I’ve always been surprised that Thom’s never featured on an REM album track (less so Michael with Radiohead). Particularly something on Collapse Into Now. Even just Thom as another harmony on It Happened Today with Eddie Vedder would’ve worked well IMO.
I’m really curious as to why. Have they perhaps tried and never been able to align the diaries? Is it purely musical and never felt they had the right track? Or is it something else like for whatever reason agreeing never to do it?
I’d love to know, maybe they’ve addressed it and I’ve missed it? Always struck me as strange.
Perhaps, that’s often why collabs happen. Still surprised nothing with Thom happened though. They didn’t need to be in the same place. I believe Michael recorded his vocals to Kristen Hersh’s “Your Ghost” remotely and that was in the mid 90s.
I was reading a book about 90’s music and the author was saying that Radiohead was really into experimentation and not feeding into the English pop music machine by repeating themselves. If that’s accurate, it doesn’t seem like covering other people’s songs would be something they’d want to do.
To add to this, I’m reading “This Isn’t Happening” the story of Kid A. It tells of Thom on the OK Computer tour, having a nervous breakdown. He wandered outside the venue and no mattebur where he went he was recognized. It kinda freaked him out and he talked to Michael and Michael told him to remove yourself mentally. Tell yourself, “I’m not here. This isn’t happening.” Thus that became a line out of “How to Disappear Completely”.
Thom said after that day he decided he wanted to do something else. He bought every album off of Warp records (most famous for Aphex Twin and Brian Eno) he could and listened to a lot of “Bitches Brew” by Miles Davis and even the Ink Spots. So there’s kinda this old and new sound at the same time for “Kid A” and “Amnesiac”.
I thought there was another part to this story unless it was just hearsay? Didn’t Michael take Thom out to hand out flyers for the evenings gig to show him that you can disappear in clear view? No one realised it was them.
I don’t think they’re going to end but The Smile seems kind of like they’re natural evolution. You can do a lot more with a lot less people creating and performing music now.
Totally. And The Smile seems a mix between The Bends and In Rainbows, with a little The King of Limbs thrown in the mix. Which is great, because I always thought T.K.O.L. was unfinished.
nice dream 