Radiohead is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Having nary an album lacking critical acclaim to their discography and with virtually every North American date on their current tour selling out within minutes of going on sale, even the slightest bit of activity from Radiohead makes noise in the world of music.
Today Pitchfork is reporting some new music coming from Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. The 46-year-old musician tweeted out an announcement of a new piece called “88 (No. 1),” a piano solo. The only catch is, it’s not available to listen to, you’ll have to look at the sheet music and play it yourself if you’re interested in hearing it.
Not only is the new piece exclusively available as sheet music, it was also apparently inspired by Glen Gould.
Jonny Greenwood announced the new song via his official Twitter account. Greenwood is also famous for scoring films, most notably the films of Paul Thomas Anderson. There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, The Master , and most recently Phantom Thread all tout Greenwood as their music composers. All of the aforementioned films also received massive critical acclaim, not just for the films but also for Greenwood’s original scores as well.
Phantom Thread earned Greenwood his first Academy Award nomination for scoring and also earned Paul Thomas Anderson his eighth Oscar nomination in his filmmaking career.
New piano music on paper out today. It’s inspired by Glen Gould, and by the glorious mechanics of the thing. https://t.co/4SRUHR8Ytl @kat_tinker (who played this version first) @JRhodesPianist (the only other pianist I follow) pic.twitter.com/74OFYFuoHK
— Jonny Greenwood (@JnnyG) July 10, 2018
To make matters worse, this piece of music isn’t something one can learn to play over a weekend. The description from Faber Music states this piece isn’t exactly for beginners.
“[’88 (no. 1)’ is] a contemporary work for solo piano, suitable for advanced-level players, consisting of two movements, slow and fast.”
Radiohead’s most recent album was released in 2016 and titled A Moon Shaped Pool . It featured the lead single “Burn The Witch” and the follow-up single “Daydreaming,” featuring a music video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Since then the band has toured in support of the album off and on. Most recently they played Chicago for two nights to two sold-out crowds. Filling United Center to capacity on July 6 and 7, and pleasing fans with favorites like “Pyramid Song,” “Everything In Its Right Place,” and “Exit Music (For A Film),” Radiohead appeared to give fans their money’s worth.
They closed the short Chicago residency with their colossal ’90s hit “Karma Police.” Radiohead even managed to make time for “Blow Out,” from their debut album Pablo Honey . The band generally refrains from playing tracks off Pablo Honey, though occasionally they play “Creep” on rare occasions.
On July 13, Radiohead will wrap up a three-night stint in New York to sold-out crowds at Madison Square Garden. While the shows are completely sold out, resale tickets for the remaining dates have been popping up online ranging between $249 for upper-level seating, all the way up to $949 for general admission floor spots.
