The Eraser
Encyclopedia
The 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. The Eraser was nominated for both the Mercury Music Prize and the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
in 2007.
The song "Analyse" is featured in the ending credits of the film The Prestige
and "Black Swan" in A Scanner Darkly
.
A remix album titled "The Eraser Rmxs" was released originally as three 3-track EPs on 12" vinyl and as digital downloads in December 2007. It was later released as a CD & 12" vinyl in Japan in May/June 2008 and the US in August 2008.
by Nigel Godrich
, comprises of songs written and played by Yorke alone, is "more beats and electronics".
In an email to a Radiohead fan site, Yorke said, "I don't wanna hear that word solo", and asserted that the work was done with "their blessing", whilst the spokesman asserted that Radiohead were not breaking up. Radiohead launched a tour to play their own new material, nearly coinciding with the announcement. Yorke said that some of the tracks for The Eraser had been "kicking around in the background". Two songs, the title track and "Black Swan", use samples
of recordings made by other members of the band.
The title track, "The Eraser" was co-written with Radiohead member Jonny Greenwood
, and is based on piano chords (namely Cadd6 and Dadd6). Yorke revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone
, that the piano parts played by Greenwood were recorded on a dictaphone
at his house; "A year and a half later, I had to own up that I had sampled them, cut them into a different order and made them into a song [laughs]. Is that all right? Sorry, Jonny."
"Analyse" was inspired by a blackout
Yorke experienced in Oxford
. Yorke used to live on a "historical street" with 1860s built houses in central Oxford and upon arriving home one night, the street suffered a power cut. Yorke explained; "The houses were all dark, with candlelight in the windows, which is obviously how it would have been when they were built. It was beautiful."
"Black Swan" dates back to the Kid A
sessions, which "has this tiny, shredded segment of something", a sample created in 2000 by Ed
and Phil
, which Yorke "sliced [...] into bits."
Yorke stated that "And It Rained All Night" has an "enormously shredded-up element of "The Gloaming" [from Hail to the Thief
]", which Yorke recalled creating in New York
because he couldn't sleep one night as a result of heavy rainfall. Yorke commented on the bassline of the song that it created "little pockets of excitement that [he'd] missed for so long."
"Cymbal Rush" is derived from "Try to Save Your Prize", a musical track from The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth Of All Time
. Yorke reported that "Cymbal Rush" contained an element he had for three years, one little note from which he could "hear the melody in there straightaway." However, he said that "if you played it to anyone else without [him] singing it, you'd think, 'What's he on about?'"
. Yorke was a spokesman for Friends of the Earth
's "The Big Ask" campaign to reduce carbon emissions, and Radiohead played the first gig of their 2006 tour at a benefit for the group (performing "Cymbal Rush" before the album was announced).
In describing his motivation for releasing the album, Yorke said, "I've been in the band since we left school and never dared do anything on my own, and it was like, 'This is getting stupid.' It was like, 'Man, I've got to find out what it feels like,' you know? And it was good. It was a really good time."
Regarding "Harrowdown Hill
", Yorke said he had "already written part of it when he realized it was about David Kelly, a chemical weapons inspector in Iraq
who committed suicide in 2003 after being connected to a leak of British intelligence about weapons of mass destruction." In an interview with The Observer
, Yorke said that "Harrowdown Hill" was "the most angry song [he'd] ever written in [his] life" and stated that he wouldn't discuss the background of it; "it's not for me or for any of us to dig any of this up. So it's a bit of an uncomfortable thing." In an interview with The Globe and Mail
, Yorke said that he had been "feeling really uncomfortable about that song lately" but felt that "not to write it would perhaps have been worse." Yorke also notes that "'Harrowdown Hill' was kicking around during 'Hail to the Thief', but there was no way that was going to work with the band."
The album's cover
, a linocut
by Stanley Donwood
, depicts a figure in black hat and trenchcoat standing in imitation of King Canute
, trying and failing to command the ocean. Around him are iconic London buildings that have been swept away by the Thames, including the Tower of London
, the Houses of Parliament and the Thames Barrier
. Donwood included this picture and other images seen in The Eraser booklet in his art exhibition London Views, prior to the album's release. The images were inspired by a large flood
Donwood and Yorke both witnessed in Cornwall
in 2004. Donwood's cover artwork for the album was announced the winner of the Best Art Vinyl
award of 2006.
The CD packaging of The Eraser is made of cardboard but unlike a digipak
, it does not contain any plastic
. Yorke said this was for environmental reasons; he also said in an interview that he did not have his CDs certified as carbon neutral
as he did not believe carbon offsets were a constructive solution to climate issues.
gave The Eraser a score of 76/100, indicating generally favourable reviews. Critics commented on the uniqueness and fragility of Yorke's voice. Many reviews made comparisons to Radiohead; Andy Kellman of Allmusic stated that the album "sounds as close to a version of Radiohead minus four of its members as one can imagine", and similarities between ideas of The Eraser with Kid A
were frequently noted. However, Kellman also stated that the album differed to music Thom Yorke had created with Radiohead as it "[didn't] have the dynamics [...] held by any Radiohead album". Louis Patterson from NME
stated that "as a twin [to Kid A], it’s every bit the equal" whilst Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
said the album "is full of glitchy electro ballads, in the style of Kid A tracks like "Morning Bell" and "How to Disappear Completely." Writing for The Guardian
, Alexis Petridis stated the album at its worst conjured up "the unlikely image of Autechre
fronted by Private Frazer off Dad's Army
". Petridis described the lyrics as "one long defeated sigh, interrupted by the occasional tut and roll of the eyes" and associated the guitars on "The Clock" with grumbling. However, Petridis did praise the album and stated that "elsewhere, the album offers a plethora of low-key delights", with "And It Rained All Night", which he said had a "compelling tension between the ambivalence of the lyrics - 'how come it looks so beautiful?' - and the music's relentlessness".
except where noted.
Singles
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by 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...
lead singer 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...
, released on 10 July 2006. The album debuted at #3 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and at #2 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in the United States, selling over 90,000 copies in its first week. Critical reception to the album was generally positive. The Eraser was nominated for both the Mercury Music Prize and the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative rock genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
in 2007.
The song "Analyse" is featured in the ending credits of the film The Prestige
The Prestige (film)
The Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
and "Black Swan" in A Scanner Darkly
A Scanner Darkly (film)
A Scanner Darkly is a 2006 science fiction thriller directed by Richard Linklater based on the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick. The film tells the story of identity and deception in a near-future dystopia constantly under intrusive high-technology police surveillance in the midst of a drug...
.
A remix album titled "The Eraser Rmxs" was released originally as three 3-track EPs on 12" vinyl and as digital downloads in December 2007. It was later released as a CD & 12" vinyl in Japan in May/June 2008 and the US in August 2008.
Background
On 11 May 2006, Yorke posted, without explanation, a link to the site theeraser.net on the Dead Air Space section of the official Radiohead website. Two days later, in an email sent to the owners of several Radiohead fan sites through W.A.S.T.E. (Radiohead's online shop), Yorke announced he was making an album and revealed a few details: it was producedRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Nigel Godrich
Nigel Godrich
Nigel Godrich, , is a recording engineer, record producer and musician. He is best known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead and is sometimes referred to as the "sixth member" of the band...
, comprises of songs written and played by Yorke alone, is "more beats and electronics".
In an email to a Radiohead fan site, Yorke said, "I don't wanna hear that word solo", and asserted that the work was done with "their blessing", whilst the spokesman asserted that Radiohead were not breaking up. Radiohead launched a tour to play their own new material, nearly coinciding with the announcement. Yorke said that some of the tracks for The Eraser had been "kicking around in the background". Two songs, the title track and "Black Swan", use samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of recordings made by other members of the band.
Production
The Eraser was produced, arranged and engineered by Nigel Godrich.The title track, "The Eraser" was co-written with Radiohead member Jonny Greenwood
Jonny Greenwood
Jonathan Richard Guy "Jonny" Greenwood is an English musician and composer, best known as a member of the English rock band Radiohead. Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist, but serves mainly as lead guitarist and keyboard player. In addition to guitar and keyboard, he plays viola, harmonica,...
, and is based on piano chords (namely Cadd6 and Dadd6). Yorke revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, that the piano parts played by Greenwood were recorded on a dictaphone
Dictaphone
Dictaphone was an American company, a producer of dictation machines—sound recording devices most commonly used to record speech for later playback or to be typed into print. The name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, but in some places it has also become a common way to refer to all such devices, and...
at his house; "A year and a half later, I had to own up that I had sampled them, cut them into a different order and made them into a song [laughs]. Is that all right? Sorry, Jonny."
"Analyse" was inspired by a blackout
Power outage
A power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
Yorke experienced in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. Yorke used to live on a "historical street" with 1860s built houses in central Oxford and upon arriving home one night, the street suffered a power cut. Yorke explained; "The houses were all dark, with candlelight in the windows, which is obviously how it would have been when they were built. It was beautiful."
"Black Swan" dates back to the 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...
sessions, which "has this tiny, shredded segment of something", a sample created in 2000 by Ed
Ed O'Brien
Edward John O'Brien is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist for the rock band Radiohead. He is also responsible for harmony vocals during live concerts and on many tracks from the band's albums...
and Phil
Phil Selway
Philip James "Phil" "The Graf" Selway is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of English rock group Radiohead. He also drums and provides backing vocals, along with occasional guitar and lead vocals, for 7 Worlds Collide...
, which Yorke "sliced [...] into bits."
Yorke stated that "And It Rained All Night" has an "enormously shredded-up element of "The Gloaming" [from Hail to the Thief
Hail to the Thief
Hail 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...
]", which Yorke recalled creating in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
because he couldn't sleep one night as a result of heavy rainfall. Yorke commented on the bassline of the song that it created "little pockets of excitement that [he'd] missed for so long."
"Cymbal Rush" is derived from "Try to Save Your Prize", a musical track from 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....
. Yorke reported that "Cymbal Rush" contained an element he had for three years, one little note from which he could "hear the melody in there straightaway." However, he said that "if you played it to anyone else without [him] singing it, you'd think, 'What's he on about?'"
Lyrics
Thom Yorke said much of his songwriting on the album was personal, but also inspired by the issue of climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. Yorke was a spokesman for Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
's "The Big Ask" campaign to reduce carbon emissions, and Radiohead played the first gig of their 2006 tour at a benefit for the group (performing "Cymbal Rush" before the album was announced).
In describing his motivation for releasing the album, Yorke said, "I've been in the band since we left school and never dared do anything on my own, and it was like, 'This is getting stupid.' It was like, 'Man, I've got to find out what it feels like,' you know? And it was good. It was a really good time."
Regarding "Harrowdown Hill
Harrowdown Hill
"Harrowdown Hill" is a song by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and is the eighth track on his 2006 album The Eraser. The song was also released as a limited edition single in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2006, peaking at #23 in the UK Singles Chart...
", Yorke said he had "already written part of it when he realized it was about David Kelly, a chemical weapons inspector in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
who committed suicide in 2003 after being connected to a leak of British intelligence about weapons of mass destruction." In an interview with The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, Yorke said that "Harrowdown Hill" was "the most angry song [he'd] ever written in [his] life" and stated that he wouldn't discuss the background of it; "it's not for me or for any of us to dig any of this up. So it's a bit of an uncomfortable thing." In an interview with The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, Yorke said that he had been "feeling really uncomfortable about that song lately" but felt that "not to write it would perhaps have been worse." Yorke also notes that "'Harrowdown Hill' was kicking around during 'Hail to the Thief', but there was no way that was going to work with the band."
Imagery
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
, a linocut
Linocut
Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum is used for the relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised areas representing a reversal of the parts to show printed...
by Stanley Donwood
Stanley 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...
, depicts a figure in black hat and trenchcoat standing in imitation of King Canute
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
, trying and failing to command the ocean. Around him are iconic London buildings that have been swept away by the Thames, including the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, the Houses of Parliament and the Thames Barrier
Thames Barrier
The Thames Barrier is the world's second-largest movable flood barrier and is located downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the sea...
. Donwood included this picture and other images seen in The Eraser booklet in his art exhibition London Views, prior to the album's release. The images were inspired by a large flood
Boscastle flood of 2004
The Boscastle flood of 2004 occurred on Monday, 16 August 2004 in the two villages of Boscastle and Crackington Haven in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The villages suffered extensive damage after flash floods caused by an exceptional amount of rain that fell over eight hours that afternoon...
Donwood and Yorke both witnessed in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in 2004. Donwood's cover artwork for the album was announced the winner of the Best Art Vinyl
Best Art Vinyl
Best Art Vinyl is an annual award that first began in 2005. It celebrates artists and designers of vinyl record cover art. The nomination process begins in November and the winners are announced in January, and are exhibited at venues across the United Kingdom and Europe, including the O2, Rough...
award of 2006.
The CD packaging of The Eraser is made of cardboard but unlike a digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
, it does not contain any plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
. Yorke said this was for environmental reasons; he also said in an interview that he did not have his CDs certified as carbon neutral
Carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference...
as he did not believe carbon offsets were a constructive solution to climate issues.
Critical reception
Critical reaction to the album was generally positive: based on 37 reviews by notable publications, review aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave The Eraser a score of 76/100, indicating generally favourable reviews. Critics commented on the uniqueness and fragility of Yorke's voice. Many reviews made comparisons to Radiohead; Andy Kellman of Allmusic stated that the album "sounds as close to a version of Radiohead minus four of its members as one can imagine", and similarities between ideas of The Eraser with 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...
were frequently noted. However, Kellman also stated that the album differed to music Thom Yorke had created with Radiohead as it "[didn't] have the dynamics [...] held by any Radiohead album". Louis Patterson from NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
stated that "as a twin [to Kid A], it’s every bit the equal" whilst Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
said the album "is full of glitchy electro ballads, in the style of Kid A tracks like "Morning Bell" and "How to Disappear Completely." Writing for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Alexis Petridis stated the album at its worst conjured up "the unlikely image of Autechre
Autechre
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums...
fronted by Private Frazer off Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
". Petridis described the lyrics as "one long defeated sigh, interrupted by the occasional tut and roll of the eyes" and associated the guitars on "The Clock" with grumbling. However, Petridis did praise the album and stated that "elsewhere, the album offers a plethora of low-key delights", with "And It Rained All Night", which he said had a "compelling tension between the ambivalence of the lyrics - 'how come it looks so beautiful?' - and the music's relentlessness".
Track listing
All songs written by Thom YorkeThom 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...
except where noted.
- "The EraserThe Eraser (song)"The Eraser" is a song by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, and the first track on his 2006 album of the same name. The piano chords heard throughout the song were sampled from a recording Yorke made of Radiohead bandmate Jonny Greenwood....
" (Thom Yorke, Jonny GreenwoodJonny GreenwoodJonathan Richard Guy "Jonny" Greenwood is an English musician and composer, best known as a member of the English rock band Radiohead. Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist, but serves mainly as lead guitarist and keyboard player. In addition to guitar and keyboard, he plays viola, harmonica,...
) – 4:55 - "Analyse" – 4:02
- "The Clock" – 4:13
- "Black SwanBlack Swan (song)"Black Swan" is a song by Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke and is the fourth track on his 2006 album The Eraser. The song was released to American radio in July 2006 . In early August 2006, the song placed at #40 in Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart."Black Swan" dates back to the Kid A sessions...
" – 4:49 - "Skip Divided" – 3:35
- "Atoms for Peace" – 5:13
- "And It Rained All Night" – 4:15
- "Harrowdown HillHarrowdown Hill"Harrowdown Hill" is a song by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and is the eighth track on his 2006 album The Eraser. The song was also released as a limited edition single in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2006, peaking at #23 in the UK Singles Chart...
" – 4:38 - "Cymbal Rush" – 5:15
Personnel
- Thom YorkeThom YorkeThomas "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...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, instrumentation - Nigel GodrichNigel GodrichNigel Godrich, , is a recording engineer, record producer and musician. He is best known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead and is sometimes referred to as the "sixth member" of the band...
– arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, instrumentation - Jonny GreenwoodJonny GreenwoodJonathan Richard Guy "Jonny" Greenwood is an English musician and composer, best known as a member of the English rock band Radiohead. Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist, but serves mainly as lead guitarist and keyboard player. In addition to guitar and keyboard, he plays viola, harmonica,...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Sales chart positions
Album| Country | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 2 |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
17 |
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... (Vl Flanders Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp... ) |
3 |
| Belgium (Wa) | 5 |
| Denmark | 6 |
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
10 |
| France | 6 |
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
5 |
| Netherlands | 18 |
| New Zealand | 12 |
| Norway Norway Norway , 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... |
10 |
| Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
23 |
| Sweden | 21 |
| Switzerland | 10 |
Singles
| Title | Release date | Peak chart positions |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
US Mod Rock | ||
| "Black Swan Black Swan (song) "Black Swan" is a song by Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke and is the fourth track on his 2006 album The Eraser. The song was released to American radio in July 2006 . In early August 2006, the song placed at #40 in Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart."Black Swan" dates back to the Kid A sessions... " |
July 2006 | – | 40 |
| "Harrowdown Hill Harrowdown Hill "Harrowdown Hill" is a song by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and is the eighth track on his 2006 album The Eraser. The song was also released as a limited edition single in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2006, peaking at #23 in the UK Singles Chart... " |
August 2006 | 23 | – |
| "Analyse" | October 2006 | 136 | – |
External links
- theeraser.net
- The Eraser page at the XL Recordings website.
- "Radiohead's Thom Yorke on Going Solo" - interview with Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. - "All messed up" - interview with Observer Music MonthlyThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
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