The two songs that make Thom Yorke cry
Jason Thomas Gordonfrontman of the Los Angeles rock band dei King sizepublished the book late last year ‘The Singers Talk’. A volume of interviews with some of the most important rock singers of our time. Among these Bruce Springsteen, Roger Daltrey, Chrissie Hynde, Willie Nelson, Mavis Staples, Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Smith, Geddy Lee, Michael Stipe, Rod Stewart, Steve Perry and also the singer of Radiohead Thom Yorke. At the time of the volume’s release, Rolling Stone magazine published the interview with the leader of the Radiohead as a preview of the volume.
In the interview Yorke – who turns 56 today – told, among other things, how Neil Young And Jeff Buckley helped him hone his style, the benefits of taking a chiropractor on tour and that time he was so stoned he forgot his lyrics once on stage.
Thom Yorke he explained that despite having taken some singing lessons he always thought he had an “unpleasantly high and awkward” voice. Despite this, at the age of 18 the future singer of Radiohead sent a demo tape to a music magazine. That magazine published a rather flattering review asking, “‘Who is this guy? He looks just like Neil Young!'” Yorke recalls: “I thought, ‘Who is Neil Young?’ I had never heard Neil Young, so I bought “After the Gold Rush” and thought, ‘Wow! Is it okay to be like this?’ Because he’s slightly taller than me, but there was a softness and naivety in his voice that I always tried to hide. Then, ‘Oh, maybe I don’t need to hide it.'”
Be that as it may,
Thom Yorke
It took him some time to get used to his voice: “When we were recording the second record, I went to see Jeff Buckley before he died. And it reminded me of that vulnerable part of me that I was choosing to hide. I remember recording “Fake Plastic Trees” by myself at first. Then, when we gathered to listen to it, the others said, “We’ll use it!” and I said, ‘No, no, we can’t use it, it’s too exposed.’ It’s too much for me.’”
Now, almost 30 years later, Thom Yorke he’s focused on keeping his voice in shape. In addition to some pre-concert habits – running up the stairs and a meditation session – he also takes a chiropractor with him on tour to realign his spine when his voice is strained. “It’s a really amazing feeling when your voice opens up like that. It’s mental. That’s what happens when you tour a lot, you have to have someone to fix you if you throw yourself around like I do.”
But even the most thorough warm-up couldn’t have saved Yorke from what he called his “most embarrassing vocal incident ever,” which occurred at the end of a big concert at San Francisco’s Shoreline: “Before the final encore, I smoked a joint with Jonny (Greenwood, his partner in Radiohead, ed.).
I went back on stage and started playing “Everything in Its Right Place” and got completely lost. I think I sang the second verse first, then I looked at the keyboard thinking, ‘What is this?'”
He continued his story: “Then I sang the next verse and I realized I had just sung it, I looked at the others, they were all saying ‘Get us out of here’. I was going around the riff, looking at the audience and everyone was singing the words, I said, ‘What?’ I was so high that I got up from the piano and left.”
In another part of the interview he recalled his preferences when he was a kid: “I really liked Queen, but I never saw myself as Freddie Mercury. Surprisingly in my head I was always Brian May.”
Among the curiosities reported by Yorke, he says that his favorite vocal performance is in “Bloom” and if he could duet with anyone living or dead it would be it John Lennon. Asked to name his five favorite singers he listed Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Scott Walker, Michael Stipe, Billie Holiday And
Tom Waits. He then underlines that “TomTraubert’s Blues” Of Tom Waits – from the 1976 album “Small change” – And “Simple Twist Of Fate” Of Bob Dylan – from the 1975 album “Blood on the tracks” (read the review here) – are the two songs that will always make him cry.