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‘Spin’ Includes Radiohead in Rock Myths ... Fans Outraged

Why is everyone picking on Radiohead right now? On the heels of the Fiery Furnaces feud, Spin magazine debunked the 16 greatest myths of rock’n'roll, reports Consequence of Sound, and enraged some Radiohead fans by harshly criticizing the band. According to Spin, the myth is that “Radiohead can do no wrong,” while the reality is “Radiohead kinda blow.” Ouch!

Some of the other rock myths “debunked” by Spin:

Myth No. 2: “Nirvana Killed Hair Metal.” Reality: “It was already dead. Blame Queensrÿche.”

Myth No. 3: “Lady Gaga Is All Style, No Substance.” Reality: “Lady Gaga’s bizarre getups only distract from the fact that she’s a brilliant songwriter.”

Myth No. 4: “Biggie & Tupac Are Hip-Hop’s Pillars.” Reality: “Biggie and Tupac don’t matter anymore.”

Myth No. 7: “Pink Floyd Compose Dark Side Of The Moon As A Soundtrack To The Wizard of Oz.” Reality: “‘The movie wasn’t on our radar back then,’ says drummer Nick Mason. ‘Someone once showed it to me with the albums synced. I understand why people see a connection, but that has more to do with the power of images and sound—and being under the influence—than the band.’ Also, Dark Side runs 43 minutes; Oz, 101.”

Read the full list at Spin.com.

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Beck Comments on the Fiery Furnaces-Radiohead Fued

The Fiery Furnaces have been ranting and raving about Radiohead recently, while Thom Yorke & Co. have remained silent on the seemingly one-sided feud, and now The Guardian reports that Beck is responding to the scuffle, in musical form. It all started when Fiery Furnaces Matthew Friedburger issued an online outburst about Radiohead’s song about the last World War I vet, Harry Patch, with Friedburger thinking it was in reference to the late avant-garde composer Harry Partch (Friedburger later claimed he knew all along whom Radiohead was referencing, but that’s beside the point). Now, Beck has released a song paying tribute to American composer Harry Partch!

Also the victim of one of Friedburger’s tirades (see the following statement on Fiery Furnaces site: “Matt has not heard the Radiohead song about Harry Patch, but if he did, he is sure he wouldn’t like it. No doubt Radiohead and their fans can ignore his opinion on this matter and continue with their triumphant artistic interventions. Matt would have much preferred to insult Beck but he is too afraid of Scientologists.”) Beck issued a musical response using composer Partch’s 43-tone scale, which can be heard on his website.

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Adam Lambert Says He Had a “Radiohead Moment” When Recording Debut Album

Rolling Stone sat down with American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert in the new issue of the magazine, and while discussing the recording of his debut album, For Your Entertainment, Lambert claimed he had what Rolling Stone calls a “Radiohead moment.” When talking about the ballad “Broken Open” on his debut, Lambert compared the sound of the song to that of the Oxford-bred band.

Says Lambert, “‘Broken Open’ you could put it in the same category as a downtempo Goldfrapp song or even like Radiohead, there’s shades of that in there, very electronic but mellow, very ethereal.” The American Idol alum continues to describe the song saying, “The lyrics are basically encouraging someone to feel safe in being vulnerable. ‘Lay here, it’s safe here, I’ll let you be broken open.’ It’s about that moment where someone really opens up emotionally to you. I just wrote than from experiences that I’ve had with certain people in my life, and I hope that it comes across that way.”

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Radiohead Makes NME’s Greatest Albums Of The Decade List

NME recently released its 100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade list, and while The Strokes’ This Is It topped the list, Radiohead made the Top Ten. Radiohead’s 2007 album In Rainbows ranked at No. 10, while the band’s 2000 album Kid A also made the top 50, at No. 14.

The Top 20 of NME’s Greatest Albums Of The Decade List:

1. The Strokes: This Is It
2. The Libertines: Up The Bracket
3. Primal Scream: XTRMNTR
4. Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever To Tell
6. PJ Harvey: Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
7. Arcade Fire: Funeral
8. Interpol: Turn On The Bright Lights
9. The Streets: Original Pirate Material
10. Radiohead: In Rainbows
11. At The Drive In: Relationship Of Command
12. LCD Soundsystem: Sound Of Silver
13. The Shins: Wincing The Night Away
14. Radiohead: Kid A
15. Queens Of The Stone Age: Songs For The Deaf
16. The Streets: A Grand Don’t Come For Free
17. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
18. The White Stripes: Elephant
19. The White Stripes: White Blood Cells
20. Blur: Think Tank

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‘We’re not in a fued with Radiohead’ Claims Fiery Frunaces’ Eleanor Friedberger

On the heels of brother and Fiery Furnaces’ bandmate Matthew Friedberger lashing out against Radiohead, Eleanor Friedberger is claiming, “We’re not in a feud with Radiohead,” reports NME.com. For those who haven’t been keeping up with the story, Matthew called the Oxford-bred band “bogus” and later posted a statement on Fiery Furnaces’ MySpace page announcing that the guitarist “is not a fan of Radiohead and their various chartbusters.” Eleanor confirmed that the band has not been in contact with Radiohead in the aftermath of the reported feud.

For his part, Matthew continued to speak out about the one-sided spat, telling VishKhanna.com (obtained by NME.com), “In a long interview, I was saying, ‘Can you be negative about other bands? And which bands would you pick to be negative about where it wouldn’t hurt their feelings or influence them?’ And I said, ‘Well, Radiohead would be one. No one would care. It wouldn’t affect them if you said Radiohead sucked.’ And then I went on to say how you might say Radiohead suck … I actually don’t like Radiohead. I don’t have any regard for them, positive or negative. Which, I guess, is negative.”

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Peter Gabriel Talks Cover Album Featuring Radiohead, Elbow and Others

NME.com reports that Peter Gabriel has confirmed the official track listing for his forthcoming covers album featuring Radiohead, Arcade Fire and Elbow, among others. Titled Scratch My Back, the 12-track album is slated to arrive on January 25 and is the first in a string of planned releases, which will feature Gabriel and other artists covering each others’ music. Scratch My Back sees Gabriel reinterpreting Radiohead’s “Street Spirit,” Elbow’s “Mirrorball” and Regina Spektor’s “Apres Moi.” Former Durrutti Column member John Metcalfe composed the scores for Scratch My Back.

Track listing for Scratch My Back:

“Heroes” (David Bowie)
“The Boy In The Bubble” (Paul Simon)
“Mirrorball” (Elbow)
“Flume” (Bon Iver)
“Listening Wind” (Talking Heads)
“The Power Of The Heart” (Lou Reed)
“My Body Is A Cage” (Arcade Fire)
“The Book Of Love” (The Magnetic Fields)
“I Think It’s Going To Rain Today” (Randy Newman)
“Apres Moi” (Regina Spektor)
“Philadelphia” (Neil Young)
“Street Spirit” (Radiohead)

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Thom Yorke Criticizes U.K. Government

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke is speaking out against the U.K. government’s nuclear plans, reports NME.com. Yorke posted a blog on the Oxford-bred band’s site Deadairspace.com condemning the U.K. government’s plans to build new power stations and claiming the government’s stance on nuclear power is “confused.” Said Yorke via Deadairspace.com, “Under the confused assumption that we can carry on consuming power as we do now into the future, and too afraid to think out of their own isolated political fuzzy cloud, the British government is committing to build a new round of nuclear power stations for which we don’t have the money. Great. Just perfect. Well done fellas. You’ve really thought about this haven’t you?”

On Nov. 9 Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband announced plans to build 10 new nuclear power stations, reports NME.com (via The Daily Telegraph), with the first slated to be finished by 2018. Also in his post, Yorke expressed his feeling that the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is pressurizing the U.K. government on the issue. Yorke concluded his blog post by linking to Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth; both organizations are anti-nuclear power.

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Why Does Fiery Furnaces’ Matt Friedburger Have It Out for Radiohead?

American duo Fiery Furnaces is the latest band to launch into an anti-Radiohead tirade, although somewhat confusedly. As reported by Contact Music, last week Fiery Furnaces singer Michael Friedburger criticized Radiohead for the band’s single “Harry Patch (In Memory Of),” calling the song “bogus.” After the fact, it was rumored that Friedburger thought the Radiohead song was paying tribute to the American composer of the same name, when in reality it is about the World War I veteran named Harry Patch.

Fiery Furnaces’ MySpace page now posts a blog contradicting the rumor saying, “Like most creative musicians, Matt Friedburger is not a fan of Radiohead and their various chartbusters. Of course, Matt never ‘misread’ any song title, as has been reported. Though he is not very proficient at it, he can actually read. Matt naturally thought it would be interesting to pretend that they wrote a song about the celebrated American composer with a similar sounding name. Matt has not heard the Radiohead song about Harry Patch, as opposed to his imaginary one about Harry Partch, but if he did, he is sure he wouldn’t like it. No doubt Radiohead and their fans can ignore his opinion of this matter and the band can continue with their triumphant artistic interventions.” Although the post was undoubtedly being sarcastic, that is exactly what Radiohead will do!

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Thom Yorke to Appear on Upcoming DOOM EP

Rapper DOOM, formerly known as MF Doom, is set to release a brand new EP next month, and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and Dave Sitek are among those making cameos on the release, reports NME.com. Titled GAZZILLION EAR, the forthcoming EP features Yorke, TV On The Radio’s Sitek, Jneiro Jarel and J Dilla contributing. Yorke remixed the title track off DOOM’s upcoming EP earlier this year; the remix can be heard on NME.com. Another version of the title track was co-produced by Sitek and Jarl as well. The GAZZILLION EAR EP is set to be released digitally on December 6 followed by a physical 12-inch release on December 7.

Consequence of Sound released the following statement from a press release on the new DOOM EP: “Masked maverick DOOM (previously known as MF Doom) is set to release his new GAZZILLION EAR EP this December. The record includes production by Radiohead frontman and longtime DOOM fan Thom Yorke, the much-missed J Dilla, psychedelic hip-hop artist Jneiro Jarel and TV On The Radio lynchpin Dave Sitek. The EP follows DOOM’s earlier BORN LIKE THIS album opus—one of the hip-hop highlights of 2009.”

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A Horse Called Radiohead

As reported by Pitchfork, a racehorse named Radiohead (no connection to Thom Yorke & Co.) is slated to compete in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile race this weekend. The Liverpool Daily Post first covered the story about the horse, which shares the same name as the Oxford-bred band, and its world domination. The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile race will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California over the weekend. Coincidentally, a horse named after another well-known band, Wilko (different spelling that Wilco but you get the gist), won the exact same race five years ago! According to horse agent Andy Smith, the two horses named after rock bands are similar. Said Smith, “[Radiohead] reminds me of Wilko—a feisty, well-built sort who should do well out in America.”

In another coincidence, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke recently released a new track titled “Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses.” The self-released single debuted in late September on Radiohead’s W.A.S.T.E. online store. Recorded back in 2001, “Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses” arrived in several incarnations, such as an acoustic version, full-band version and the original track—which eventually became “Reckoner” off the band’s 2007 album In Rainbows.

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