WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE YEAR 2006?
In 2006, Radiohead came back after a hiatus to roadtest some new songs from their beloved album, In Rainbows. Unconventionally, they dumped a bunch of these new songs in their setlists instead of playing more old ones. The early versions of these songs are a bit different and I personally prefer them to what was released on In Rainbows.
2006 is also a notable year because it holds the well-loved Bonnaroo concert. It was, at the time, Radiohead's longest set. It's also a concert Thom enjoyed himself, saying it was "a real buzz, um, biggest buzz I've had for years".
It was an interesting time in the internet as well, the start of Youtube. It made it even easier for people to access these new songs. A lot of the videos are very low quality, but I looked at a bunch of them regardless. This dedicated community on Youtube is something the band have acknowledged themselves.
"Marty: "I think the most exciting thing for Radiohead fans, and it's really a testament to how open they are and accepting they are of your music, that you're playing so many new songs on this tour."
Thom: "Yeah, I can't believe we can get away with it."
Marty: "Eight songs. Songs for the most part that no one has heard. Nine. And no one has heard these songs, really. Not legally..."
Thom: "Well, you can go on YouTube (both laugh) they're all over YouTube, plus my silly dancing."
Thom: I don't uh.... I like... I'll tell you what I do like. ‘Cause when we were out on tour, the first time we did "All I Need" was uh... it was, I mean it was [undecipherable] a good version in Chicago, and like 40 minutes after we came off it was on youtube. First time we'd done it, you know? And it's sort of like a bizarre—I mean it's all crunchy, it's all from mobile phone but... ah, that's sort of an element of it I really find incredibly exciting.
Thom: "Well, we did... we did like four weeks in the US, after the shows around here. And um, it was really, really good fun. We actually did a big festival called Bonnaroo as well, which was a real buzz, um, biggest buzz I've had for years, actually, to be honest. It's like eighty thousand people."
Steve: "Why? Was is the size, or the fact that you were playing fresh material, or..."
Thom: "Um. Yeah, it was the fact that we were playing fresh material, they seemed to know most of it, which was mad! They seemed to know most of it off YouTube, you know, like... 'cause people are taking their mobiles with the 2 Gig like harddrives and then like mailing them straight onto YouTube, it's just insane! Ermm..."
Steve: "Is that a double-edged sword? Because, on the one hand..."
Thom: "The quality is so whack, I mean..."
Steve: "Is it..."
Thom: "You're not really losing a great deal I don't think. It's... I mean, I quite like that, to be honest. The fact that it's so bitty and well, literally crushed.
Also, Thom released The Eraser, debuting his solo career.
2006 is one of my favourite years in Radiohead history. I've watched and listened to every concert I could get my hands on. I know there's a few more out there I haven't heard yet.
bla bla. forget all that. this is making it sound a lot more intellectual than it acually is. The real reason is simply because i like thoms beard also in general he's cute