The iconic group Bradley Cooper called “my favourite band of all time”
Bradley Cooper has proved himself to be one of the most exciting actors working in Hollywood today. Although he may have his fair share of questionable moments in front of the camera, the irresistible charm that emanates from him onscreen is palpable from the first frame that he’s in, whether that’s playing the role of a disgruntled raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy or his more dramatic turns in movies like American Sniper. While Cooper can showcase his stuff onscreen, he’s equally proficient in a music studio.
While working in Hollywood, Cooper has turned himself into quite the capable guitarist and singer when working on the movie A Star is Born. Even though the film doesn’t require much heavy lifting on Cooper’s part, thanks to Lady Gaga behind the microphone, he holds his own throughout the film, even going toe to toe with the pop diva on the song ‘Shallow’.
Despite his habit of being one of the greatest actors of his time, Cooper traces his creative threads back to one rock band. While Cooper’s character in A Star is Born may have his roots in heartland rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, the first band that made Cooper want to take music seriously was Radiohead.
Spawning out of the original wave of grunge rockers, Radiohead were a band out of place, with the song ‘Creep’ not being indicative of where they were going to take their career. Throughout each subsequent album, the band would toy with what made their sound endearing, crafting projects like OK Computer to deliberately go against the grain of what artists were supposed to do.
When Cooper first laid ears on Radiohead, it was love at first listen, telling The Times, “I love Radiohead, like everybody else, but they are genuinely my favourite rock band of all time.” While most artists would settle for having a decent hook to wrap their songs around, Cooper was interested in the emotion behind the songs.
Despite not knowing what vocalist Thom Yorke was trying to say with his lyrics, the music hit Cooper on a much deeper level, explaining to Emmanuel Levy, “The thing about Radiohead is often you really can’t understand what he is saying, but it doesn’t matter ’cause of the emotion. And REM were like that too, and REM’s hits were actually when they had a linear, you understood what they were saying.”
Rather than focus on what the inner workings of Yorke’s mind are, Cooper knows the feeling that was in his heart when he heard him sing songs like ‘True Love Waits’ or ‘Fake Plastic Trees’. Throughout each of their hits, Yorke is dripping with emotion, almost sounding on the verge of having a total breakdown in the vocal booth.
Though Cooper may not get the chance to show his love for Radiohead that often, he has found subtle ways to throw them into his film projects. In the latest version of Guardians of the Galaxy, Cooper’s character Rocket can be heard stumbling through an alien landscape while listening to Star Lord’s headset. As the music fades in and Rocket begins singing along, it’s an acoustic version of Yorke singing the song ‘Creep’. Acting may be one side of what Cooper can do, but the music of Radiohead is just as close to his heart.
