We're learning more about this album every day, so be sure to check back here often!
This page was last updated: 12th April '01
Skip to... Singles & Videos, Tracklist & Lyrics, Band Quotes
Timeline update! April 12th
Just where are we at with the Amnesiac album?
- All the tracks have been confirmed and leaked onto the internet in full studio form (try Napster)
- B-Sides for Pyramid Song have been confirmed (see here
- Pyramid Song has been aired on UK radio stations (to positive response as well)
- The Pyramid Song Video has been showing on music channels in the UK such as MTV & MTV|2.
There's also a full download available here.
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Amnesiac is to be Radiohead's fifth album released in 8 years. It is to contain 11 tracks, and will
include singles and videos unlike last years
release Kid A. The band have said Amnesiac is a lot like Kid A part 2. All the songs were
recorded in the same sessions that the last album was recorded in. They toyed with the idea of creating a double album, but
decided against it. So Kid A was phase 1, so to speak, and Amnesiac is to be a continuation. At first they were
undecided as to whether Amnesiac would be a collection of EPs, or a new album.
Though basically Amnesiac is just the songs that didn't fit onto Kid A, the band don't like to say it in that way, because
it seems like the new album is just a collection of out-takes. Which they are keen to stress it is not. Basically, they had taken
a 3 year break after OK Computer's success. They had a large collection of songs ready for
a new release. They got a bunch of them that sounded well together, and released it. We have Kid A. But still,
all these equally good songs are left over. They just didn't fit on the last album. It's not to say the new songs are worse than the
ones featured on the last album. Just that they didn't belong there. Can you imagine Pyramid Song and Dollars And Cents being on Kid A? I can't...
Rumours that the disc will return slightly to Radiohead's more familiar style, after the departure into electronica
with Kid A, are apparently unfounded. Amnesiac was recorded at the same time as Kid A
so it'll probably sound like a similar album. Though some old tracks, and some more conventional ones are going to be making
an appearance.
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SINGLES & VIDEOS
The band have confirmed the new album will feature singles and videos, unlike the previous LP. Here's what we know
about them so far...
Pyramid Song is to be released as the first single in the UK. It's release date is 21st May 2001 and
it is to come with two videos. One filmed by Shynola, and the other by Vapour Brothers. The former is going to be used with more alternative TV stations,
and the latter with more mainstream ones. The two videos were shot separately. I can confirm it's already hit radio stations in the UK. The video has also now hit television stations across the UK
and the single is being aired across the radio worldwide. You can find more info about the video here. It's also been confirmed
that the band are going to stick with the previous CD1 & CD2 single release format. Meaning there will be two UK Pyramid Song singles, with separate B-Sides for each. Booka!
Pyramid Song B-Sides
Orgy
Trans_Atlantic Drawl
Fast_Track
Kinetic
It's been confirmed now, that there will not be a US single released before the album. However, this does not mean the US will get no singles.
Jonny has been quoted in an interview to have said that Knives Out and I Might Be Wrong
will be forthcoming singles from the album. We can't properly confirm this yet, though. And nothing about release dates or videos is yet known.
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TRACKLIST:
01. Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box - 3:58
The longest Radiohead song title ever, (since How To Disappear Completely And Never Be Found's title was cut short).
At first, the band said the opening track would be called Po Pad, but then said that they had
changed Po Pad's name to something else. A very beat like track. Compared in some circles, to Idioteque, and yet it has
a very Everything In Its Right Place kind of feel to it. Phil is playing the drums on some kitchen pots. There are a few electronical
beats flaying about, and Thom is repeating the very catchy lines "After years of waiting, nothing came" and "I'm a reasonable man, get off my case". Excellent album opener.
02. Pyramid Song - 4:51
The band have been playing this regularly at live shows for over a year, now. The very earliest version had only Thom alone
on the piano. Since then, it's been reworked to include the whole band. With a kind of howling wind throughout, this track really
takes off after about 2 minutes, as the band join in with Thom's piano solo. Beautiful! This song goes under many names. Originally
called Nothing To Fear, the title was changed to Egyptian Song and has now been confirmed to be called Pyramid Song.
Though it seems to have nothing to do with egypt, or pyramids, the music does have an egyptian tint to it. Without sounding crap, of course :p
The studio version was unveiled at the Sundance Film Festival. It's now being aired on radio stations worldwide and the video has also hit
music stations, too. A very, very beautiful emotional song. It's the first single off the album, released on May 21st.
03. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors - 4:06
A very controversial song in that fans are violently divided as to whether they like it or not. Even I'm not sure yet. It features a harsh kind of snappy
beat which continues in the background throughout. Including other melodic keyboard plays and sounds as the track continues. The only vocals are Thom saying, not singing
the lyrics. His voice has been tampered with, but you can still hear what he really sounds like. There is no singing. It's very original, I'll give it that. A lot of people
love it, so you'll have to see for yourself.
04. You And Whose Army? - 3:08
Another track the band has been playing live for a while on the Kid A tours. It's very jazz, and blues stylee.
At least half the song features Thom singing alone, to a kind of low keyboard playing. It all sounds very laid back and easy going until towards the end, the drums fade in
then all the band get it together to play some kick arse sound as Thom starts wailing at the top of his voice. An excellent track! The studio version of this was also played at the Sundance Film Festival.
05. I Might Be Wrong - 4:52
The most conventional Radiohead song I've heard for a while. This features electric guitars as the central instrument for a change.
Fast paced, and upbeat. This could actually do well as a single. I love the way the beats stop, and it all becomes soft towards the end. Simple, but beautiful, as Thom howls and sings
his lyrics amazingly. The band have been playing this one live for a while, too. Jonny has been quoted saying that
this could be one of the Amnesiac singles.
06. Knives Out - 4:15
Yet another one that's been in a lot of live shows. This one is also over a year old and was introduced on Radiohead's first ever webcast in 1999. Featuring guitars reminiscent
of Street Spirit, Thom has said this track is about cannibalism. Lyrics such as "Don't look down, shove it in your mouth"
would seem to confirm this. But with Radiohead you just never can tell... Some live versions of this track feature Ed & Thom
singing half the song together. Kind of like a duet. This is also rumoured to be one of the up and coming singles from the album. A very strong
conventional type track, I think this would do well on the radio. It's got that get up and sing feeling to it.
07. The Morning Bell Amnesiac - 3:09
Thom has said it is the same track, but it's been seriously re-worked. And now sounds like something else altogether. I'd say he's half right. The lyrics, and the vocals
are virtually identical, except the mumbling bit at the end (remember? 'walking, walking walking walking') part isn't included. And the music is very different. Like a very dark old vampire type theme (sometimes I don't know where I pull these comparisons from).
In any case, there's more piano, no guitar, and much more violin. It's a lot spookier, and shorter. Whether it's better, that's for you to decide. I prefer the Kid A version, but this is by no means a poor track.
08. Dollars & Cents - 4:45
Frequently played live of late, this is one of my faves of the new tracks. A number of people have told me they don't really get into this one. But I think
they're mad! This is a choon! The live version is a lot faster than the studio version, which gutted me a bit. Because I loved the live one and
thought changing it would mean hurting it. However, the studio version of Dollars & Cents IS excellent. There's more backing vocals than in the live one. And though
the eerie guitar isn't as noticeable, Thom's moaning is all the more dominant for it. An excellent track both ways.
09. Hunting Bears - 1:58
Nothing really known about the actual song. Got a few rumours for you, though. It's apparently being linked to that kids
song we all used to sing when we were... kids. You know the one! Unless you're American. You lot don't seem to know of it. Anyway,
I'm gonna try and remember it as best I can... >_< Hnnnn...
We're going on a bear hunt
We're going on a bear hunt
We're not scared
We're not scared
I've got a gun in my pocket
Got a gun in my pocket
And bullets
And bullets
Long wavy grass
Can't go over it
Can't go under it
Let's go through it
And it continues like that, as your whole class sings about crawling down holes, swimming across lakes, climbing up trees. Then
finally reaching a cave, finding the bear, and running home scared. Ahh, bless us. We were so innocent back then.
This poem was found at radiohead.com too... (Well, I found it at Green Plastic Radiohead but shhhh!) It's pretty unnerving. I think so anyway.
WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT.
We're going hunting for bears. La la la we're not scared. 3.15 am driving back from a party in New York in a black
stretch limousine. Up ahead we see a pool of black liquid and a bundle on 42nd Street, in the middle of the
deserted road. As we came close we heard a woman screaming and crying. A few passers-by had stopped to look.
The black pool was a negro man's blood pouring like a tap from a hole in the side of his head. The driver slowed up
as we drove past and I think I saw the sprawled body spasm as the blood pumped out of the bullet hole. We drove on in
silence listening to the woman's scream dying away in the distance. We called the NYPD on the mobile in the back of the
limo and drove back to the hotel in silence. We're going hunting for bears. La la la. We're not scared.
They might not be scared, but I am o_o
UPDATE: This is a musical. It's fully guitar. It's very interesting, but serves more as an interlude than an actually brilliant track. Having said that,
it's like Pulk in that some people thing it's amazing, others don't like it at all. I personally think it's quite decent, but nothing to write home about. Quite short, too.
10. Like Spinning Plates - 3:57
What can I say. No one knew anything about this song at all until it was leaked out in studio form. And, wow. In my opinion, it's the best track on the album.
The first half just has this strange, yet brilliant swirly kind of indescribable sound, coupled with, well... just excellent music which I can't explain.
It slowly changes notes, with tension building and building. Then Thom's vocals start. You have no idea what he's saying, but it goes well with the music. Then he hits the
line 'And this just feels like spinning plates' and the music becomes more intense. It's just beautiful... I'll never be able to put it into words. If you apply logic to it, this song is crap. But
that's what can be so good about music. It's something you can't put your finger on, and it can be so emotional.
Jonny has said of how the vocals were recorded: "He [Thom] learnt it backwards, sung it like that then we turned the tape around, so you can hear the words. A real answer !!!"
11. Life In A Glass House - 4:34
The only song from the album that was previously known. There's never been an actual live or recorded version of this song before, but
there was a very short clip on Meeting People Is Easy. It sounds like an old style Radiohead song. Or it used to.
The old guitar opening, and the line 'Once again...' remains. But now it's a piano, and trumpet. Another very beautiful song. Whether this should
be the closing track, I'm not so sure. There's no doubt it's amazing, though. Trumpet player
Humphrey Lyttleton makes a guest appearance on this track and at a recent interview, said the band exhausted him with their 7 hour long recording sessions.
It sounds excellent, fading from soft melody to intense singing. Beautiful.
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BAND QUOTES:
 "If you look at the artwork for Kid A...well, that's like looking at the fire from afar.
Amnesiac is the sound of what it feels like to be standing IN the fire." - Thom
"You have to remember that coming back into the lions den was not easy, especially for me personally. It meant
bringing back ghosts that made me shut down in the first place. So a lot of the decisions we made and what we
chose to do was to avoid the normal giant cogs turning and crushing. With the next one [Amnesiac] we are definitely
having singles, videos, glossy magazine celebrity photoshoots, childrens television appearances, film premier appearances,
dance routines, and many interesting interviews about my tortured existence." - Thom
"It goes off in two ways. One is like very broken machinery. The other is really fat and dark. I played one of the songs to
Bjork, and she said it sounded like I’d just seen something really frightening, then gone and
written about it. It’s sort of bearing witness to things. We’ve all listened to these other songs, getting an idea of
what we have. It could be an EP's thing; maybe it will be a better record than the one we’ve just made. It’s impossible
for us to judge. In the same way, I can’t judge what Kid A is like. I can’t listen to it - I don’t want to listen to it.
When you’re in the mastering suite and you hear it for the final time, with all the gaps between the songs, that’s it.
After that, I went home with the CD and showed it to Rachel, and said, 'This is Kid A, and I don’t want to hear it anymore'.
I want to do the same thing with the next one. It’s fantastic when you finish something that’s hanging around your neck." - Thom
 "I'm not sure they are two records. We had that group of songs to make one record, and the
other ones are left over. It's that we had, say, 23 songs and we wanted to have around 47 minutes of music, so we chose
the best combination out of that number (for 'Kid A'), and the rest are waiting on the bench, waiting to be picked for
the next team line-up. It is a combination of like, more conventional, perhaps, but also more dissonant stuff. But it
continues on from 'Kid A'. It was all done in the same recording period. It is all a whole." - Colin
 "It does sound similar, because it was recorded at the same time
[as Kid A] and there are some similar songs. The press has indicated that it's going to be a commercial pop song album
which has got us all biting our knuckles going 'oh no, here we go again', but that's how it is." - Jonny
 "Kid A was such an unemotional record. When we came out it was such a relief and
we were kind of instilling our art. It was trip, it was a headspace. I love Kid A. I think it's really great but it's
not warm. [Amnesiac] is warm." - Ed
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