Life in a Glasshouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Life in a Glasshouse” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Radiohead | ||
| Album | Amnesiac | |
| Released | 4 June 2001 | |
| Recorded | Late 2000 | |
| Genre | Jazz, Art rock | |
| Length | 4:34 | |
| Label | EMI, Parlophone, Capitol | |
| Producer | Nigel Godrich, Radiohead | |
| Amnesiac track listing | ||
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For the Gentle Giant album, see In a Glass House.
"Life in a Glasshouse" is a song written by the English alternative rock band Radiohead that appears on their 2001 album Amnesiac. It is performed by lead singer Thom Yorke with the late British trad jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band.
Beginning with a brief atmospheric loop and clanging church-like bells, the song quickly morphs into a funereal New Orleans-style jazz number by a horn section including a clarinet, a trumpet and a trombone. The song is also available with a slightly extended introduction as a b-side to the "Knives Out" single. This version lacks the opening sound effect and instead features a trumpet solo introduction from Lyttelton that is edited out in the album version.
The song follows the Radiohead tradition of having a song that dates back to a previous recording session at the end of the album [1][2]. "Life in a Glasshouse" was initially written for acoustic guitar by Thom Yorke. A fragment of this version dating back to 1997 can be heard in the Meeting People Is Easy documentary, as played in a live sound check. While recording Amnesiac, band members had the idea of enlisting Lyttelton to move the song in a different direction, and wrote to him asking if they could collaborate. Lyttelton listened to one of his grandchildren's copies of the band's OK Computer and agreed. [3] The song was apparently recorded in late 2000, after the release of Kid A, while other tracks on Amnesiac were recorded during the same sessions that produced Kid A.
The song was played once live, again by Yorke with Lyttelton's band (but with Radiohead members Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway on piano and drums respectively), when Radiohead appeared on Later with Jools Holland in 2001. Lyttelton and his longtime trombonist Pete Strange, who both play on the track, have since passed away.
The song also appeared in a scene of the 2006 film Children of Men.
The title "Life in a Glasshouse" is often incorrectly written as "Life in a Glass House". The song also contains the phrase "and don't throw stones", alluding to the popular aphorism: "He who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones".[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Losingtoday.Com - The Indie Music Magazine
- ^ Radiohead Press Cuttings -> Interview with Jonny - January 29th, 1998
- ^ BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Jazz legend joins Radiohead
- ^ Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw s...: Information and Much More from Answers.com
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