Thom Yorke of Radiohead praises John Williams's score for Close Encounters, but admits he is not a big fan of his other work

[Lewya 360]

He went on to talk about why he likes Williams’ score for Close Encounters so much:

 

"I think the tones of the instruments. When I was a child, I thought it was just synthesizers but it’s not… I don’t know why those particular sounds always stuck with me when I was a child. They’re relatively simple. The tuba is only one instrument but they make it sound so immense. The way that John Williams composes this piece is super modern as well. Melodically, I have no idea how he went about composing it, but the idea of one pattern being repeated and changed and then repeated and then changed… It’s happening a lot now in music.

 

But he admitted he’s not really into the rest of Williams’ massive oeuvre of soundtrack work:

 

"I’m allowed to be honest? I’m not a massive fan of John Williams except for this. Sorry. But then, to be fair, this is my ignorance coming out because I don’t really know much about… What I feel in a way sometimes happens with very successful soundtrack makers is that they get copied so much, that when you go back to the original work, you don’t appreciate it for what it is."

 

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

4 minutes ago, Lewya said:

I think the tones of the instruments. When I was a child, I thought it was just synthesizers but it’s not…

 

So he likes actual instruments. Huh.

[GerateWohl 4,326]

Has nothing to do with the topic, but Thom Yorke's score for Suspiria is brillantly disturbing (just like the movie) and it was actually created with a lot of instruments. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

Well, at least he's honest.

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

How do you know that? It's not like his name is Honest Thom or similar.

[Tom 4,633]

I really like cheeseburgers, but not other kinds of burgers.  However, I must admit that I have not really ate many other kinds of burgers.  

[Faleel 5,330]

10 minutes ago, Tom said:

I really like cheeseburgers, but not other kinds of burgers.  However, I must admit that I have not really ate many other kinds of burgers.  

But it could just be, I am used to all the other cheeseburger places, copying those other burgers, so I can't appreciate the original burgers for what they are...

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

There's this restaurant near my house called McDonalds, it's pretty good. I bought a double burger and a drink for only $11, the bread was a little stale but everything else was good.

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

Amount of fucks I have to give about Yorke's opinion of John Williams' work - none. 

Amount of them I have to give about whether Radiohead will ever do anything as good as The Bends and OK Computer again - quite a lot.  

[Thor 7,463]

Is the band still doing new stuff as a band (rather than solo work)? I believe their last studio album was in 2016.

[Richard Penna 3,669]

47 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Amount of fucks I have to give about Yorke's opinion of John Williams' work - none. 

 

If he says JW sucks, half the forum will take offence because he's being criticised in a public arena.

 

Why else would there be a thread dedicated to pointing out celebrities who publicly praise him?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

50 minutes ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Amount of fucks I have to give about Yorke's opinion of John Williams' work - none. 

Amount of them I have to give about whether Radiohead will ever do anything as good as The Bends and OK Computer again - quite a lot.  

 

I would rank both Kid A and In Rainbows above those two!  Hail to the Thief is very underrated as well.  But I have to admit they haven't been a Great Band since In Rainbows.

[A24 4,326]

Well, he has an experimental approach to Rock so it's no surprise that he's not much into Williams' safer, more old-fashioned scores. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Yes, it's really not surprising at all when these pop music iconoclasts don't care for John Williams

[GerateWohl 4,326]

Both are writing great music. Both are fabulous artists.

[mstrox 6,643]

It's okay, i really liked OK Computer, but don't really care much for other Radiohead!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

46 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I would rank both Kid A and In Rainbows above those two!  Hail to the Thief is very underrated as well.  But I have to admit they haven't been a Great Band since In Rainbows.

Agreed. One listen of IN RAINBOWS and it became my favourite Radiohead record, immediately. KID A is great, as well.

[Quintus 5,399]

Considering he's the front man of one of the biggest, most respected bands of the last thirty years, people will take notice of and care about what Yorke has to say. 

 

I'm not massive on Radiohead, aside from the odd track. 

[GerateWohl 4,326]

And Thom Yorke created beautiful film music as well.

 

And as far as I understood he didn't say that he actually dislikes Williams other work. He is just not that interested in it. But I consider him highly interested in music generally. So, probably he is also listening to a lot of other music. And why not?

[Arpy 4,145]

I've found the opposite of what Yorke describes, If I hear something - particularly if it's something that you can stylistically discern is from Williams, or Goldsmith, or more recently with the Zimmerlings, I have a greater appreciation of the original, AND respect and understand what these descendants offer all the same. 

 

Yorke's allusion to the success of a particular sound becoming it's own worst enemy I think could also be a phenomenon of modern scoring wherein the 'spell' of the score is broken when it becomes a crutch rather than a vehicle for the story. When the spell is broken, you begin to anticipate the music and know instinctively what should or should not be there in a way that we've become conditioned to expect it. 

[rough cut 1,714]

I saw Radiohead live back in 1997, on the OK Computer tour.

 

The setlist was:

1. Airbag

2. Karma Police

3. The Bends

4. Exit Music (For A Film)

5. Subterranean Homesick Alien

6. My Iron Lung

7. Talk Show Host

8. Paranoid Android

9. Let Down

10. Creep

11. Planet Telex

12. Climbing Up The Walls

13. Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was

14. Bones

15. Just

16. Fake Plastic Trees

 

Encore:

17. Lucky

18. Banana Co.

19. No Surprises

 

Encore 2:

20. You

21. Street Spirit (Fade Out)

 

What a time to be alive.

 

 

[GerateWohl 4,326]

34 minutes ago, rough cut said:

What a time to be alive.

Yeah, when people just watched the band play and listened to the music instead of fliming the show with their mobile. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

It was such a hassle to bring your cord phone back then.

 

And it wouldn't even film!

[GerateWohl 4,326]

Not only that. Recording concerts, no matter how bad the recording quality was, was highly illegal.

[A24 4,326]

I think literally everyone in the music industry (even Thom Yorke, even Brian Eno) admires John Williams as a composer (his talent, his knowledge), but not always the direction he has chosen. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

Writing background music for movies! Pfff!

[GerateWohl 4,326]

I wouldn't consider Thom Yorke a blockbuster or Hollywood fan. Maybe that's part of the issue. And John Williams is not so prominent for working on independent or Arthouse movies.

[Quintus 5,399]

Thank god a once in a generation talent like Williams didn't choose a different direction. He'd probably be just another fine composer in relative obscurity, grossly unappreciated. 

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

22 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I would rank both Kid A and In Rainbows above those two!  Hail to the Thief is very underrated as well.  But I have to admit they haven't been a Great Band since In Rainbows.

I kinda drifted away after Kid A. The 'glitchy' electronica isn't really my thing.  

[GerateWohl 4,326]

1 hour ago, Sweeping Strings said:

I kinda drifted away after Kid A. The 'glitchy' electronica isn't really my thing.  

Listen to In Rainbows! Might not be so historically relevant. But is probably the best ... na, one of the best albums. Wonderful accoustic tracks. Like this!

 

[A24 4,326]

7 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Writing background music for movies! Pfff!

 

No, staying in the safe zone, not taking artistic chances, always repeating himself, giving the people what they expect, never be surprising, ... I mean, that's nice for Star Wars fans who can't stand any change, but not everyone is like that.

 

3 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Listen to In Rainbows! Might not be so historically relevant. But is probably the best ... na, one of the best albums. Wonderful accoustic tracks. Like this!

 

 

In Rainbows is probably their most accessible album too.

[GerateWohl 4,326]

3 minutes ago, AC1 said:

 

No, staying in the safe zone, not taking artistic chances, always repeating himself, giving the people what they expect, never be surprising, ... I mean, that's nice for Star Wars fans who can't stand any change, but not everyone is like that.

Are you serious about John Williams did not take artistic chances in the past 43 years? Repeated himself? I think, there is hardly any composer in the world ever writing between 2 to 8 hours of music per year with so few repetition.

Of course just the amount of output is no criterion for artistic quality. But neither is bring unpleasant.

[King Mark 3,624]

Who cares about the Radiohead guy

[Marian Schedenig 8,172]

8 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

I wouldn't consider Thom Yorke a blockbuster or Hollywood fan. Maybe that's part of the issue. And John Williams is not so prominent for working on independent or Arthouse movies.

 

I wonder if he's heard Images. Or even the more avantgarde parts of Azkaban.

[Tom 4,633]

17 minutes ago, King Mark said:

Who cares about the Radiohead guy

I hear his head only receives AM signals.  

[Disco Stu 15,495]

4 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Listen to In Rainbows! Might not be so historically relevant. But is probably the best ... na, one of the best albums. Wonderful accoustic tracks. Like this!

 

 

I agree here @Sweeping Strings.  You really should give In Rainbows a shot.  You might find a lot to like!

[Jay 37,281]

6 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I wonder if he's heard [i]Images[/i]. Or even the more avantgarde parts of [i]Azkaban[/i].

 

Wowzers, did this new update finally disable legacy bbcode??

[Marian Schedenig 8,172]

1 minute ago, Jay said:

 

Wowzers, did this new update finally disable legacy bbcode??

 

Yes. I noticed it yesterday, but it'll clearly take a while to get used to.

[Jay 37,281]

Wow, I hadn't noticed yet.

 

On desktop, you can use CTRL-I before and after to italicize.  On mobile you have to click the I icon I think

[Marian Schedenig 8,172]

Yes, I immediately noticed that CTRL-I works fine as a state toggle (and not just for styling after typing), I just have to get used to it. I never post from mobile anyway (I hate touch typing, I even write 99% of my WhatsApp and SMS messages from the computer).