Radiohead

An Australian TV report marks Radiohead's first tour of the country in six years, since OK Computer. Asked how they have evolved, one of them says it is on the records, and that live, old and new songs become one thing instead of the series of statements albums can be. In footage from December 2000, Ed O'Brien says typecasting is the worst thing for them, so if anyone calls them electronica now they will answer with a really great acoustic album. He says they never wanted to be the biggest band in the world: U2 wanted to conquer it, while Radiohead are middle-class Englishmen into the honour of selling few records. Hail to the Thief, one of them explains, was mostly done in two weeks instead of two years, written fast and not agonised over, a reaction to Kid A and Amnesiac and to “disappearing down the studio abyss”.