The official Radiohead website, www.radiohead.com, has a new look promising changes in the future. You can still go www.radiohead.co.uk to see the old (even though it’s quite new) site.
Thom is featured in a documentary, titled “This Way Up: R.E.M.” that airs on ‘Bravo’ on Thursday, August 26th at 8pm (US-EDT). Rolling Stone Mag says “Watching Radiohead’s Thom Yorke singing “Be Mine” with the group in preparation for the Tibet show is a particular treat.”
The song “Rabbit In Your Headlights” that Thom recorded with DJ Shadow for the UNKLE album, has been nominated for Best Breakthrough Video at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The awards show will be held on September 9, 1999, in New York City. Thom is #16 in the top 100 stars of the century according to the August issue of Q.
Here is the top video sales as they appear in the August 7, 1999 issue of Billboard magazine:
1. “Austin Powers – International Man of Mystery,” New Line Home Video
2. “Blade,” New Line Home Video
3. “Rush Hour,” New Line Home Video
4. “Aliens,” Fox Video
5. “A Clockwork Orange,” Warner Home Video
6. “The Truman Show,” Universal Studios
7. “Tae-Bo Workout,” Ventura Distribution
8. “The King and I,” Warner Home Video
9. “Backstreet Boys: Homecoming – Live in Orlando,” Jive/Zomba Video
10. “Radiohead: Meeting People is Easy,” Radiohead, Capitol Video
As reported earlier on this site, there was a rumor floating around that R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe might be contributing to the new Radiohead album. This has been put to rest by a recent chat transcription with Mr. Stipe found on the VH1 site. Here is the relevant bit:
foxmulder_47 asks: Any truth to the rumors that you may appear on the next Radiohead album?
michael_stipe_live: I saw Jonny and Thom in Manchester the other night- they didn’t mention anything.
The band are still in the process of recording their fourth album in a stately home in Gloucestershire and there have been rumors circulating around the internet about the possibility of a collaboration of some sort on the new album. Dotmusic is reporting that R.E.M.’s frontman Michael Stipe may be “collaborating on tracks for the forthcoming Radiohead album.” A press representative for Radiohead pointed out to dotmusic that, “since they have had their own studio, they collaborate with whoever they want and they’re great friends with Michael Stipe so it wouldn’t surprise me.” Stipe told an interviewer last February that a collaboration might happen. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:
“Yeah, I mean Thom is an amazing singer,” added Stipe. “We know a lot of amazing singers and musicians and any good opportunity to work with them would be welcome. I’m not saying it will happen, I’m saying, speaking for three of us, we would love to work with Thom or any of the guys from Radiohead.”
To read the dotmusic article, click here.
That’s not the only collaboration rumor floating around. There seems to be a bizarre connection between the recording of the band’s new song “How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found” and the Montreal band Godspeed You Black Emperor, a unknown independent 10 piece band which has been described as “a 3 way cross of Radiohead, Ennio Morricone, and a drug-induced spiritual wonder.” They apparently make extremely long and other-wordly transcendental soundscapes that are so bizarre that major labels won’t touch them. Members of Godspeed were spotted last December at the Amnesty International gig in Paris when Radiohead were on stage. They have also been spotted recently in Gloucestershire where Radiohead have been recording. You might say, “so what?” Well, they also attended Radiohead’s gig in New York where “How to Disappear…” was played, and Thom said “this is for Nigel (Radiohead’s producer) to hear,” and winked as he said it.
Thom has spoken once about Godspeed…in an interview after the Amnesty gig he said, “they are the most emotionally pummeling outsiders of the music industry today.” A representative from their small record label, Constellation Records, told Green Plastic, “we can assure you that there is no truth to those rumours.” Nevertheless, this is an interesting story. “How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found” has reportedly lengthened to over 10 minutes and is sure to be a masterpiece with or without any collaboration.
For those of you in the U.S., make sure to watch 120 Minutes tonight (Sunday) on MTV for the special on Radiohead. The whole show will be devoted to the band and they will be showing the condensed version of “Meeting People is Easy” along with other goods. The show will air at midnight/ 11pm Central.
To all the folks (including myself) who were hoping that maybe, just maybe, the rumor floating around that Radiohead would be opening up for R.E.M. this summer would be true, well, it’s not. R.E.M. announced today that Wilco, Mercury Rev, and Spacehog would be the opening acts for their U.S. tour. Now this is just the U.S. In a recent press conference, R.E.M. was asked if Radiohead would be touring with them in Europe this summer and the band replied that nothing had been confirmed yet. Keep hoping. Since the band are recording in Paris now and probably won’t cease recording anytime soon, any live appearances this summer probably won’t happen.
There is a rumor floating around that Radiohead might be the supporting act on R.E.M.’s summer tour. More on that as it becomes available.
Another R.E.M./Radiohead project is in the works. R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe recently said in an interview that he and Thom have recorded a duet together. There is no release date or title available yet. Here’s a clip of the interview:
“Yeah, I mean Thom is an amazing singer,” added Stipe. “We know a lot of amazing singers and musicians and any good opportunity to work with them would be welcome. I’m not saying it will happen, I’m saying, speaking for three of us, we would love to work with Thom or any of the guys from Radiohead. We would love to work again with Patti Smith, with any of the guys from Grant Lee Phillips or Bjork or Natalie Merchant.”
You can read the full R.E.M. article by pointing your mouse or trackball here. thanks to Will Campbell
There is a chance that Radiohead might take part again in this year’s Tibetan Freedom Concert. It will be held in four different cities this June. For more info on the concert, or to learn about the whole free Tibet thing, go here.
The tour documentary, Meeting People is Easy, won’t be released until April 20 in the U.S. It is available for purchase in Europe. For those who don’t know about it, here is a quick rundown:
“a bunch of articulate, essentially shy people who, somehow, are able to create this huge, astonishing music and as a result find themselves in the strange/insane/seductive world of end-of-the-century-celebrity with thousands of people wanting to meet them, thousands of cameras and microphones constantly siphoning off little bits of them.” – grant gee, director. he followed the band around and basically filmed there every move while they campaigned for OK COMPUTER. You might know him also as directing the No Surprises video.
More info later.
cheers.