Philip Selway reveals his favourite Radiohead songs
Since the mid-1980s, when they performed under the initial name On A Friday, Radiohead have carved one of the most impressive and seminal journeys in the history of rock music. From their grunge-informed period of the mid-1990s, through the electro-infused albums at the turn of the century, to the breathtaking A Moon Shaped Pool, the Oxford-born group has always found a way to keep their sound fresh and inspiring.
After releasing A Moon Shaped Pool in 2016, Radiohead embarked on what would be their final touring campaign before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2018. The members have since dispersed to work on respective solo endeavours, with Jonny Greenwood continuing to assert a cinematic edge with his breathtaking film scores. Most notably, he reunited with Thom Yorke in 2020 to establish The Smile, a side project featuring Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner.
Meanwhile, Radiohead’s drummer Philip Selway has been working on a solo project of his own. On February 24th, he will release his third studio album as a solo artist, Strange Dance. The album has been previewed with two singles so far and promises to be one of the highlight records of the year.
In recent weeks, Selway has dropped mild hints at a potential Radiohead reunion. “We’re going to get together at the start of [2023],” he told Spin. “And I’m sure we’re going to start looking at other ideas for what comes next.”
During a new interview with Far Out, which will be released in full tomorrow, Selway elaborated after being asked what he might bring to the table at such a “get-together”. “Going into a Radiohead meeting, it’s probably best to go in with an open mind – that’s how I go in there with them,” he said. “I would love for us to – if it works for everybody and we’re doing it for the right reasons – make music together again in one form or another. Beyond that, I can’t really say at the moment, but it’s a very important musical relationship to me and to all of us. I think, also, it’s been good taking some time for other projects as well.”
While it looks like Radiohead fans will have to wait a little longer for solid news on a reunion, Selway offered us some interesting conversation on the band’s brilliant back-catalogue.
After discussing the fantastic In Rainbows – From the Basement sessions from 2008, Selway was asked to discuss his favourite Radiohead songs to drum. “I love – coming back to the ‘From the Basement’ session – ‘Bodysnatchers’ [from In Rainbows], that’s always an absolute joy to play because you can really let loose on that,” Selway said, adding, “’15 Step’! That’s a good one to play.”
Moving away from In Rainbows, Selway tracked back ten years prior to 1997’s OK Computer, Radiohead’s third and possibly greatest album. “A song that we didn’t play for an absolute age was off of OK Computer, and it’s the song ‘Let Down’,” Selway said. “I love playing that one. Whenever I hear that track, it’s kind of like a time tunnel for me; it takes me right back into actually recording it. And I can see it quite vividly when I hear that track, and I can feel what I was feeling at the time. And actually, when we play that live, that all comes back out again.”
See Radiohead perform ‘Let Down’ at Chicago’s Lollapalooza in 2016 below.
