Quotes on or from Radiohead

And if you want to understand how deeply mind-altering it must have been for the members of Radiohead — five guys from Oxford, England, many of whom had classical training or art school on their résumés — to hit the alternative-rock Lotto when and how they did, look up their 1993 performance at the MTV Beach House on YouTube.

It appears to be a slightly overcast day, as if the band had come across the pond with its own cloud cover. They’re playing on a wooden platform over a pool in which inflatable toys drift dejectedly. Greenwood appears to be wearing a kid’s pajama top. Thom Yorke is translucently pale, with a haircut that looks bully-administered; discomfort with the role of beach-party entertainer practically wafts off him in cartoon-skunk stink-waves, confusing the attractive, sweatshirted white teenagers in the audience and harshing their mellow; the fact that Yorke whispers the lyrics of the song as if they’re a curse he’s putting on their summer doesn’t help.