Meeting People Is Easy
Encyclopedia
Meeting People Is Easy, first released on 30 November 1998, is a rockumentary
by Grant Gee
following British
alternative rock
band Radiohead
on their exhaustive world tour following the success of their 1997 album OK Computer
. The film was nominated for a Grammy Award
in the "Best Long Form Music Video
" category in 2000.
's 1997 release OK Computer
, containing a collage of video clips, sound bites, and dialogue going behind the scenes with the band on their world tour, showing the eventual burn-out of the group as the world tour progresses. The inaugural show of the OK Computer tour began on 22 May 1997 in Barcelona, Spain. Their final performance, 104 concerts later, was in New York
's Radio City Music Hall
.
Unlike other music documentaries, the film does not focus on the band's friendship with one another, families, or anything else outside the direct production, promotion and touring of a record. Most of the film contains footage consisting of music writing, concerts, promotional material, and abstract
video footage.
During interviews, the rock group take on critics, record-label hype and American modern-rock radio, which Yorke compares to "a fridge buzzing." This coincides with the soundtrack of the film, with sounds that weave in and out of snatches of interviews, conversations, and songs. Along with this "radio wave" effect is a series of edits and quickly moving shots with stills, slow tracking shots, time-lapse photography, and colour/black-and-white film and video.
The documentary opens with video taken from the back of a subway train, along with the track "Fitter Happier" from OK Computer
. This cuts to the band members reading off several dozen radio intros. Interspliced with the promotional material is live footage taken from various venues around the world, including the song "Karma Police
" on Late Show with David Letterman
.
Included in the documentary are various video clips of television appearances, newspaper articles, and other mentions of Radiohead in the media. In a clip from a Sky News
programme, presenter Kay Burley
comments on the video for the band's song "No Surprises
", saying "Music to cut your wrists to. … It's the most miserable-sounding tune I've ever heard." While watching the video, the programme's music reviewer quips "You'll probably quite enjoy it because he actually drowns at the end". The making of the video is then shown, where frontman Thom Yorke
is lip-synching while trapped in a tank of rising water.
The world tour that is the subject of the film has subsequently been admitted as a low point for the band, specifically Yorke, who had a near-breakdown. As "On Your Own Again" by Scott Walker
plays on the soundtrack, Yorke is seen placing a note that reads "i am not here and this is not really happening" on his hotel windowpane, which looks out onto midtown Manhattan
. This message was suggested by his friend Michael Stipe
(singer of R.E.M.
) as a way of dissociating himself from everything around him. This would form the background of Radiohead's recording sessions beginning in 1999 for their next albums Kid A
and Amnesiac
, inspiring a different songwriting and recording style and the band's changed sound after OK Computer.
explained the production process of filming Meeting People Is Easy. Gee explains that Radiohead "sat in these hotel suites for three days, four suites booked up simultaneously" doing interviews; 20-minute slots for interviews, a 40-minute slot if it was a bigger newspaper or magazine. To film and record every individual interview, Gee had to have been "running around, leaving a microphone in one room, going and filming something in another".
Versions and live performances of songs that were already released or eventually released:
on 30 November 1998 in the United Kingdom
, later on 12 June 2000 on DVD
. It was released in both VHS and DVD
format on 18 May 1999 in the United States
.
In subsequent years EMI and other record labels had released countless DVDs to promote pop and rock acts, as the format has become dominant over VHS in most parts of the world. In 1999, the film became the first DVD ever released by Radiohead's record label EMI
/Parlophone
/Capitol Records
.
Several television channels broadcast Meeting People Is Easy after its release. In the UK, Channel 4
broadcast the film on 6 May 1999. In the U.S., MTV
broadcast a premiere of the film on 16 May 1999, and The Sundance Channel broadcast the documentary 9 times during May 2000.
Meeting People Is Easy had been released for screening in movie theatres, but not widely.
Film screenings included the following:
Since Meeting People Is Easy Radiohead have released only one DVD, the 2004
limited release The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
, based on material taken from their website.
and Thom Yorke, similar to OK Computer
-era artwork. The VHS box spine and the DVD booklet contain the following text:
The back of the package has the lyrics for the aforementioned "Big Boots" intentionally misprinted:
, giving it 71% freshness. Reviewer Jessica Brandt of theshrubbery.com gave 4 out of 5 stars. Film critic Daniel Fletcher named Meeting People is Easy one of his ten favourite films.
Troy Patterson, a critic for Entertainment Weekly
, gave the film a B, calling it "an expressive mood piece creepy with cosmopolitan paranoia and bracingly somber bombast".
Bart Blasengame gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "Instead of taking the usual tour documentary approach and dwelling on individual concerts or behind-the-scenes banter between the band, Gee's film focuses on the absurdity of being an important rock band in the current musical landscape - the shallow marketing of the band, the endless stream of redundant interviews, the blinding photo shoots and awkward television appearances."
Kevin Archibald of IGN
gave the film a rating of 6/10. He noted that the film would not interest the casual Radiohead listener, saying: "If you're a disciple of Radiohead you'll probably notch this at around a 9. For myself, and casual fans like me, I expect you will tire of the film long before the credits roll."
in the "Best Long Form Music Video
" category in 2000.
Rockumentary
The term rockumentary is a neologism denoting a documentary about rock music or its musicians. The term was used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast, and by Rob Reiner in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap....
by Grant Gee
Grant Gee
Grant Gee is a film director and cinematographer currently living in Brighton. He was born in Plymouth and studied Geography at St Catherine's College, Oxford....
following British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
on their exhaustive world tour following the success of their 1997 album OK Computer
OK Computer
OK Computer is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 16 June 1997 on Parlophone in the UK and 1 July 1997 by Capitol Records in the US. It marks a deliberate attempt by the band to move away from the introspective guitar-oriented sound of their previous...
. The film was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the "Best Long Form Music Video
Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally named the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality videos or musical programs...
" category in 2000.
Plot
Meeting People Is Easy takes place during the promotion of RadioheadRadiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's 1997 release OK Computer
OK Computer
OK Computer is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 16 June 1997 on Parlophone in the UK and 1 July 1997 by Capitol Records in the US. It marks a deliberate attempt by the band to move away from the introspective guitar-oriented sound of their previous...
, containing a collage of video clips, sound bites, and dialogue going behind the scenes with the band on their world tour, showing the eventual burn-out of the group as the world tour progresses. The inaugural show of the OK Computer tour began on 22 May 1997 in Barcelona, Spain. Their final performance, 104 concerts later, was in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
.
Unlike other music documentaries, the film does not focus on the band's friendship with one another, families, or anything else outside the direct production, promotion and touring of a record. Most of the film contains footage consisting of music writing, concerts, promotional material, and abstract
Abstraction
Abstraction is a process by which higher concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal concepts, first principles, or other methods....
video footage.
During interviews, the rock group take on critics, record-label hype and American modern-rock radio, which Yorke compares to "a fridge buzzing." This coincides with the soundtrack of the film, with sounds that weave in and out of snatches of interviews, conversations, and songs. Along with this "radio wave" effect is a series of edits and quickly moving shots with stills, slow tracking shots, time-lapse photography, and colour/black-and-white film and video.
The documentary opens with video taken from the back of a subway train, along with the track "Fitter Happier" from OK Computer
OK Computer
OK Computer is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 16 June 1997 on Parlophone in the UK and 1 July 1997 by Capitol Records in the US. It marks a deliberate attempt by the band to move away from the introspective guitar-oriented sound of their previous...
. This cuts to the band members reading off several dozen radio intros. Interspliced with the promotional material is live footage taken from various venues around the world, including the song "Karma Police
Karma Police
"Karma Police" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead from their 1997 third studio album OK Computer. The song's title and lyrics derive from an in-joke among the band, referring to the Hindu theory of retributive enforcement, known as karma....
" on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
.
Included in the documentary are various video clips of television appearances, newspaper articles, and other mentions of Radiohead in the media. In a clip from a Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
programme, presenter Kay Burley
Kay Burley
Kay Burley is an English television newsreader, presenter and journalist. She currently anchors the Afternoon Live programme on the Sky News station.-Early life:...
comments on the video for the band's song "No Surprises
No Surprises
"No Surprises" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released as the third and final single from the group's 1997 album OK Computer. It was accompanied by a music video that featured a single shot of singer Thom Yorke's head in a plastic bubble filling with water. The single peaked...
", saying "Music to cut your wrists to. … It's the most miserable-sounding tune I've ever heard." While watching the video, the programme's music reviewer quips "You'll probably quite enjoy it because he actually drowns at the end". The making of the video is then shown, where frontman Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke
Thomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
is lip-synching while trapped in a tank of rising water.
The world tour that is the subject of the film has subsequently been admitted as a low point for the band, specifically Yorke, who had a near-breakdown. As "On Your Own Again" by Scott Walker
Scott Walker (singer)
Scott Walker, born Noel Scott Engel on January 9, 1943 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and the former lead singer of The Walker Brothers. Despite being American born, Walker's chart success has largely come in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums...
plays on the soundtrack, Yorke is seen placing a note that reads "i am not here and this is not really happening" on his hotel windowpane, which looks out onto midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
. This message was suggested by his friend Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
(singer of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
) as a way of dissociating himself from everything around him. This would form the background of Radiohead's recording sessions beginning in 1999 for their next albums Kid A
Kid A
Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in October 2000 by the Parlophone label. A commercial success worldwide, Kid A went platinum in its first week of release in the United Kingdom. Despite the lack of an official single or music video as publicity, Kid A...
and Amnesiac
Amnesiac
Amnesiac was generally well-received by critics. It was also ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. The Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll ranked it number 6 on their top 10 albums of the year. Alternative Press declared it the #1 album of the year...
, inspiring a different songwriting and recording style and the band's changed sound after OK Computer.
Production
In an interview, director Grant GeeGrant Gee
Grant Gee is a film director and cinematographer currently living in Brighton. He was born in Plymouth and studied Geography at St Catherine's College, Oxford....
explained the production process of filming Meeting People Is Easy. Gee explains that Radiohead "sat in these hotel suites for three days, four suites booked up simultaneously" doing interviews; 20-minute slots for interviews, a 40-minute slot if it was a bigger newspaper or magazine. To film and record every individual interview, Gee had to have been "running around, leaving a microphone in one room, going and filming something in another".
Soundtrack
Although Meeting People Is Easy is not a traditional concert film as it often cuts away from songs before they are finished, it features clips of several recordings that are not found in other official releases:- "Follow Me Around," played by Yorke on an acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
to an empty auditorium, with the rest of the band later joining in. This track was known only from this film, and in 2000 during the band's Toronto concert it was performed live during the encore following a female fan's vocal request—Thom responded to the fan, and then played Follow Me Around to an ecstatic audience. Yorke has since performed the song several times at solo appearances, or included a few lines from the song in Radiohead performances, but the song has never been performed with the full band. The lyrics of later versions differ, referencing former UK Prime Minister Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, with Yorke singing "Did you lie to us, Tony?/We thought you were different/Now, y'know, we're not so sure" at Earl's Court in November 2003.
- The band's ultimately scrapped recording sessions for "Big Boots" (AKA "Man O War"), then planned as an addition to The Avengers film soundtrack.
- Several unidentified brief instrumental keyboard pieces are heard in the background during the film. Some have noted a possible similarity between one of these and the song "Sit Down. Stand Up." on the band's 2003 album Hail to the ThiefHail to the ThiefHail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in June 2003 through Parlophone Records. After two Radiohead albums that featured heavily processed vocals, less guitar, and strong influence from experimental electronica and jazz, Hail to the Thief was seen...
.
Versions and live performances of songs that were already released or eventually released:
- A brief clip of Yorke singing an early version of "I Will" in soundcheck.
- An acoustic guitar version of "Life in a Glasshouse" performed by Yorke in soundcheck.
- Clips of the band mixing the song "Palo Alto", intercut with urban scenes of JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
- An early version of "How to Disappear Completely" from a 1998 tour.
- Partial performances and recordings of most songs on OK Computer and some of that era's b-sidesB-SidesB-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy, consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.-Track list:#Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation...
, including a long sequence featuring instrumental song "Meeting in the Aisle."
- Several performances of "Creep".
- A sample from what would later become "Cymbal Rush"" on Thom Yorke's album The EraserThe EraserThe Eraser is the debut solo album by Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke, released on 10 July 2006. The album debuted at #3 on the UK Albums Chart and at #2 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling over 90,000 copies in its first week. Critical reception to the album was generally positive...
.
- A live performance of "NudeNude (song)"Nude" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, appearing as the third track on their 2007 album In Rainbows. The song was released as the second single from In Rainbows on 31 March 2008. "Nude" was written in 1997, and the band began to perform it live soon after. However, a recording was not...
" from a 1998 tour, which would later be released on In RainbowsIn RainbowsIn Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was first released on 10 October 2007 as a digital download self-released, that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit, followed by a standard CD release in most countries during the last week of 2007. The...
nearly a decade later.
- Very brief clips of live performances of "Planet TelexPlanet Telex"Planet Telex" is a song written by Radiohead and is the opening track of their 1995 album The Bends. It was released as a double A-side single with "High and Dry", although receiving far less airplay...
" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)Street Spirit (Fade Out)"Street Spirit " is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, featured on their second studio album The Bends, which was released in 1995...
".
Release
Meeting People Is Easy was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
on 30 November 1998 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, later on 12 June 2000 on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. It was released in both VHS and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format on 18 May 1999 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In subsequent years EMI and other record labels had released countless DVDs to promote pop and rock acts, as the format has become dominant over VHS in most parts of the world. In 1999, the film became the first DVD ever released by Radiohead's record label EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
/Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
/Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.
Several television channels broadcast Meeting People Is Easy after its release. In the UK, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
broadcast the film on 6 May 1999. In the U.S., MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
broadcast a premiere of the film on 16 May 1999, and The Sundance Channel broadcast the documentary 9 times during May 2000.
Meeting People Is Easy had been released for screening in movie theatres, but not widely.
Film screenings included the following:
- Boston, Massachusetts - Brattle Theatre, 30 April – 6 May 1999
- Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
- Cleveland Film Festival: Cleveland Cinemateque, 1–2 May 1999 - Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
- The Magic Bag, 2 May 1999 - Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
- Main Art Theatre, 7–8 May 1999 - Ithaca, New YorkIthaca, New YorkThe city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
- Cornell Cinema, 13, 14, 16 May 1999 - Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
- Egyptian Theatre, 11–12 June 1999 - NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
- Filmquart Film Festival, 9 July 1999 - Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
- Jihlava Film Festival, October 2001
Since Meeting People Is Easy Radiohead have released only one DVD, the 2004
2004 in music
See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....
limited release The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time is a collection of twenty-four short films from English alternative rock band Radiohead, directed and edited by Chris Bran, one half of the Vapour Brothers....
, based on material taken from their website.
Cover art
The home video packaging and cover art is by Stanley DonwoodStanley Donwood
Stanley Donwood is the pen name of English artist Dan Rickwood. Donwood is known for his close association with the British rock group Radiohead, having created all their album and poster art...
and Thom Yorke, similar to OK Computer
OK Computer
OK Computer is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 16 June 1997 on Parlophone in the UK and 1 July 1997 by Capitol Records in the US. It marks a deliberate attempt by the band to move away from the introspective guitar-oriented sound of their previous...
-era artwork. The VHS box spine and the DVD booklet contain the following text:
- "If you have been rejected many times in your life, then one more rejection isn't going to make much difference. If you're rejected, don't automatically assume it's your fault. The other person may have several reasons for not doing what you are asking her to do: none of it may have anything to do with you. Perhaps the person is busy or not feeling well or genuinely not interested in spending time with you. Rejections are part of everyday life. Don't let them bother you. Keep reaching out to others. When you begin to receive positive responses then you are on the right track. It's all a matter of numbers. Count the positive responses and forget about the rejections."
The back of the package has the lyrics for the aforementioned "Big Boots" intentionally misprinted:
- "drift all you want fromocean to ocean.search the whole world. but drunken confessions and hijacked affairs will just make yumore Alone.If you come home ill bake youa Cake made of all their yeyesi wish you coould seeme dressd for the Kill.what a nastySURPRISE.unplug thephone.stop all the taps.itall comes flooding back.from poison cloud to poisoned dwarf>>>what a nastydulkbhs SURPRISE.the wormsll come for you big boots"
Critical reception
Reception for Meeting People Is Easy was generally positive. The film received an average rating of 6.5/10 on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, giving it 71% freshness. Reviewer Jessica Brandt of theshrubbery.com gave 4 out of 5 stars. Film critic Daniel Fletcher named Meeting People is Easy one of his ten favourite films.
Troy Patterson, a critic for Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, gave the film a B, calling it "an expressive mood piece creepy with cosmopolitan paranoia and bracingly somber bombast".
Bart Blasengame gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "Instead of taking the usual tour documentary approach and dwelling on individual concerts or behind-the-scenes banter between the band, Gee's film focuses on the absurdity of being an important rock band in the current musical landscape - the shallow marketing of the band, the endless stream of redundant interviews, the blinding photo shoots and awkward television appearances."
Kevin Archibald of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the film a rating of 6/10. He noted that the film would not interest the casual Radiohead listener, saying: "If you're a disciple of Radiohead you'll probably notch this at around a 9. For myself, and casual fans like me, I expect you will tire of the film long before the credits roll."
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for a Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the "Best Long Form Music Video
Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally named the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality videos or musical programs...
" category in 2000.