Default

Album: Amok (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Atoms For Peace is an Electro-Rock supergroup comprising Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, drummer Joey Waronker and percussionist Mauro Refosco. Yorke originally formed the group to play live the songs from his laptop-driven 2006 solo album, The Eraser, but they were so good in rehearsal that Yorke arranged for three days of studio recording in Los Angeles. After taking a break in the first part of 2011 whilst Radiohead released and toured their The King of Limbs album, the quintet got together to record their debut album, Amok. This is Atom For Peace's debut single, which was released as a digital download on September 10, 2012.
  • The song originated with a mistake on a sampler in Yorke's studio. He told Rolling Stone: "I hadn't patched it in right. It was giving me a tone that, when I put it with a melody, I was like 'That's nice!' I had that when Nigel and I were doing The Eraser."
  • The band took its name from a song on Eraser, which itself was taken from a 1953 speech by American President Dwight D. Eisenhower. On Atom For Peace's website, under their name, is the Cornish phrase "Nerth Nuclerek? Na Vynnav," which translates as "Nuclear Energy? I Don't Want."
  • The song's music video finds Thom Yorke and contemporary dancer Fukiko Takase engaged in some avant garde moves in an empty auditorium. The clip was conceived and directed by Garth Jennings and choreographed by Wayne McGregor, the same team who were behind Yorke's manic dancing in the visual for Radiohead's "Lotus Flower."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Benny Mardones

Benny MardonesSongwriter Interviews

His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.

Kerry Livgren of Kansas

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.