There there

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"There there"
"There there" cover
Single by Radiohead
from the album Hail to the Thief
Released 26 May 2003
Format CD, 12"
Recorded 2002
Genre Alternative
Length 5:23
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich, Radiohead
Chart positions
Radiohead singles chronology
"Knives Out"
(2001)
"There there"
(2003)
"Go to Sleep"
(2003)

"There there" is a song by the band Radiohead, featured on their album Hail to the Thief (2003) and released prior to the album as the first single.

"There there" reached number four on the UK singles chart and number one 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 radio single since "Karma Police" in 1997.

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.

Though in the final studio recording found on Hail to the Thief and released as a single, the song begins with a synthetic rhythm, live performances of "There there" always begin with all members of Radiohead (except Yorke and 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. 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.

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.

The singles for "There there" featured two b-sides. "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.

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.

Contents

[edit] Track listings

[edit] In the UK

  • CD CDR6608, 12" 12R6608
  1. "There there" - 5:23
  2. "Paperbag Writer" - 3:58
  3. "Where Bluebirds Fly" - 4:32

[edit] In Japan

  1. "There there" - 5:23
  2. "Paperbag Writer" - 3:58
  3. "Where Bluebirds Fly" - 4:32

[edit] In Canada

  1. "There there" - 5:23
  2. "Paperbag Writer" - 3:58
  3. "Where Bluebirds Fly" - 4:32
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

[edit] External links

Radiohead
Thom Yorke | Jonny Greenwood | Ed O'Brien | Colin Greenwood | Phil Selway
Stanley Donwood | Nigel Godrich
Discography
Albums: Pablo Honey | The Bends | OK Computer | Kid A | Amnesiac | Hail to the Thief
EPs: Drill | Itch | My Iron Lung | No Surprises/Running from Demons | Airbag/How Am I Driving? | I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings | COM LAG (2plus2isfive)
DVDs: Live at the Astoria
| 7 Television Commercials | Meeting People Is Easy | The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth Of All Time
Singles: Creep | Anyone Can Play Guitar | Pop Is Dead | Stop Whispering | My Iron Lung | High and Dry/Planet Telex | Fake Plastic Trees | Just | Street Spirit (Fade Out) | Paranoid Android | Karma Police | No Surprises | Pyramid Song | Knives Out | There There | Go to Sleep | 2 + 2 = 5
Side projects
Bodysong | The Eraser | Spitting Feathers
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