Saturday, February 2, 2008

Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood

Cool little article on Radiohead's lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, and his latest composition, the soundtrack to There Will Be Blood, in the New Yorker.

Until now, Greenwood, a thirty-six-year-old native of Oxford, England, has been known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Radiohead. But he shouldn’t be mistaken for one of those rock stars, like Paul McCartney, who get by in the classical realm with a little help from their musically literate friends. Greenwood is better understood as a composer who has crossed over into rock. Trained as a violist, he worked seriously at writing music in his youth, and had just embarked on studies at Oxford Brookes University when, in 1991, Radiohead was signed by the EMI record label. He dropped out of college to join the band on tour.
Here are a few of the songs. I haven't seen the movie yet but I dig the soundtrack.

Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood

Jonny Greenwood - Proven Lands

There Will Be Blood - Prospector Arrives