This is a transcript from an audio recording of the radio broadcast.
[recording starts here]
Interviewer: It's 107.7 The End, Kim Monroe with Thom Yorke of Radiohead. It's very nice to meet you!
Thom Yorke: Nice speaking.
Interviewer: Well, thank you. We're just hanging out after-show, just finished off a great set at the Gorge, in a beautiful venue - what did you think of it?
Thom Yorke: It was a bit, um, intimidating. Very intimidating. They've got a weird set-up, there were lots of people moshing down the front at the beginning, and it totally threw us because we haven't done a gig like that for a long time with lots of people moshing... and yet there's loads of people on the hill, who are quite a long way off, so yeah, it was quite a confusing gig... But it got better?
Interviewer: But the moshing was a little bit intimidating to you, or was it just weird to see?
Thom Yorke: Well it was weird to see, because they were having a really good time, so it was sort of fine, but it was just so distracting... it was like some sort of orgy going on in front of you when you're trying to concentrate.
[Laughter]
Interviewer: So would you say that's a major difference between US audiences and UK audiences?
Thom Yorke: No, no, the audiences so far on this tour have been amazing, actually, really kind of like... where have we played so far? Houston, Denver... it's been amazing. People were just well excited, so that waS fine... but after we played the brand new song that nobody knew [NB: Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses or Reckoner as-was debuted at The Gorge] and we felt better about ourselves.. I think we were just really wound up.
Interviewer: So far, I think this is just the beginning of the tour, so everything feels really good?
Thom Yorke: Yeah, it doesn't take long for me to go stark raving mad, though, maybe it's just because, you know, we've travelled across... we've gone from Houston to here in less than a week, and that's a lot of bus journeys. I don't fly unless I absolutely have to so that's a lot of sitting on the bus. Touring in America is a strange experience, and I can't quite explain why, but it is... I guess it's because it's not where we're from, which is Europe, and there's no point of reference, so you start to go a little bit loopy. I mean, one of our managers has already had to go home, because he can't take it.
Interviewer: Already? Wow...
Thom Yorke: Yeah, we're complete girls.
[Laughter]
Interviewer: But, as far as like the American audiences and stuff... no point of reference as to why it's strange, but it's got to be a good feeling when you come here and get packed houses, and a lot of the music that's hot in the US right now is... well, let's face it, it's pretty hard, and all that rock rap. The same kids that are buying Korn records are buying Radiohead records and they're right there in the audience.
Thom Yorke: Well, I don't know about that... I think it's best not to analyse this sort of thing. But one of the best things so far is that people are just sort of mellow; compared to when we were touring for OK Computer, when things were a bit intense, when we meet people and that... sometimes they were just a little bit hysterical. This time, it's not that at all, people are a bit mellow, you'll meet them in the street and they'll be like 'Hey, how's it going?' and it's nice.
Interviewer: It's weird, as I was preparing for this interview last week, thinking.. I'm going to talk to Thom Yorke and what do you say, what sort of things interest you?
Thom Yorke: "Why are you such a miserable git?", that's the normal one I get...
Interviewer: See, I wouldn't say miserable... mysterious. You seem to be more of a mysterious entity to most people.
Thom Yorke: Really? Hm. Yeah. Okay. I don't know.
[Laughter]
Thom Yorke: Maybe that's cause I'm not.. very outgoing, sometimes. Except when I've been drinking heavily. Like most people. I don't...
Interviewer: You don't do a lot of interviews, and you're not a big MTV kind of band, like that... and the tour for Kid A was only 12-13 dates in the US before this much bigger tour, and
Thom Yorke: Actually, it was more like... two.
Interviewer: Only two?
Thom Yorke: Yeah, we did this great big smoke and mirrors trick>
Interviewer: So it was just a couple of shows, then you're back... so why did you not? Is it because you knew Amnesiac was coming quickly after that, planning the tour?
Thom Yorke: No, no. It was more to do with the fact that... we didn't think we could handle it, we really didn't think we could cope. Which obviously sounds pretty pathetic, but sort of... coming back and basically going on the circuit again, the music business thing, was really frightening. And we didn't want to end up where we were before, which took quite a long time to recover from... I don't know why, but it did. So the Kid A thing, that came out and we did two gigs in America, the gigs we did in America we did before the album even came out and no-one knew the material at all! We did all that because we couldn't stand the idea of becoming part of the machinery again, we couldn't stand it... You know: "You do things like this. This is how you do it." Like when we were doing OK Computer. And so we got our revenge.
Interviewer: So now it's just like ' This is what we're going to do and you have to deal with it?'
Thom Yorke: Yeah, yeah.
Interviewer: Well, I think that's awesome that you've got that kind of control of your art, and what you want to do, I think that's pretty commendable.
Thom Yorke: Well, yeah, to sort of stay in the correct place in your head, you have to do it. And that's why you do it. I mean, it was revenge, and it was quite sweet, but it was actually... because there's so much bullshit, and we couldn't deal with it.
Interviewer: I see. But when you sat back one day and thought about being a musician, that you wanted to be in a band and write all these wonderful songs and play them for a few of your friends.. and maybe a few more.. and then it turned into what radiohead is, I mean, is this what you expected, did you not think it could ever get to this point?
Thom Yorke: No. I mean, I do a lot of thinking, but it's never really about this, because it's a waste of energy. The only time I did start thinking about it was OK Computer and it all went wrong, that's what made it all go wrong.. I look forward to telling my little boy about it, when he's old enough to understand... he's not old enough to understand these things now, except me singing him stupid songs. So that's about it really, that's actually how I look at it. 'Guess what, your Dad did this.'
Interviewer: Aww. Congratulations, by the way, how does it feel, being a new daddy?
Thom Yorke: It's pretty great, actually.
Interviewer: How old is he now?
Thom Yorke: He's five months now, and I've got a videotape of him... he doesn't do much, actually... he runs on the spot, or he doesn't run, his legs flail on the spot.. and that's about enough for me.
Interviewer: It must be hard, though, to be on the road and be away from him.
Thom Yorke: Yeah, it is... but he'll be okay. Me and Rachel knew that was going to be the way when it happened, so...
Interviewer: Well, that's great. Good for you! So now I've got to ask, a question that a lot of Radiohead fans wonder... the two records now that are out, Kid A and Amnesiac, worlds apart from The Bends and Pablo Honey, and you don't do any songs from that far back anymore... why is that?
Thom Yorke: Well, we don't have the inclination anymore, and that might change, but the songs we're playing now are the songs that are still turning us on and it's as simple as that really.
Interviewer: Well there's no question that, for a Radiohead fan... this was a fan's show. my friend and I were both just like 'Oh my god, they're doing this one'.
Thom Yorke: But yeah, we've moved away from all the singles, every one... except Paranoid Android. But yeah, we can do that. High and Dry, not much chance of playing that one... but Fake Plastic Trees, we played that again. What else is there, oh Creep?
Interviewer: Yeah, that one.
Thom Yorke: We'll probably play that one again just to piss people off.
Interviewer: When they're not expecting it.
Thom Yorke: Yeah, exactly. We were, actually, there was this festival in Holland, we actually had a bet with each other that we were going to walk straight on and do Creep, but we bottled it, actually.
Interviewer: When was the last time you played it live?
Thom Yorke: I can't remember.. four years, probably, something like that.
Interviewer: You don't miss it, though?
Thom Yorke: No. Not at all. Well, not just that one, there's lots of songs I don't miss.
Interviewer: So, um, after Amnesiac, now... am I right in remembering something that I read that there's two more albums still to come?
Thom Yorke: I hope not. God, I hope not.
Interviewer: Well, it's probably just one of those internet things, you know that there's going to be four of them coming in so many month's time...
Thom Yorke: Well, we originally... what was going to happen, the stuff that we did was going to be EPs... we weren't even going to release albums. It's funny, we've got lots of stuff kicking around.. I mean, if you're a complete Radiohead freak, you know there's lots of stuff on websites that are bootlegs of songs that we haven't even properly committed to tape... like Lift, and Man 'O' War [Big Boots] ones, and they're probably some of the best songs we've written... but we've never managed to get them to do what we want to do, and that's frustrating. But it's great, you know, that even though we might not know how to finish a song, people can still have access to it, it's still out there.
Interviewer: The internet's kind of an interesting thing, things tend to get out there, and, are you okay with that?
Thom Yorke: Oh yeah. It's great. When we did this tour, well before Kid A even came out, we had... basically most of both albums were flying around the internet within two shows... those shows were in Europe, you know, the South of France, in the middle of nowhere, but still they went online, so yeah.
Interviewer: That's great. If there was one thing you could let fans in Seattle know, one deep dark secret about Radiohead, what would it be.
Thom Yorke: Oh. Well, I don't think we're going to split up yet. It's okay. Um. And, um, well no. No deep dark secrets. Actually a sort of... genuine thanks for being mellow with us while we're here. That was cool. Me and Jonny walked around town a lot yesterday, and people were nice... they like music a lot in this town. So, you know. Pat on the back for that. well done.
Interviewer: And obviously they like Radiohead a whole lot too, and so do we, so Thom, thank you, it was great to meet you.