Radiohead is at the leading edge of what once used to be known as progressive rock, a band that meshes psychedelic sound experiments and avant-garde electronic textures with rock guitars and the occasional singalong chorus. In the studio, they have become mood masters, sometimes challenging even their most ardent fans with intricate arrangements.
Paranoia and anxiety course through their sixth album, the recently released Hail to the Thief (Capitol), but there’s also a sense of universal longing with which anyone, especially any parent, can identify. In songs such as Sail to the Moon, I Will and Wolf at the Door, singer Thom Yorke sounds very much like a new father troubled by the sort of world he’s bringing his child into (the singer and his partner, Rachel, have a 2-year-old son, Noah).
In a phone interview upon his arrival in North America to begin an extensive tour, Yorke gave some insights into the state of Radiohead’s world.
Q. Much of Hail to the Thief comes from the perspective of a new parent concerned about the kind of world he’s bringing his child into. Are you more or less optimistic about the planet since your son’s birth?
A. As I’m prone to depression, I’m very suspicious of my panic attacks and the way they make me feel about the future. It’s a common delusion that depressed people have about how bad the world will be. But it’s kind of difficult not to be.
Q. That would explain the anxiety and paranoia in the music.
A. This isn’t something that is with me all the time. I think about this as much as most parents do, I suppose. I just choose to put it all in the music, because I don’t want to get locked up (laughs).
Q. The music is therapeutic?
A. It’s the same sort of energy you get from being in a march or protest rally, when people get together and all feel the same way about something. And you can tell that they’ve been waiting months if not years to get out in the street and start shouting and screaming. That’s the energy I get from music.
Q. A concert is a ritualized aspect of that.
A. It’s also quite important. Getting together in large groups of people, whether it’s a concert or football match, I used to not understand that. But now I’m getting my head around it, why it’s important for people to do that. Also the other side of it is that a lot of people in a small area who feel the same way about something is a very powerful, dangerous and explosive situation. Which can be a good thing.
Q. Did you ever have that kind of transforming experience?
A. The first transforming experience I had wasn’t at a show but at a rally. My first year of college in London I went to a rally against tuition fees, and it got really nasty. Police on horses charged on people, and heads got bashed and legs got broken. That was my first experience of the danger of a crowd. I don’t believe in violence at all. You can be angry, but you don’t have to be violent. If you’re suddenly in a group of people that all feels the same way about something, where it’s possible to have a meeting of the minds on something that is not discussed in the media or is part of the general consciousness day to day, it has a very big effect on you.
Q. How do you hope a Radiohead concertgoer will feel after one of your shows?
A. I think of music as a separate thing from what we’ve been discussing. The whole point of playing in a group of people like that is like having the best day of your life, something that is very enriching. You come out of it temporarily feeling that everything is in its right place — emphasis on temporarily.
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