We have finished working on OK Computer.
After two years of recording, promoting and touring the album, it seems unsettling
to be released from its grip.
The response that the album has received has been flattering, even if it has
felt over-inflated at points. However, the most important thing for me has been
the way that the five of us have worked together on OK Computer
- I'm proud of that, we are becoming the kind of band I hoped for when we started.
Thank you to everyone who listened to our music and come to see us play. Your
interest is greatly appreciated.
Anyway, we're taking the summer off the seek spiritual instruction in India,
attend the problems arising from multiple international residences, have a brief
stint in re-hab, and then write the book about how we got through it all.
I don't think we've lost it.
Love Philip xxxx
Home again, home again, jiggady-jig. Bored already. I'm doing some music myself
which is about as fifth as good as Radiohead, so I'll leave it as far from all
your ears as possible. It sounds like a lot of bleepy keyboards falling down
the stairs, followed by a drum-kit or two.
Why? My record collection is increasingly infested with electronic music of
the kind that was taken very seriously in the 70's. Dishevelled Professors in
thick-rimmed specs and corduroy jackets using Moogs as "serious compositional
media" for their music. But then, it dated instantly, I suppose, ("an infinite
array of sounds"!), and the suspicious length of a typical track (15:00 or 5:00
exactly) suggest it's all a bit soulless.
And yet... one record especially interests me - "The Wild Bull" by Morton Subotnik.
It holds my attention, where the others are just too rigid. It might just be
his name, though...
Otherwise, it's waiting to play some more music with the others, and waiting
for Suzanne Charlton to predict windier weather.
jonny
Dear Friends,
It's almost exactly a year since we started playing the new songs from O.K.Computer.
In some ways it was a bit arse about tit because we played our biggest shows
first, notably Dublin RDS and Glastonbury a week later. I fear some aspects
of the ensuing year appeared a tad anticlimactic because of kicking off with
these bowel-shatteringly fearful shows. However there was a lot of pleasure
and wonder to be had; indeed, on more than one night I almost managed to tear
myself away from the contemplation of Phil's shapely calves and FACED THE FRONT.
Almost.
Playing the Tibet Freedom Festival in June in New York was good, I got to see
U2 play for the first time. Proper rock stars. They were fantastic. We've had
the privilege of playing with some fine bands this year: The 'fannies', Sparkley
horse, Laika, D.J. Shadow and Spiritualized. I hope you get to catch at least
some of them, they were all wonderful and lovely people to boot.
Time off. We're taking the summer off to relearn how to stay in one place for
more than a week and to cook and rekindle old friendships. It's our first long
break since 1992, our first uninterrupted summer at home, and Blighty is lovely
at this time of the year. In fact I have already planted some sweet peas in
the garden, and look forward to seeing them blossom by September, hose-pipe
band permitting.
My favourite book of the year was Bernhard Schrink's "the reader", a translation
from the German; like Guibert's "To the Friend Who did Not Save My Life", it
had a devastating ending. Music: I have bought a Nad 533 turntable, and am now
trying to follow in the giant footsteps of Jonny "Vinyl" Greenwood. When we're
on tour, we can now both be spotted scouring the dusty record racks of local
second-hand music shops. I also like "Seductive Barry" from the new Pulp album
- that Chris Thomas, he's a bit good, isn't he?
The one sour note for me this year has been the ticket scalpers outside the
gigs, selling tickets to our fans for vastly inflated prices. We are looking
into ways of preventing this for the future, and will keep you informed about
developments.
Thanks again for your kind support. I'm off to brush up my French, so I'l leave
you with
"Heureux Vacances",
love
colinx.
hello.
? ......
i am glad we have finished touring
(this is my third attempt at writing this)
i live in a new house by the sea, it is windswept and peaceful, i am left alone
here.
(so) i am very lucky.
i am glad the ground has stopped shaking.
people got overexcited. we found it too difficult to take seriously all the
ink that got wasted on OK Computer, all the intelligent journalists scratching
chins intelligently. we were ready to move on to the next one the day we finished!
yet a year later we were still going.
we all need a holiday.
i will reply to some of your letters soon. i couldn't think of anything to say,
that's no excuse i know. sorry.
everything after glastonbury was a weird aftermath which seemed to go on and
on forever. that's not to say we didn't do some really good shows and didn't
enjoy it. but ...
some nights on tour i didn't have whatever was needed in me. we may not have
fulfilled all your expectations. i am sorry for that.
that is a shame. there's this Charlie Mingus track 'the clown' where the character
beats himself up and falls over and discovers he gets huge cheers the more he
beats himself up, until one day...
i am trying to shake the feeling of being robbed.
i must take a break (this is what everybody tells me!)
i hope i can see more clearly soon
i just bought some record decks and a mixer
i am reading this book by john pilger called 'hidden agendas'.
i want us to start all over again from scratch.
there have been a lot of concerned letters sent. you obviously know us better
than we thought. it's cool to know people care, but there is nothing to worry
about.
we are not about to give up or go off the rails.
after all it's just pop music, and this is only our third album. soon as the
dust settles we can all move on.
+
love
thom x x x
p. s we enclose some postcards that you might be interested in filling out and
sending to the president of the united states. it is from milarepa, the organisation
running the tibetan freedom concert in washington d.c. on june 13th and 14th,
also there is a march on the 15th, if you can make it to the show or the march,
it would be great. it could really change something for good. we will be playing
so we'll see you there.
dear w.a.s.t.e.r
"they think it's all over".... well it's not quite. We are playing at the free
tibet show in washington d.c on june 13. but that is the only thing we are doing
band-wise in four months. already two weeks into that four months, i am finding
it quite bizarre as we haven't really stopped for six and a half years. my body
is telling me that i should either be preparing to go on tour again or going
into the rehearsal studio, whereas it should be telling me to prepare for a
summer at home and of course the summer's most important event, the world cup.
I'm quite certain, however, that i will quickly turn into football pundit man.
why is it that when you get a bunch of blokes watching football they always
seem to feel the necessity to turn into football managers for the evening? you
see them in all pubs and bars saying things like:
"what the hell is hoddle doing? he shouldn't start with sheringham, it's got
to be owen every time up front alongside shearer". "no mate you got it wrong.
you start with the experience of sheringham then you introduce owen later when
the opposition's legs are tired"
blokes are funny things in packs. i've already found myself telling anyone in
the near vicinity who will listen as to why utd. did not win the league. i am
trying very hard to be philosophical and objective but it's hard. "it's good
for football" is my most used phrase o late.
before i end i would just really like to thank all those who came and saw us
in the last year, and willed us on even when we weren't playing that well.....
and thank you to all those and particularly tique for the birthday messages.
twenty-one again! have a good summer/winter.
love ed x
listening to: any bossa nova (particularly any jobim or tamba trio)
reading: anything with lots of pictures and few words
t.o.o.t.r.g : the milarepa organisation
(organisers of the free tibet show)