The Radiohead song that Jonny Greenwood wanted to change

For Johnny Greenwood some Radiohead songs, like “House of cards“, they could have had different arrangements and a different studio performance. In a recent interview for the magazine “Mojo” filmed by the NME, the guitarist of the Oxford band in fact told which song of the group he would have liked to have done differently, and how.

As revealed by Greenwoodfor him the song published on the Radiohead album “In Rainbows” of 2007 could have taken a different direction. During the chat, the guitarist explained that at the time he tried to take his bandmates on other paths by pushing for the song “House of cards” to have an arrangement closer to punk during the registration phases. At “Mojo”, Jonny Greenwood said:

“There are songs that I think we could have found better arrangements for, but that other people like. I was convinced that “House of Cards” had to sound like an Iggy Pop song.”

However, the guitarist confirmed that he now feels much more satisfied with the final result of the fan-loved song, adding: “I am now aware that my insistence on changing it would have destroyed something beautiful and delicate.”

The interview also gave Greenwood the chance to talk about the live return of Radiohead, who last year returned to take the stages for the first dates in seven years. The short European tour included four dates in Italy in Bologna between 14 and 18 November (here is our story of the first Italian date). However, the guitarist did not take the chat as an opportunity to confirm or deny the bandmate’s recent words. Last March, when announcing his new solo album “Blue morpho”, out May 22, Ed O’Brien explained that Radiohead will return to concerts in 2027 following a limited calendar on a different continent each year. O’Brien’s comments come after all five members of the group set up a new limited company in February, suggesting he may have something planned in the near future.