The Radiohead song Cillian Murphy called “remarkable”
As well as being a lauded actor, Cillian Murphy is also a lover of great music, a passion that has earned him more kudos than a number of his Hollywood peers.
It should be no real surprise that Murphy has an eye for excellent sonics, given that Peaky Blinders, the hit show in which the actor took the lead role, features a stellar soundtrack. From the classic opening of ‘Red Right Hand’ by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to songs by everyone from Radiohead to PJ Harvey, a host of brilliant music appears across its six seasons. Of course, Murphy is aware of this point and has discussed the sonic delights of the show in various interviews.
Over the past decade, it has become increasingly clear that Murphy is more culturally valuable than many actors of his standing. In addition to the many brilliant moments he’s produced on the screen, since 2013, the actor has presented various shows on BBC Radio 6. On the station, which promotes the cutting-edge side of British popular music, Murphy has showcased the breadth of his taste and offered many moments confirming that he is much more than the character of Tommy Shelby.
Notably, Murphy filled in for Elbow frontman Guy Garvey on his BBC Radio 6 Music Show in 2019. “Murphy is a bit too good, actually, I’ve heard him before, and he knows his onions,” Garvey joked in his announcing statement. “I obviously have to watch my back, but he’s nowhere near as good-looking as me so I’ll win on that front”.
When presenting volume ten of his Music Mixtape series on the station in 2019, Murphy effused about ‘Daydreaming’, which he considers to be one of the best contemporary Radiohead songs. In his comprehensive account of the 2016 single, Murphy described the heady soundscape as “a remarkable piece of music”. Not only does this exhibit Murphy’s great taste, but also the level of understanding he has of music.
The actor said: “The piano seems to me to be the granddaddy of instruments in terms of virtuosity, composition, mood and atmosphere. I listen to a lot of piano music, solo piano music is perhaps the music I return to most, when I need to put myself in a meditative frame of mind. My brother is a properly talented piano player. He gave me a lot of suggestions of what to pick for [Volume Ten of] this show.”
Continuing, he added: “When Radiohead released ‘Daydreaming’, I listened to it five times in a row. I think it’s a remarkable piece of music. The band are kind of quiet at the moment, but [guitarist] Ed O’Brien has an album coming out, so that’s something to look forward to”.
Listen to ‘Daydreaming’ by Radiohead below.
