Thom Yorke on KROQ

Thom Yorke plays live in the studio at KROQ in Los Angeles on the afternoon of Radiohead's sold-out show at the Wiltern Theatre. “Fake Plastic Trees” is the one he really wanted to do, and it costs a string or two, then the guitar ends up on the floor, which the presenter calls a Pete Townshend and Kurt Cobain moment. Yorke finds the noise unsatisfying. He heard by fax that Alanis Morissette was singing the song live, and has said hi to her once, at KROQ's Christmas show. The Sex Pistols are reforming for the money, he says, and at least they are up front about it. A 30-second “Wonderwall” with the Posies in Canada has already reached Los Angeles, “like a virus”, and he thought Oasis were great at the Christmas show, though he loves Sonic Youth, who used their 20 minutes for the full album version.

The second take of “Fake Plastic Trees” goes better. Has he gone Hollywood? He tried, briefly. Famous people came up to him at that Christmas show, and he was off his face and couldn't speak, so they thought he was rude. Michael Stipe told him you don't have to pay the lip service, and he saw R.E.M. in Seattle a few days ago, in the middle of their album. Someone has told him he has to do “High and Dry”, at gunpoint, so he ends with that.