Ray Cokes: "Thom and Ed, welcome to Paris.

Ed: "Merci.

Ray: "And thank you so much for coming, firstly. So, tonight, only Thom and Jonny will be on stage. So, why?

Thom: "Too much gear (gee-yah)

Ray: "Ah,

Thom: "Much too much geeyah. Too complicated.

Ray: "So, what was your spirit, when you went in to record the new stuff?

Ed: "It was good! I mean, we, that whole thing was to try and keep it quick. You know? Do it quickly, don't think about it too much, and, you know, just do what we'd been doing live and in the same spirit. And, that's what we did! Which was, which was new for us, obviously! *ha*

Thom: "We had a laugh.

Ed: "Yah.

Ray: "And for the first time you went to Los Angeles. At Nigel's insistence. What did you first say when he said "Let's go to L.A., boys?"

Thom: "Okay. We said, okay, we'll have to work on that. How much is it going to cost? And, oh yeah, the studio was great, so I was kind of sold on it, but.

Ray: "It was the Ocean Way studios, wasn't it. The Beach Boys'.

Thom: "Lovely.

Ray: "After Kid A and Amnesiac, was there a band decision to do something different, to come back with a more ... direct, perhaps shorter songs, rockier, was there a definite feeling that you should do something new?

Thom: "Well no, it was more like, let's carry on where we're at, I mean, I guess it was more direct because we assembled it faster, and we were using a different method, but it wasn't like, "Let's make a more direct record", I don't think. But it was, it was more to do with making a record about capturing a performance, not like endless, um, editing and then re-editing, and stuff. It was very much like a spon... capturing a moment, which is, I guess, more Pop, maybe. Dunno!

Ray: "And the songs are back to like something when I was young, like the punk ethic,

Thom: "Oh, really?

Ray: "Yes! When I was young we used to have those three-and-a-half minute poptunes!

Thom: "Yup. Well I had a thing about that,

Ed: "*haha*

Ed: "Darryl?

Thom: "Darryl?

Thom: "I had a thing about that where you'd go into, after doing a take, you'd run into the control room, and then shout to the engineer: "How long is that, Darryl?" And he'd say "Five minute, sixty, or five minutes, fifty," *Groans* "Okay, let's cut out two minutes!" Cos we were trying to do everything short. We went back and realized all the Beatles' records were really, all the songs were really short. Which was something of a surprise, you know? "Happiness is a warm gun" is, I think, *just over* three minutes. Which is scary, because it feels like it's about ten.

Ray: "Yeah! It feels like an epic!

Thom: "Yeah!

Ray: "Why "Hail to the Thief"? I need to ask it, because, well I know there's a book about Bush and the way that he stole the election... .

Thom: "There's many, yes,

Ray: "and you could also be about, the Internet, I guess?

Thom: "Yep.

Ray: "And there's also a thing that you talk about, people possessing other peoples' souls.

Thom: "Yeah.

Ray: "to control them.

Thom: "Yeah.

Ray: "Is it all of those things, or...

Thom: "Yeah, I mean... I like the last one, because this is an idea that Dante had. It's my literary reference for the week.

Ray: "It's good...

Thom: "Thank you! eh, That some people, they do things that are so bad, they're still alive but their souls have already gone, so they're sort of essentially possessed, and I think, I don't know about you, but I've actually met people like that, and you meet them...

Ray: "In this business?

Thom: "Woo,

Ray: "Yes?

Thom: "And it comes right before you open up your hand, um, so that's, at the moment Hail to the Thief is about that, for me. I'm really into that idea. It's much more about that than the Bush thing, cos it's sort of, "it's" everywhere, and everybody says it, and. I mean, you walk around New York and every other block in New York has got someone who's scrawled "F___ bush", on the wall. It's not like, you know, we're on our own, or anything.

Ed: "*haha*

Ray: "*haha*

Ray: "Now, a recurring theme, and it comes on on Hail to the Thief as well, is sort of the... you speak out, but you also have a bit of the "ostrich" thing, about, "I'll sort of bury my head until it passes by". Is that a fair comment?

Thom: "I think the record is a conflict between being incredibly angry and being so tired you just, you want to give up. You want to give up even thinking about it, because it's totally out of... .it's totally out of your hands, anyway, and lalala. But that's the trick, you see? That's how they get ya. That's... when people stop participating in a democracy that's when fascism occurs. And that's when idiots get in charge.

Ray: "But do you really feel that you can't change anything, that you can't st...

Thom: "No, I don't. No, I don't, but, but the record was very much involved with feeling that, yeah.

Ray: "And finally, you're hailed as one of the most important bands in the world, does that phrase mean anything to you guys? I mean, when you win awards and things I guess it must recompense what you've done. Is it something you think about?

Thom: "Um. Mm. Yeah, I think about it when I'm doing my son's nappies.

Ray: "*Heh* Son? Spokesman for a generation.

Thom: ""I really shouldn't be dealing with your shit right now, I'm far too important"

Ray: "And, there's not been a greatest hits yet, will there be?

Ed: "No.

Ray: "Can you envision...

Thom: "Only when the band is over, that's the only time that a greatest hits... "When we need the money"

Ed: "When we need the money. No, when the band is over, 'cos otherwise it's terrible, I can't stand Greatest hits outfit. You know like Queen, Queen did their greatest hits, and the first one is impeccable, isn't it? It's absolutely genius. And then the rest was all rubbish after that! Well it was, kind of, wasn't it?

Ray: "You're going to start a debate off in a minute.

Ed: "No, ok. It's not rubbish, but it's not Seven Seas of Rhye, it's not, you know,

Thom: "That's the older... The bends syndrome, that is, man.

Ed: "What's that?

Thom: "We'll have exactly the same,

Ed: "Well probably,

Ray: ""And then everything after OK Computer was pants!"

Ed: "But we haven't done a greatest hits album, you see? It's... It's once you do one. There's like a trade-off there. There's a creative trade-off. But Blur did a greatest hits, and they've done a good record.

Ray: "How are you going to do it, if Thom doesn't ever listen to any of the old records? How are you going to have tunes? Who is going to write the songs?

Thom: "Delegate it!

Ed: "We'll delegate it,

Ray: "delegate it?

Thom: "Yeah. Sitting in the office. Yeah, exactly.

Ray: "Straw poll! Thank you very much, guys.

Ray: "Phil, Jonny, Colin!

Colin: "Hello!

Ray: "Bon soire,

Jonny: "Bon soire.

Ray: "And, Good evening and welcome to Paris. And thank you all for coming, even though, two of you sitting here tonight will not be appearing. You'll be at the bar, but not actually playing!

Colin: "Yes...

Ray: "And, are you upset about that at all?

Phil: "It's good for us though, especially getting to see a Radiohead show. Something we never get to see!

Ray: "That must be a bit weird!

Phil: "Not from this side anyway.

Ray: "You don't get to see that do you!

Jonny: "Well it's something we tried in America at a radio station, and found it to be fun. And so we did another one, and then we decided to do one in France, as well! Which is, yeah! It's just easier for us to do. And still fun. And plus we get to all work at songs and get different things out of them, I suppose. Um, and have that thing of not quite knowing what we're doing or how we're going to play the song, far more. Which is a nice fear to have, really.

Ray: "So your Los angeles experience was good and it was Nigel who insisted you all went over there, I guess? And I think this time you worked much faster, rather than the compiling the album from a harddrive, like before?

Phil: "We did, yeah. Actually, in Los Angeles itself, we were there for a fortnight, and we did a track a day, which is something we've never done, which is great because you know, because you're very un-self-conscious about what you do. You don't have that chance to sit down and over-analyse everything. Everything just has this real momentum. I think that comes across in the performances.

Ray: "Tell me a little bit about, if you will, about RADIOHEAD.TV, I mean, what's it going to be? And can I have a job?

Jonny: "Oh, yeah!

Ray: "Can I have a job on it?

Jonny: "Sure.

Ray: "Well what's it going to be?

Jonny: "Well we're very nondiscriminating about quality output. *ha!* But that's kind of part of what it's about, is trying to sort of compile lots of things that are being sent to us by, like, students, fans, artists, whatever, and trying to get away from like... just have something to try and put the spontaneous and the throwaway back into something, sort of the visual and the music thing, and get away from the sort of formulaic and programmed and staid and commercially couched on either side by adverts or whatever, and super expensive, which means you have to second-guess everything you're doing, if you're dealing with like a quarter of a million Pounds to just put something on the screen, which is obscene. You know? You spend more money doing something for one song than it costs to do an entire record, which is what our business should really be about!

Ray: "Now you guys have known eachother for such a long time, and you're all still, I presume, unless it's that you're such good actors, that you're all still mates? Is there a secret recipe? I mean, mates fall out, especially bands! You live in eachother's pockets! Is there something that you're aware of that you do do, or you don't do, so that it does stay happy?

Phil: "I don't think we ever really fell out, actually. I think... you know, the point where we became rather more distant from eachother, but I mean, actually going through the whole process of recording Kid A, I think we actually we started, we started talking to eachother, once again! And that's the key to it, really, just being open with eachother and I think we're quite respectful of eachother's musicality, and ideas, so, I think, you know. I'd say that's a good basis.

Ray: "Now there are "dad"s in the band, does that change things? You can't go on the road for two years, and live in hotels, does it change things?

Jonny: "Well, the later a show starts, we feel it, golly!

Ray: "Now I asked the other boys, your last question, if you can ever envision your best-of Radiohead record coming out one day. They didn't think it was a good idea.

Colin: "Maybe like a four-track e.p.

Jonny: "With four tracks of covers on it...

Colin: "Yeah, OK.

Ray: "They're modest.

Jonny: "With "Nobody does it better" on it, possibly.

Ray: "Yes, I remember that actually..

Jonny: "So um. Best of... i don't know... Thom always wants to call one of our records "The best driving music in the world, ever" So, yeah, maybe, you know, we should do that instead. We'll see.

Phil: "It's been done, hasn't it...

Jonny: "I think it has.

Ray: "Don't tell him that, it was a good idea! All the good ideas have been taken, Jonny. Until you come up with another one! Thanks so much for joining us, I'd have to say, like, it's a magic. It's a magical experience for us to have you here, and to see what you're doing tonight! And, I feel like a tiny little fourteen-year-old boy again. So thank you for being here, and giving us such pleasure! Sincerely,

Jonny: "Thank you, Ray!

Phil: "Thank you!