Topic: 18 hours of OK Computer sessions leaked

[popcorn]

Nah, bollocks to that. The creative process is fascinating and it is great when these things get unearthed, for any band. I am always amazed how thin, bland, generic demos turn into amazing pieces of music, or how fully formed some songs are in their earliest forms

Same. I like listening to old demos and stuff for any music I know, even if it's stuff I don't really like.

I've only listened to a few hours of this while weeding my dad's front drive, and there's nothing in it so far I'd actually ever want to listen to again for pleasure, and some of it is predictably dreadful. But at the same time that's terribly interesting. There's a recording of them playing a version of Karma Police and it's this unbelievably amateurish, boring, plodding thing, completely unremarkable. And it's Karma Police! What if every bad song is secretly brilliant and just waiting to be arranged and produced properly?

[alan nagsworth]

Nah, bollocks to that. The creative process is fascinating and it is great when these things get unearthed, for any band. I am always amazed how thin, bland, generic demos turn into amazing pieces of music, or how fully formed some songs are in their earliest forms

 I understand your point, but in this case I have to respectfully disagree. As a Ween obsessive, I’m definitely appreciative of the big pile of demos, unreleased tracks and B-sides that have been archived over the years by the fans, but that’s about six hours of material which spans the band’s entire career.

18 hours of material for one single album is just overkill for me, and even if it were the same amount of material unearthed for any of my favourite albums like In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, or Antichrist Superstar, I honestly would not be arsed about it at all and would happily either wait until someone else whittled it down to three or four hours (at most) of notable stuff or just ignore it forever.

Like, mate. 18 hours. Come on.

[Glyn]

Interesting to hear the more energetic and polished version of Lift buried away in this. Didn't they (or Nigel) claim during OKNOTOK that it never got fully finished ?

I've always had a love for Motion Picture Soundtrack too so to get another different (and also great) version of that song is rather wonderful

Sincerely hope this doesn't kibosh any plans to release an expanded KidA/Amnesiac  next year though.

[Goldentony]

further to the sessions leaking discussion, i'm with the bollocks to that side of things after trying to get through all 14 discs of that fucking Pet Sounds box set that's just Dennis occasionally talking about maybe playing a piano and some arsehole blowing a trumpet for the 18th take of Good Vibrations. I mean listen to them if you want but me? no sir, no music at all for me, just presume the bands are good based on pictures

[chveik]

music for Guantanamo prisoners

[purlieu]

18 hours of material for one single album is just overkill for me

It's not something I think many but the most obsessive fans are going to listen to more than a handful of times, and most will be able to make their own playlist of favourites, but because you don't have the time/interest to go into this personally doesn't mean you should sneer at those who do. As a lapsed Radiohead fan who now finds them one of the most overrated acts of all time, I'm still enjoying listening through this because there are surprising and interesting moments, intriguing versions of familiar songs, and unreleased pieces from the period. If the band had released 18 hours of sessions, I'd totally understand your reaction, but given that this is an unofficial leak, then I think it's fine. Much better than if a fan had acquired the material and only put out two hours of material they thought was worthwhile.

[a duncandisorderly]

Like, mate. 18 hours. Come on.

couple of times I listened to the revolver sessions or the headquarters sessions, but then you put them away & go back to listening to the proper albums.

in the case of radiohead, OK computer was about the tipping point for me, where their studio skills became more important than songwriting. 'paranoid android' is a case in point- good fun to listen to, but it's an assembly, in the final analysis, of several song ideas that didn't grow legs of their own. I watched them, on the 'bends' tour, come out after two encores... while the roadies took the backline apart... johnny & tom with acoustic guitars. when OK computer came out, I wondered how many of those songs would work the same way.
there's only so much behind-the-curtain I want to see. or hear.

[phantom_power]

I understand your point, but in this case I have to respectfully disagree. As a Ween obsessive, I’m definitely appreciative of the big pile of demos, unreleased tracks and B-sides that have been archived over the years by the fans, but that’s about six hours of material which spans the band’s entire career.

18 hours of material for one single album is just overkill for me, and even if it were the same amount of material unearthed for any of my favourite albums like In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, or Antichrist Superstar, I honestly would not be arsed about it at all and would happily either wait until someone else whittled it down to three or four hours (at most) of notable stuff or just ignore it forever.

Like, mate. 18 hours. Come on.

18 hours is too much but someone will hone that down to the best bits I imagine. I would rather have it there to listen to than not have it anyway, and even listening to some of it just once will give a fresh perspective on some of the songs and an insight into the creative process

[popcorn]

in the case of radiohead, OK computer was about the tipping point for me, where their studio skills became more important than songwriting. 'paranoid android' is a case in point- good fun to listen to, but it's an assembly, in the final analysis, of several song ideas that didn't grow legs of their own.

Man, I'm the exact opposite. OKC is where Radiohead got interesting. I'm far less interested in just Thom Yorke on an acoustic guitar or a piano than I am in the sealed manipulated universes they cook up in the studio. I didn't like the new acoustic emphasis on the last album.

[purlieu]

I watched them, on the 'bends' tour, come out after two encores... while the roadies took the backline apart... johnny & tom with acoustic guitars. when OK computer came out, I wondered how many of those songs would work the same way.

Probably all of them other than 'Fitter Happier'. There are some nifty production touches throughout it, but it's still pretty much just a '90s indie rock album with some drum loops and stuff in there.
Kid A and Amnesiac are definitely more difficult to say the same about, but I listen to those in an ambient/IDM mindset and enjoy them on that level.

[a duncandisorderly]

Man, I'm the exact opposite. OKC is where Radiohead got interesting. I'm far less interested in just Thom Yorke on an acoustic guitar or a piano than I am in the sealed manipulated universes they cook up in the studio. I didn't like the new acoustic emphasis on the last album.

ah- I didn't say I was less interested... maybe I implied it. whatever. I liked OKC but they lost me a bit after that, when they started collecting synths. I know that's an odd thing for me to say.

Probably all of them other than 'Fitter Happier'. There are some nifty production touches throughout it, but it's still pretty much just a '90s indie rock album with some drum loops and stuff in there.
Kid A and Amnesiac are definitely more difficult to say the same about, but I listen to those in an ambient/IDM mindset and enjoy them on that level.

I think you might be right, but still... I sense that they wrote the songs in bits rather than banging out the whole thing on a couple of acoustics at each other like lennon & macca.

[popcorn]

It's funny you say that because apparently Paranoid Android was influenced by how Happiness Is a Warm Gun was a bunch of different bits glued together.

[OnlyRegisteredSoICanRead]

If it was a blackmail attempt, then how come it had already been released?

Hang on, 'reportedly'? Wouldn't they know? Or are they weasel words to cover that they're lying?

[Glyn]

If it was a blackmail attempt, then how come it had already been released?

Hang on, 'reportedly'? Wouldn't they know? Or are they weasel words to cover that they're lying?

I guess it could be part of a PR stunt but the slightly confused history seems to be that the hacker didn't contact the band for that 'ransom' but instead went to the Radiohead Reddit to see if anyone would pay it. Instead of paying up someone traded other rare recordings for it and then leaked it out.

A very classy response from the band and helps my guilt about downloading stolen material so win-win in my world.

Having listened through I'd personally say the only real revelations are the alternative guitar version of Motion Picture Soundtrack and the three completed versions of Lift (the first one with the 'ice-cream van' intro and louder guitars is my favourite) . Think I'm repeating myself in this thread but I still have no idea why they claimed that the rough demo version of Lift on OKNOTOK was all they had when these versions were tucked away on a minidisk somewhere. I can see why they didn't want to release a catchy and poppy song in 1997 but to claim it was never finished 20 years later seems a bit too paranoid even for Radiohead.

[purlieu]

Yeah, a lot of respect to the band for doing this, can't imagine a better way to respond to the leak to be honest.

I've only listened to the first disc, which was mildly interesting, but could basically be cut down to one version of I Promise and one of Electioneering, plus a couple of home demos. I might well make my own 'best of' once I've been through the whole thing.

[Puce Moment]

Much respect to these annoying fuckers.

Even the news that they were not prepared to release an anthemic/coldplay/bitter sweet symphony/elbow festival favourite makes me like them more.

Hard to hate them.

[popcorn]

If it was a blackmail attempt, then how come it had already been released?

Hang on, 'reportedly'? Wouldn't they know? Or are they weasel words to cover that they're lying?

I think they're being tongue-in-cheek. The reports that the first leak was being held for "ransom" were based on the initial Reddit post. I don't think it was a literal ransom, it was just that the leaker was trying to sell the tracks. I doubt Radiohead received any sort of ransom letter.

As far as we know, the reason the tracks were released was because someone traded something for it... or the person who gave them the leak released it themselves to stop them selling it. Or something.

Think I'm repeating myself in this thread but I still have no idea why they claimed that the rough demo version of Lift on OKNOTOK was all they had when these versions were tucked away on a minidisk somewhere. I can see why they didn't want to release a catchy and poppy song in 1997 but to claim it was never finished 20 years later seems a bit too paranoid even for Radiohead.

The versions of Lift on the Minidisc are unfinished though - they're obviously not final mixes, and they have mixing errors like Ed's backing vocals cutting in and out. But at the same time any idiot will agree they're better than the half-baked version they released on OKNOTOK so why they used that version is a mystery.

[non capisco]

I've as much desire to listen to 18 hours of Radiohead rehearsals than I have to willingly jump arse first onto a Judas cradle to be honest but the way they played this was exquisite. Hats off to 'em.

[popcorn]

This is now being reported by the Guardian, BBC et al as Radiohead foiling an extortion attempt. There was no extortion. The leaker was trying to sell the recordings to fans.

[studpuppet]

[Johnny Textface]

The little chord sequence change at the end of No Suprises (on an early MD) should definitely have remained. The daft twats.

[gabrielconroy]

I've only listened so far to the 1 hr bandcamp link on the guardian article about this, but there are a few bits in there for an old fan to pay close attention to and smile about.

Like someone said earlier, some of the most interesting stuff is how utterly pedestrian some sections were before rewriting. The synth on the end of this 'full band version' of True Love Waits is the sort of lazily unchanging and badly mixed stuff I'd come up with, so that's quite cheering. But then I was never a massive fan of any version of that song, anyway.

Some of my favourite Radiohead songs are the b-sides to OKC, so if I can find where it is, I'd love to hear what is apparently a great version of A Reminder. Hopefully there's some Lull and Melatonin-related stuff in there as well.

[popcorn]

The little chord sequence change at the end of No Suprises (on an early MD) should definitely have remained. The daft twats.

It's the deepest cheese!

[a duncandisorderly]

I've as much desire to listen to 18 hours of Radiohead rehearsals than I have to willingly jump arse first onto a Judas cradle to be honest but the way they played this was exquisite. Hats off to 'em.

indeed. there's no way I'm ever going to do more than accidentally hear some of this when itunes decides it's time, but I paid for it anyway, because they're good lads.
at least, I think that's what's going on. in my band, none of us have ever been arsed to digitise the piles of minidiscs we amassed. I did wonder why these recordings were digitised in the first place. on the bandcamp page, you can see the plaggy sleeve for 'disc 1' & it says 'sampled' on it.

[popcorn]

indeed. there's no way I'm ever going to do more than accidentally hear some of this when itunes decides it's time, but I paid for it anyway, because they're good lads.
at least, I think that's what's going on. in my band, none of us have ever been arsed to digitise the piles of minidiscs we amassed. I did wonder why these recordings were digitised in the first place. on the bandcamp page, you can see the plaggy sleeve for 'disc 1' & it says 'sampled' on it.

Some of the stuff on the MiniDiscs appeared on the OKC reissue a couple of years ago, so presumably someone digitised all their stuff from the period as part of that process. That's also presumably the point at which the recordings were stolen - they might have been traded around privately for a while before they went public.

[purlieu]

Cor, the version of 'Motion Picture Soundtrack' really is bloody tremendous, isn't it? Might actually prefer that arrangement to the one on Kid A. Plus it has the lovely last verse.

[popcorn]

Cor, the version of 'Motion Picture Soundtrack' really is bloody tremendous, isn't it? Might actually prefer that arrangement to the one on Kid A. Plus it has the lovely last verse.

I've never liked that extra verse, though loads of fans go gaga for it. I think the imagery is just too unpleasant, and more importantly you have to stop the song after the line "I will see you in the next life". You can't start singing again after that.

[good times]

I've never liked that extra verse, though loads of fans go gaga for it. I think the imagery is just too unpleasant, and more importantly you have to stop the song after the line "I will see you in the next life". You can't start singing again after that.

Definitely in the 'drop the last verse' camp... although for a long time I wasn't.

Grew up in the generation where I'd scour Napster for all the rare shit and became very attached to the original acoustic radio session version of MPS before Kid A, but with the passage of time (including a sustained period of not listening to any Radiohead) the Kid A became the definitive one for me - it's perfect.

[Glyn]

Just to add that this site :
http://www.on-a-friday.com/MiniDiscs-Hacked/
has all the necessary downloads for chopping up the files into named mp3s. Makes navigation a whole lot easier !