There There

Last updated

"There There"
Radiohead There there singlecover.jpg
Single by Radiohead
from the album Hail to the Thief
B-side
  • "Paperbag Writer"
  • "Where Bluebirds Fly"
Released21 May 2003 (2003-05-21) [1]
Genre Alternative rock
Length
  • 5:23 (album version)
  • 4:44 (radio edit)
Label Parlophone
Songwriter(s)
  • Colin Greenwood
  • Jonny Greenwood
  • Ed O'Brien
  • Phil Selway
  • Thom Yorke
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"Knives Out"
(2001)		"There There"
(2003)		"Go to Sleep"
(2003)
Music video
"There There" on YouTube

"There There" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released as the lead single from their sixth album, Hail to the Thief (2003), on 21 May 2003. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, number one in Canada and Portugal, and number 14 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song appears on Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).

Contents

Recording

Radiohead performed an early version of "There There" on a webcast during the sessions for their fourth album, Kid A (2000). [2] They recorded it for their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, with their longtime producer, Nigel Godrich. [3] They recorded a version at Ocean Way in Los Angeles in 2002, but were not satisfied with the results. According to the guitarist Jonny Greenwood, "Sometimes it doesn't work at all, because you haven't got the real volume of a live concert ... That just doesn't really work coming out of speakers in your front room ... It just sounded a bit like we were trying to make a worthy 'live band playing together' recording." [4]

The singer, Thom Yorke, feared the song may be lost. [4] However, Radiohead returned to the UK and recorded an alternative version in their Oxfordshire studio. Yorke said he cried with relief when he heard Godrich's mix, saying he had dreamed of how he wanted the song to sound: "And one day you walk into the studio and there it is. But you've not been standing there with a hammer and trying to beat it out of the desk or your guitar, it's not necessary. It's just there one day." [4] A demo was released as the B-side to Radiohead's 2003 single "2 + 2 = 5".[ citation needed ]

Composition

"There There" is a rock song with layered percussion that builds to a loud climax. [5] It was influenced by Can, [6] Siouxsie and the Banshees [7] and the Pixies. [4] [8] Yorke said it was "supposed to be comforting – 'It's alright, you're just imagining it.'" [2] The subtitle, "The Boney King of Nowhere", refers to a song from the animated series Bagpuss , which Yorke watched with his young son. [9]

Music video

Yorke asked Oliver Postgate, the creator of Bagpuss, to create the music video for "There There", but Postgate declined as he was retired. [9] Instead, a stop-motion-animated video was created by Chris Hopewell. [10] Yorke instructed him to make a video similar to the folk tales of the Brothers Grimm and the Czech animator Jan Švankmajer. Hopewell described it as "fifties East European genre animation, overlaboured and naive". [10] The video debuted on the Times Square Jumbotron in New York on 20 May 2003, and received hourly play that day on MTV2. [11]

In the video, Yorke enters a forest and walks around a town consisting entirely of animals. He sees numerous events play out, such as a wedding, and finds a golden jacket and a pair of golden shoes. He puts them on, awakening a group of crows, who chase and attack him. The shoes give Yorke super speed, but the effect wears off when the crows fly away and his feet become tangled in ivy. He breaks free, but the shoes fall off. His feet become tree roots, and Yorke becomes a tree. The crows rest on the branches.

Reception

"There There" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and number one in Canada. It also received moderate airplay from US modern rock stations, peaking at number fourteen on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[ citation needed ] The music video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction at the 2003 MTV Video Awards. [12]

Track listings

Standard CD and 12-inch single [13] [14]

  1. "There There" – 5:23
  2. "Paperbag Writer" – 3:58
  3. "Where Bluebirds Fly" – 4:32

Personnel

Charts

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalogue numberRef.
Japan21 May 2003 Parlophone CD TOCP-40161 [1] [26]
Australia26 May 20037243 5 52336 2 2 [38]
United KingdomCDR 6608 [39]
12-inch vinyl R 6608

Related Research Articles

Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. They comprise Thom Yorke ; brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien ; and Philip Selway. They have worked with producer Nigel Godrich and cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.

<i>Amnesiac</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Radiohead

Amnesiac is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 30 May 2001 by EMI. It was recorded with the producer Nigel Godrich in the same sessions as Radiohead's previous album Kid A (2000). Radiohead split the work in two as they felt it was too dense for a double album. As with Kid A, Amnesiac incorporates influences from electronic music, 20th-century classical music, jazz and krautrock. The final track, "Life in a Glasshouse", is a collaboration with the jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band.

<i>The Bends</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Radiohead

The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. It was produced by John Leckie, with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren. The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).

<i>Hail to the Thief</i> 2003 studio album by Radiohead

Hail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released on 9 June 2003 through Parlophone internationally and a day later through Capitol Records in the United States. It was the last album released under Radiohead's record contract with EMI, the parent company of Parlophone and Capitol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paranoid Android</span> 1997 single by Radiohead

"Paranoid Android" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997), on 26 May 1997. The lyrics were written by singer Thom Yorke following an unpleasant experience in a Los Angeles bar. The song is over six minutes long and contains four sections. The name is taken from Marvin the Paranoid Android from the science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

<i>My Iron Lung</i> 1994 EP by Radiohead

My Iron Lung is the third EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 26 September 1994 by Parlophone Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US. It was produced by Radiohead, John Leckie and Nigel Godrich. It marked Radiohead's first collaborations with Godrich and the artist Stanley Donwood, who have worked on every Radiohead release since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High and Dry / Planet Telex</span> 1995 single by Radiohead

"High and Dry" and "Planet Telex" are songs by the English rock band Radiohead. They were released as a double-A side single from Radiohead's second album, The Bends (1995), on 27 February 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knives Out (song)</span> 2001 single by Radiohead

"Knives Out" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the second single from their fifth album, Amnesiac (2001). It features lyrics about cannibalism and guitars influenced by the Smiths. "Knives Out" received positive reviews and reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creep (Radiohead song)</span> 1992 single by Radiohead

"Creep" is the debut single by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 September 1992. It was included on Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). It features "blasts" of guitar noise by Jonny Greenwood and lyrics describing an obsessive unrequited attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fake Plastic Trees</span> 1995 single by Radiohead

"Fake Plastic Trees" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on their second album, The Bends (1995). It was the third single from The Bends in the UK, and the first in the US. It reached the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart, the New Zealand Singles Chart, the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian Rock/Alternative chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karma Police</span> 1997 single by Radiohead

"Karma Police" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 25 August 1997, as the second single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997). It reached number one in Iceland and number eight on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it reached number 14 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was included on Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiohead discography</span>

The English rock band Radiohead have released nine studio albums, one live album, five compilation albums, one remix album, nine video albums, seven EPs, 32 singles, and 48 music videos. Their debut album, Pablo Honey, released in February 1993, reached number 22 in the UK, receiving platinum certifications in the UK and US. Their debut single, "Creep", remains their most successful, entering the top 10 in several countries. Their second album, The Bends, released in March 1995, reached number four in the UK and is certified triple platinum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 + 2 = 5 (song)</span> 2003 single by Radiohead

"2 + 2 = 5" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It is the opening track to their sixth studio album Hail to the Thief (2003), and was also released as the album's third and final single. It reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart, number 12 on the Italian Singles Chart, and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. It was included in Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go to Sleep</span> 2003 single by Radiohead

"Go to Sleep" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the second single from their sixth studio album Hail to the Thief (2003) on 18 August 2003. It reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart, number nine on the Italian Singles Chart, and number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyramid Song</span> 2001 song by Radiohead

"Pyramid Song" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Amnesiac (2001), in May 2001. It features piano, strings, an unusual "shuffling" rhythm and lyrics inspired by the Egyptian underworld.

<i>In Rainbows</i> 2007 studio album by Radiohead

In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a pay-what-you-want download, followed by a physical release internationally through XL Recordings on 3 December 2007 and in North America through TBD Records on 1 January 2008. It was Radiohead's first release after their recording contract with EMI ended with their album Hail to the Thief (2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burn the Witch (Radiohead song)</span> 2016 single by Radiohead

"Burn the Witch" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, the lead single from their ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). It features a string section playing with guitar plectrums, producing a percussive sound. Radiohead first worked on the song during the sessions for their fourth album, Kid A (2000), and developed it for over a decade.

<i>A Moon Shaped Pool</i> 2016 studio album by Radiohead

A Moon Shaped Pool is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released digitally on 8 May 2016, with a retail release on 17 June 2016 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Radiohead's longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Smile (band)</span> English rock band

The Smile are an English rock band comprising the Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Tom Skinner (drums). Critics likened them to Radiohead, with more jazz, krautrock and progressive rock influences and a looser, wilder sound.

References

  1. 1 2 "Single 'There there.'" (in Japanese). Toshiba EMI. Archived from the original on 1 August 2003. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 Robinson, John (10 May 2003). "Bagpuss, ex-lax, and the angriest thing we've ever written". NME : 34–35.
  3. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon (19 June 2003). "Radiohead: A New Life". MTV. Retrieved 28 March 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Radiohead Hail to the Thief – Interview CD" (Interview). 2003. Promotional interview CD sent to British music press.
  5. ↑ Osborn, Brad (2016). Everything in its Right Place: Analyzing Radiohead. Oxford University Press.
  6. ↑ "Thom Yorke on 'Hail to the Thief'". Xfm London. 2 July 2003. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  7. ↑ "Radiohead Biography". capitolmusic.ca . Archived from the original on 29 June 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2012. Colin Greenwood remembers: 'The first single we're releasing is actually the longest song on the record. ("There There"). It was all recorded live in Oxford. We all got excited at the end because Nigel was trying to get Jonny to play like John McGeoch in Siouxsie and the Banshees.'
  8. ↑ NME Magazine, 10 May 2003
  9. 1 2 Odell, Michael (July 2003). "Silence! Genius at work". Q : 82–93.
  10. 1 2 McLean, Craig (16 May 2003). "OK, no computers". The Daily Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  11. ↑ Cohen, Jonathan (14 June 2003). "Web Leak Fails to Deter Capitol's Radiohead Setup". Billboard .
  12. ↑ "2003 MTV Video Music Awards Winners". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  13. ↑ There There (UK CD single liner notes). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2003. CDR 6608, 7243 5 52336 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ↑ There There (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2003. R 6608, 7243 5 52336 6 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ↑ "Radiohead – There There". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  16. ↑ "Radiohead – There There" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  17. ↑ "Radiohead – There There" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  18. ↑ "Radiohead Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  19. ↑ "Radiohead – There There". Tracklisten. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  20. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 21, no. 25. 14 June 2003. p. 7. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  21. ↑ "Radiohead: There There" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  22. ↑ "Radiohead – There There" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  23. ↑ "Radiohead – There There" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  24. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Radiohead". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  25. ↑ "Radiohead – There There". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  26. 1 2 "ゼア、ゼア | レディオヘッド" [There, There | Radiohead] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  27. ↑ "Tipparade-lijst van week 26, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  28. ↑ "Radiohead – There There" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  29. ↑ "Radiohead – There There". VG-lista. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  30. ↑ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 21, no. 25. 14 June 2003. p. 9. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  31. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  32. ↑ "Radiohead – There There". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  33. ↑ "Radiohead – There There". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  34. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  35. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  36. ↑ "Radiohead Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  37. ↑ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus . Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  38. ↑ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 26th May 2003" (PDF). ARIA. 26 May 2003. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2003. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  39. ↑ Champ, Hamish (7 June 2003). "Radiohead meet the media with Hail to the Thief" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 21, no. 24. p. 10. Retrieved 15 March 2020.