?re playing with them.
Jonny: Steven Malkmus. I?ve been listening to him loads.
NME: Who should win NME Awards next year?
Thom: I really like the Franz Ferdinand record. And I like the Liars. I think they could do it.
NME: What have you been drinking?
Thom: Wine, but it?s awful!
Jonny: We just did a really terrible thing. We just went out to get our own. We?re going to come back with a carrier bag full of booze.
NME: Have you met any rock star pals today?
Jonny: Most people we recognise, but we work out in Oxfordshire. We don?t really know anybody.
Thom: We?re not allowed to admit that we don?t know what the fuck you?re talking about. Ha Ha!
NME: Anybody here you?d like to make a record with?
Thom: We?re kind of not collaborating at the moment. We?ve got this whole thing where we go into the studio on different days and do different things and we?re not comparing what we?re doing.
NME: How did it feel to win album of the year?
Jonny: We know we can try people?s patience and it?s nice to know that people still have patience.
NME: Those Little Britain Boys were very affectionate to you.
Thom: Ha! He was going to do it. He was trying to give me a full-on smacker. I didn?t want one.
NME: We?re sure the pictures will appear somewhere on the Internet.
Thom: I know.
(Thanks to Climbing Up the Walls.)