Radiohead Couldn’t Care Less About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Radiohead are expected to be first-ballot shoe-ins for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when nominees are announced later this year. They are distinctly unmoved.
"It seems very show-biz and I'm not very show-biz," guitarist Ed O'Brien tells Rolling Stone. "We haven't even been asked. I don't want to be rude. But if you ask me what I'd rather be doing that night, I'd rather be sitting at home in front of the fire or going to a gig."
And O'Brien wasn't alone. Multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood also piled on, stating flatly that he didn't care. "Maybe it's a cultural thing that I really don't understand," he added. "It's quite a self-regarding profession anyway, and anything that heightens that just makes me feel even more uncomfortable."
Frontman Thom Yorke demurred, saying he "always puts my foot in my mouth" when asked about such things, while drummer Phil Selway seemed genuinely surprised that Radiohead were already eligible. "We'd have to sit down and talk about it," he said, "but it's probably not at the top of my list of things to do."
That left bassist Colin Greenwood, who bucked the trend. "I'd be grateful if we got in," he said. "Look at the other people that have been inducted."
His enthusiasm in the face of so much general band apathy would leave him in a distinctly uncomfortable position, should Radiohead have to take the stage at some future hall of fame induction ceremony. "I don't know if everyone else will go though," Colin said. "It might be me just doing bass versions of everything like, 'Come on, you know this one!' I'd have to play the bass part to 'Creep' five times."
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