Radiohead Guitarist Discusses Who Should Be in the Rock Hall

Story by Charles Ken

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its list of nominees for the class of 2018, and longstanding alternative rocker Radiohead is on the list. If you ask Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien to name his pick for the Rock Hall, though, his answer may surprise you. He would like to see more rap and hip-hop artists, such as Dr. Dre, given the honor.

“As a British band, it’s one of those things that it’s very lovely to be nominated, but we don’t quite culturally understand it,” he said in a chat with Esquire. “It’s a very American thing. Us Brits are very bad at celebrating ourselves. One of the things I’ve always loved about coming over to America is American bands you can always have a really good chat with and you could talk.”

O’Brien added that with British bands, “there was a lot of hostility. It’s in our DNA to be a little ambivalent with award ceremonies. We haven’t had great experiences.”

“I would never want to disrespect anything because obviously some amazing artists have been nominated,” he continued. “But if I’m honest I don’t understand it. It’s just kind of a British person going, ‘Okay, thanks, what does this mean?’”

That’s when the conversation turned to Dr. Dre. “It’s a little bit thin on black artists and hip-hop artists,” he explained. “I’m just speaking as a fan of American music, I would have thought that Dr. Dre should have been in there two years ago. His name should be first on the list way ahead of Radiohead.”

Elsewhere in the interview, O’Brien revealed that he’s working on a new solo album with producers Flood and Catherine Marks. He also mentioned that Radiohead is looking at possible tour dates for 2018.

Publication date: November 25, 2017
Charles Ken
Posted by Charles Ken | Alternative, Music, Rock News

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