There There
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| “There There” | |||||
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| Single by Radiohead from the album Hail to the Thief |
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| B-side | "Paperbag Writer" "Where Bluebirds Fly" |
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| Released | 26 May 2003 | ||||
| Format | CD, 12" | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock, art rock | ||||
| Length | 5:23 | ||||
| Label | Parlophone | ||||
| Producer | Nigel Godrich, Radiohead | ||||
| Radiohead singles chronology | |||||
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| Hail to the Thief track listing | |||||
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"There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere.)" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, featured on their album Hail to the Thief (2003) and released prior to the album as its first single. "There There" reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart and #1 in Canada. It also received moderate airplay from US modern rock stations and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance, making it the band's most successful single on the radio since "Optimistic" in 2000.
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[edit] Musical style
Like many Radiohead songs of the 2000s, "There There" is described by the band as heavily indebted to the band Can, whose songs Radiohead have also covered. Co-produced by Radiohead and Nigel Godrich, the track apparently made lead singer Thom Yorke well up with tears when he heard it in its completed, mixed and mastered state. "There There" is often referred to as one of the greatest Radiohead songs. In the final studio recording found on Hail to the Thief and released as a single, the song begins with a synthetic rhythm. However, live performances of "There there" always begin with all members of Radiohead (except Yorke and bassist Colin Greenwood) on drums. The song has frequently been a concert opener since 2002, when it made its official debut as part of a tour of Portugal and Spain. An incomplete version of the song had been played in a live Internet webcast by Radiohead in early 2001; this version appeared as a b-side later in 2003 on the single "2 + 2 = 5". The song has also been performed solo on acoustic guitar by Thom Yorke on several occasions, beginning at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit in October 2002. This single has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
[edit] Themes and video
The alternate title for the song as listed on the track listing for the album is The Boney King of Nowhere. This is apparently in reference to an episode of the British children's television show Bagpuss, of which Yorke and his young son are professed fans. A Bagpuss-inspired music video was filmed for "There there." Directed by Chris Hopewell, it features Yorke wandering through a dark forest and meeting animals in a fairy tale atmosphere, ending with a stark moral. The video received an award for art direction at the 2003 MTV Video Awards.
Directed by Chris Hopewell, the music video shows singer Thom Yorke entering a forest and finding many creatures involved in human-like activities, like a pair of cats getting married, two squirrels sitting by a fireplace and smoking pipes, etc. He goes from one scene to another, each one increasing in luminosity. Finally he arrives at a clearing where a golden jacket hangs from a tree. He puts the jacket on and also a pair of golden shoes hidden inside the tree. Doing so, he wakes up the crows living on the branches, who chase and attack him. The shoes appear to give him extra speed. The shoes become tangled on the ground and once he steps his own foot back, it turns into wood, and the rest of his body turns into wood as well, and Thom becomes a tree where the crows come to rest on the branches. The video was filmed at one-quarter regular speed; as a result it looks jumpy, as if some of the frames are missing.
[edit] Track listing
- "There There" - 5:23
- "Paperbag Writer" - 3:58
- "Where Bluebirds Fly" - 4:32
[edit] B-sides
The single for "There there" featured two b-sides: "Paperbag Writer" and "Where Bluebirds Fly." "Paperbag Writer" was created mostly by Yorke, with band member Colin Greenwood adding a bassline. "Where Bluebirds Fly," an electronic piece with wordless vocals, was originally heard as the band's entrance music on their 2002 tour. It has received one live performance: in March 2005, Thom Yorke performed it at the UK Ether Festival with the Arab Orchestra of Nazareth and soloist Lubna Salame, and the London Sinfonietta, also backed by ondes martenot played by band member Jonny Greenwood.
[edit] Release
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue number |
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| Japan | 21 May 2003 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | TOCP 40161 |
| United Kingdom | 26 May 2003 | Parlophone | 12" | 12R6608 |
| CD | CDR6608 |
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "In da Club" by 50 Cent |
Canadian number-one single June 14, 2003 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Clay Aiken |
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