There is a perceived pecking order within Radiohead of which most fans of the band are familiar.
Thom Yorke is the catalyst within the band, the brains and brilliance of the operation and Jonny Greenwood is arguably the most talented and diverse member in the band. Greenwood, the younger brother of bassist Colin, is probably the most vital part of Radiohead’s sound.
Aside from Jonny and Yorke, the talents of the band’s other three musicians are much more under-the-radar. Bassist Colin Greenwood might just be the best bassist in the world right now, but because of the instrument he plays there isn’t the instant ‘Oh my goodness’ quality to his contribution within Radiohead.
Ed O’Brien is the band’s second guitarist and often gets stuck with some of the non-guitar parts and is used in such ways that make a Radiohead song as enjoyable to listen to on the 150th time as the first.
And then you have Phil Selway, who is a talented drummer, but takes a back seat to the other four members of his band. Selway is the unheralded member of Radiohead, in charge of keeping time in order for Greenwood and Yorke to add their unique brilliance to each song. Selway is also the least heard-from member of the band and somebody I’m absolutely fascinated with.
Selway is currently in the process of releasing a new record called Familial in which he brances off from Radiohead in order to work as a solo artist and release a record of songs completely different from what his core fanbase knows him for.
The Radiohead drummer is currently in the process of promoting his solo record and, as a result, recently talked to US Magazine…
US: OK. This record has the same brooding vibe; it’s got the darkness to it but very poetic at the same time. How is it different from the stuff that you’ve done with Radiohead?
PS: I suppose if you’re suggesting musically on the whole, Radiohead operates on a much larger picture, if you like. Musically, there is a lot of space and you have these delicate layers, delicate detailed layers all on top of each other, and in the middle of that I suppose there’s me, which is a different side of me from what’s emerged in Radiohead. It filled something that is identifying me in there, which I don’t think would be a very appropriate thing for me to do in Radiohead.
US: Do you like being front and center as opposed being in the back with the drums?
PS: It’s something I’m learning about, really. It has its fun moments. It certainly sheds a different light on yourself as well. That whole sense of actually moving on and learning more about yourself, yeah. It’s a good process to go through. It’s all part of the same grand plan, isn’t it? From a performance point of view, it’s all stagecraft; it’s just learning a different kind of stagecraft.
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This post was written by Eric Van Dril. For more of his writing, visit his Twitter.