Would a band’s name prevent you from giving them a chance, or are you a listener who focuses on the music an act puts out? It seems like for The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne, Thom Yorke’s new band’s name, the Smile, is miles better than his original band Radiohead.
In Coyne’s interview with Spin, the vocalist shared that he was familiar with the Smile. He said, “Yeah, yeah! I don’t know all of it. I heard the first two or three things they put out in advance of it and stuff. If you’d told me it was Radiohead, I would have said, ‘Of course it is.’ It doesn’t sound like it’s off on a different tangent from Radiohead, Atoms for Peace, or the Thom solo stuff. It’s of the same shade. I love that they’re called — it’s the Smile, right?”
Speaking on the names Thom Yorke has chosen throughout the years for his projects, Wayne Coyne said, “Atoms for Peace — all those f*cking great names. Of all the names, I’ve always thought Radiohead is one of the worst names ever. It ranks up there with the Beatles and the Flaming Lips.”
However, the new band’s name seems to have gelled with the singer. He continued, “I feel like Thom and Johnny were like, ‘Let’s do it again. Let’s call our band the Smile.’ I love it. I don’t get to play it enough because we have a couple of little kids. Eventually, I will. I still want to see them — they’re on tour right now. They’re always top-notch. It’s always amazing.”
Coyne’s strong feelings about Radiohead as a band name aside, the singer is a fan of Thom Yorke no matter what, and he’s yet to see the Smile on tour. Whether the band name is good or not, the music and performances are always top-notch, so if you were also looking to see the Smile on the road, you might want to get on that quick before it’s too late.
