Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood says he has enlisted Supergrass to finish one of his band’s unreleased songs. Spooks, which Radiohead have been playing live since 2006, was recorded by members of Supergrass for the upcoming film soundtrack for Inherent Vice.
On Monday, Greenwood responded to reports that Radiohead had recorded Spooks for Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming Thomas Pynchon adaptation. “I rewrote [Spooks] and got Supergrass to play it,” he tweeted . “It’s good, but not very [Radiohead]!” Even that tweet was eventually revised: “In fact only 2/3 supergrass,” Greenwood wrote. That “two-thirds” could imply guitarist Gaz Coombes and drummer Danny Goffey, who performed with Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood at a 2011 Velvet Underground tribute following Supergrass’s split.
The new version of Spooks is a little different than the one Radiohead had been road-testing. “It’s really a half idea we never made work live,” Greenwood tweeted. “It’s better now than the pixies/surf pastiche it was.” As for whether Radiohead will ever revisit the tune: “Maybe one day,” he wrote.
Greenwood composed the complete score for Inherent Vice, much as he did for Anderson’s two prior films, There Will Be Blood and The Master. He reportedly worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the soundtrack also features music by Can, Sam Cooke, the Tornados and two songs by Neil Young.
Meanwhile, Radiohead have recently started “baby steps” toward a new studio album, according to drummer Phil Selway. “We’re just starting to get back together now,” he told QMI Agency this week. Selway and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke have both just released new solo albums.
