Radiohead
Q: What did actually you try to symbolize in the word rainbow?
Jonny: Well, first of all, it's the lyrics of a song.
Colin: What? Which song?
Q: It’s Reckoner.
Colin: Really?
Phil: That’s right.
Colin: I didn’t know that.
Phil: The reason why this word “In Rainbows" was chosen as the title was because it really fits the artwork. To be honest, when I first heard it, I didn’t like it (laugh). Somehow it didn’t sound right to me. However, it makes sense in the context of the artwork. For me it's a very optimistic title. This is a very optimistic record.
[...]
Q: The song Reckoner, it’s a repertory that you guys was working on for a long time, though it was in a completely different form, right?
Jonny: It's the same title, but the song is different.
Q: Since when and in what way did this concept, Reckoner, come into your mind? Also, what does it mean?
Jonny: Reckoner is who judges you at the end of your life.
Colin: Really? Reckoner?
Jonny: Or it’s like a device that makes calculation faster. You can carry it with you all the time.
Colin: I didn’t know that. I thought it was a blues song. I think there's a Harry Smith song like that. I'm sure it's called Reckoner or something similar.
Jonny: Ah, it might be the case. It's related to the devil, isn't it?
Colin: It’s the noun form of reckon, right?
Jonny: Yes. In other words, it’s like a scale (making the gesture of weighing with his right and left hand). That's for sure. The devil or something supernatural has the scale, and when someone's life ends, he puts it on the scale to tell how that person lived and which side is heavier.
Colin: Oh really? That’s cool.
[...]
(They discussed the way they released this album, the way they let the fan decided how much to pay)
Colin: I finally understand the concept (reckoner)! Simply, the fans will decide if it's good or not. What's going to happen is, it's up to them to decide the future of this record. It's out of our hands now. It’s the same with the gigs. It’s up to them to decide if the gig is good or not. We did a live performance on a webcast the other day. We were still in the studio, but we were in direct contact with millions of people. That's what it is. That's always exciting for me. It’s an art, or in other words, a happening. Yeah, that's really cool!
[...]
Q: Now, about Reckoner. This song used to be completely different in lyrics and everything, right?
Thom: Yeah, that song was first changed, and was changed again, and then it became a completely different song (laugh). The song in this album itself started with a completely different riff, different lyrics. And when I was writing another section, the lyrics were better than the original section, so I got rid of it. But I kept the song title. Just to confuse everyone. Because I am evil (laugh).
Q: I think that means you had some obsession with this term “Reckoner = Final Judge”, but what does this “Reckoner” mean to you? We talked in the beginning about this kind of final judgment.
Thom: Yes, the word “reckoner” is really personal to me. Hmm… truth is, I've never thought about it properly before, but it's true that I referred to it (final judgment) a lot in this record. Maybe even in Bodysnatcher. Perhaps, it might be like that for every human being, but in my case, I am like many other artists, I might have an obsession with death. It is unavoidable though. I don’t know if I’m an artist or not. But actually, the consciousness of “end” is growing in me. Like, about all the mistakes I have made. Ahh, see, I’m talking to myself again (laugh).
Q: The line “because we separate like ripples on a blank shore” in that song, is it expressing the anger at the fact that we human as a whole are divided into small parts?
Thom: I don’t remember exactly how I wrote the lyrics… But for that line, I think it came from William Gibson’s science fiction Neuromancer. I believe there’s a scene in the end where the character is in a computer simulation or something like that. He is already dead, but he doesn’t know that. So he is on the beach, with ripples from the sea… there’s this special quietness of “the absolute inevitable”. That’s where that line comes from. At first, I didn’t even remember where I wrote it. It was just a line that Jonny took out for that verse. I was singing that line for a while, but was going to change it later. But Jonny said, “Wait. Isn’t this the best line of the song!” What should I say (laugh). But, I don’t know why (he thought so). Actually, I didn’t even know the line “In Rainbows” was in this song, either. I was not thinking “I’m gonna say this” when I wrote the lyrics. It was written down in my notes a long time ago. Then, when everyone got together, (deciding the title for the album), I said, “Hey, how about In Rainbows?” They were like, “Well, that sounds great.” And it was already in the lyrics of the song when I noticed it.
Q: So when you titled your album, you didn’t realize it’s part of the lyrics.
Thom: I had absolutely no idea! Well, I am not sure which one of the two came first. But I don't think I noticed, because those words kept going around in my head. I think I wrote Reckoner around the same time when we were talking about making a title. Yeah, what I was trying very hard at that time was to write lyrics without really “thinking”. Anyway, I tried to make my hands write freely. There was no “this is what I want to say”, or “I’m going to put this here”. So now when I’m looking back at those lyrics, strangely, there's actually a sense of unity.
