Radiohead Take Back ‘SNL’
Radiohead officially return to Saturday Night Live for the opener of the 37th season on September 24th. Alec Baldwin has agreed to host the show, marking his 16th time as a host (a record for SNL).
Infamous for shying away from the limelight, Radiohead has shifted gears. Promoting their new “King Of Limbs” remix album (out Oct. 10th), the band hasn’t been shying away from the media like they normally do. Front man Thom Yorke has even been spotted around London handing out “Radiohead newspapers” to the public. Don’t expect the performance to be too mainstream though. The last time the band played at Rockefeller Center (in 2000) they were promoting the now-famous experimental album Kid A. Needless to say, expect the unexpected.
Radiohead has been releasing a different track every week or so from their new album, which is starting to catch the eye of many, many people. Titled “TKOL RMX 1234567”, the album features some great remixes by the likes of Four Tet, SBTRKT, Caribou, Modeselektor and Jamie xx. With all the success Radiohead has had in the past with their songs being remixed I do not see this album letting people down. With almost half of their album out via online streaming, Vol.’s 1-4 (each looking Joy Division-esque) have some memorable songs on them. Four Tet’s remix of “Separator” is an ambient, percussion driven piece that’s perfect for a night ride in the car. “Little By Little” remixed by Caribou is slightly hypnotic and is continually morphing vocals, harp, tribal beats and synthesizers to create a great groove, and the remix of “Feral” by Lone sounds more like a 2-step club song than it does a Radiohead creation. This album should be a more than welcome addition to Radiohead’s discography.
Bravo to Radiohead for appearing to the world and bravo to the folks at Saturday Night Live for extending the invitation. It’s going to be a great season opener.