The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time

Last updated

The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time.jpg
Video by
Radiohead
Released1 December 2004 (2004-12-01)
Recorded2004
Length110 minutes
Director Chris Bran
Radiohead chronology
Meeting People Is Easy
(1998)		The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
(2004)		 Radiohead: The Best Of
(2008)

The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time is a collection of 24 short films by the English rock band Radiohead. It accompanies their 2003 album Hail to the Thief , and comprises music videos, live performances, webcast footage and videos submitted by fans. The material was first broadcast on Radiohead's website in 2003 and released on DVD on 1 December 2004.

Contents

Content

The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time comprises 24 short films that accompany Radiohead's 2003 album Hail to the Thief . [1] It was created with the filmmaker Chris Bran and the Radiohead longtime collaborator Stanley Donwood. [2] The films comprise music videos, live performances, webcast footage from Radiohead's studio and videos submitted by fans. [3] It includes a performance of "Morning Mr Magpie" by Thom Yorke on acoustic guitar, a song later released on Radiohead's 2011 album The King of Limbs . [4] [5]

In the "My Showbiz Life" segments, Yorke and the guitarist Ed O'Brien answer "inane" questions about their celebrity lives; Yorke's voice is lowered with a pitch shifter, and O'Brien gives answers by "braying like a donkey". [2]

The New York Times described The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time as "part scrapbook, part video demo reel ... an analogue lovefest of grainy images, strobing and hand-drawn animation, as the fans reflect the vertigo and anomie of the songs". [6] The Guardian described the films as "impressionistic, surreal, and frequently inspired". [7] The title comes from a collage by the German artist John Heartfield. [8] The cover artwork was created by Yorke and Donwood. [9]

The episodes are hosted by the character of Chieftain Mews, [8] who has since appeared in Radiohead's promotional material. [8] [10] The journalist Mac Randall described Mews as "a 21st-century Max Headroom" who "intones non-sequiturs". [2] Yorke credited his creation to Bran. [8]

Release

Radiohead planned to broadcast the material on their own television channel. [2] The plans were cancelled, according to Yorke, due to "money, cutbacks, too weird, might scare the children, staff layoffs, shareholders". [9] They initially streamed the material on loop on a website, Radiohead Television, that debuted in May 2003 and ran until 2004. [2]

From December 2004, Radiohead sold copies of the DVD through their website. [2] Reviewing the DVD, The A.V. Club said few of the videos had "multi-viewing appeal", but praised "The Slave", "The Homeland Hodown" and the performance of "Morning Mr Magpie" as standouts. [1] In January 2020, Radiohead made The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time available to stream free on their website. [11]

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 the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.

<i>Kid A</i> 2000 studio album by Radiohead

Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Departing from their earlier sound, Radiohead incorporated influences from electronic music, krautrock, jazz and 20th-century classical music, with a wider range of instruments and effects. The singer, Thom Yorke, wrote impersonal and abstract lyrics, cutting up phrases and assembling them at random.

<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">Thom Yorke</span> English musician (born 1968)

Thomas Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. Rolling Stone described Yorke as one of the greatest and most influential singers of his generation.

<i>Com Lag (2plus2isfive)</i> 2004 EP by Radiohead

Com Lag (2plus2isfive), stylized as COM LAG (2plus2isfive), is an EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 24 March 2004. It compiles B-sides from Radiohead's sixth album, Hail to the Thief (2003), along with remixes by Cristian Vogel and Four Tet and two live performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Godrich</span> English producer and musician (born 1971)

Nigel Timothy Godrich is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters, Arcade Fire and Idles.

<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">Stanley Donwood</span> English artist and writer

Dan Rickwood, known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer, Thom Yorke, plus Yorke's other projects, including Atoms for Peace and the Smile. In 2002, the pair won a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for the album 2001 Radiohead Amnesiac. Donwood also creates artwork for Glastonbury Festival, and has published books of short stories and a memoir.

<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 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), and a live version was included on the 2004 EP Com Lag.

<i>The Eraser</i> 2006 studio album by Thom Yorke

The Eraser is the debut solo album by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 10 July 2006 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, the longtime producer for Yorke's band Radiohead.

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

"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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nude (song)</span> 2008 single by Radiohead

"Nude" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released in March 2008 as the second single from their seventh studio album, In Rainbows (2007).

<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 retail 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).

<i>The King of Limbs</i> 2011 studio album by Radiohead

The King of Limbs is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 18 February 2011 as a download, followed by a physical release on 28 March through XL Recordings internationally and TBD Records in North America.

<i>OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017</i> 2017 compilation by Radiohead

OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 is a reissue of the 1997 album OK Computer by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released in June 2017, the album's 20th anniversary, following the 2016 acquisition of Radiohead's back catalogue by XL Recordings from EMI.

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

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

<i>Kid A Mnesia</i> 2021 compilation album by Radiohead

Kid A Mnesia is a reissue compiling the albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001) by the English rock band Radiohead. It also includes a bonus disc, Kid Amnesiae, comprising previously unreleased material. It was released on 5 November 2021 on XL Recordings.

References

  1. 1 2 Modell, Josh (27 December 2004). "Radiohead: The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Randall, Mac (2011). Exit Music – The Radiohead Story. Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0857126955.
  3. ↑ "Hail to the mischief makers!". NME . 6 May 2003. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  4. ↑ Lewis, Luke (26 February 2011). "Radiohead's royal return". NME .
  5. ↑ "Ranking: every Radiohead song from worst to best". Consequence . 28 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  6. ↑ Pareles, Jon (2 January 2005). "Pop music: playlist; 2004: The ones that got away". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "The Must List". The Guardian . 26 November 2004. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Yes I am entering Miss World". The Guardian . 21 November 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  9. 1 2 "Radiohead new material this year". Xfm . 12 October 2004. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  10. ↑ Yoo, Noah (April 2021). "Radiohead Join TikTok, Reveal New Chieftain Mews Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "9 essential artefacts from the Radiohead Public Library". Crack . 21 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.