There was this discussion to know how long the human ear was really receptive to the music. A 74 minute CD is too long. We thought about making two CDs, 35 minutes each… But the songs need to breathe.

Meaning of the quote

This quote is about how musicians think about the length of music albums. The musician Ed O'Brien explains that they discussed how long people can comfortably listen to music. They found that a 74-minute CD is too long, so they considered making two 35-minute CDs instead. However, they realized that the songs need enough time to "breathe", meaning the music needs to have the right pacing and space to feel natural. The musician is considering the listener's experience and trying to find the best way to present the music.

About Ed O’Brien

Ed O’Brien is an English guitarist, songwriter, and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB and is known for creating atmospheric sounds and textures, as well as providing backing vocals for the band. O’Brien was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Radiohead in 2019.

More about the author

More quotes from Ed O’Brien

For a band like us tracklisting is a massive, massive task.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

We’re not spokespeople, we’re musicians.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

Everyone who’s serious about what they’re doing must be in constant motion forward.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

I’m thrilled we’ve got a new single out, as singles were the way I first got into music as a child.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

We are a weird bunch, we are very disparate.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

We don’t hate the media, it’s just that when there’s too much of it we get bored, but it happens to every human being. I don’t think we even hated the media by the time that movie was made. We were just tired.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

It’s really weird to be playing chords again. Haven’t played chords for a long time. I realised I haven’t played chord changes since OK Computer and stuff like that.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

But for the first time, we haven’t made a huge leap forward in sound from our last album. Fans who own Kid A should be able to get their heads around it.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

But we will play 6, 7 new songs each evening, approximately a third in the concert. I think it’s a good balance. It will be very interesting to see the public’s reaction. But i think when we’ll play the very first new piece, we will be scared.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

Of the 25 songs we’ve recorded there were 24 that we wanted to have on an album. That wouldn’t have worked. So when one of our wise managers suggested the idea of considering two different album, it cleared the way for us.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

Bowie is a musician, but he works like a painter. Thom always thought that we should aspire to that.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

We’re not aware of fame itself, we’re not that kind of band.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

There is always some universal proportion, but along with that there are some places where special things happen. Ireland, for example. I’ve always felt it’s interesting to play there. Maybe they just drink more than anybody else.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

There was this discussion to know how long the human ear was really receptive to the music. A 74 minute CD is too long. We thought about making two CDs, 35 minutes each… But the songs need to breathe.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

I don’t read the press, I don’t watch endless music TV.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

I think that’s what helped us: confidence, respect, the desire to work hard.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

What is so refreshing playing with Neil Finn and all his friends is these people think exactly the same – regular people doing their thing and separating the music from the business.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

The thing is, it really did take us too long to get these recordings done. We’ve had our rough times in the studio in the past, but after four weeks most of the material would have been recorded. This time it seemed like it just goes on and on.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

What had disappointed me at the time of the last tour, was to go on a worldwide tour, we were at some incredible places and we couldn’t enjoy it, hadn’t the time.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

Not in the mornings, I’m always so tired in the morning.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

At the end of OK Computer we were playing big, big arenas and it wasn’t right. You can do those things occasionally but at the time it didn’t feel right.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

So we are not doing the traditional album, tour, album, tour, album, tour anymore. We’re going to tour when we want to, regardless of whether we’ve got a record out.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

We are different people – you get a different take on the band whoever you speak to. Somehow, at the end of it, it goes through the filtering process and out comes the Radiohead thing.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead

It is fantastic to be found in a foreign country.

Ed O’Brien

English guitarist and member of Radiohead