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"Pyramid Song" was inspired by the song "Freedom" by the jazz musician Charles Mingus, released on the 1962 album The Complete Town Hall Concert. One version of "Pyramid Song" included similar handclaps, but, according to Yorke, they sounded "naff" and so he erased them.
- Art Rock Jazz-Rock [1]
He based it on a song by the Jazz player Charles Mingus called "Freedom." This originally contained handclaps, but the group didn't like how they came out and erased them. Radiohead performed this at some of their shows before releasing it on the album.
Jan 4, 2011 · I've read interpretations of this palindromic rhythm as the reason for the song's title: it is "shaped like a pyramid." I can see where one would get the idea; the rhythmic value in the middle is where it peaks, accompanied by adjacent smaller values.
- Cynick
Our first version of 'Pyramid' even had all the claps that you hear on 'Freedom'. Unfortunately, our claps sounded really naff, so I quickly erased them." The song's lyrics were inspired by an exhibition of ancient Egyptian underworld art Yorke attended while the band was recording in Copenhagen.
Mingus lost none of the swinging feeling of the two songs with the handclaps (in fact, he enhanced it), while forging a more direct connection to the earthy, soul roots of jazz. Prayer Meeting and Soul can be appreciated either from a blues or a jazz standpoint, but Mingus' true aim was to unite the two genres, giving blues more structure while ...
Aug 10, 2015 · Did you know?: The popular band Radiohead drew influence from Charles Mingus. Anchored by a near-swing beat, “Pyramid Song” (from Amnesiac) was directly...
People also ask
Why did Charles Mingus remove handclaps from 'Pyramid Song'?
What is 'pyramid' from Amnesiac?
How did Mingus feel about free jazz?
Why did Mingus switch to bass?
Thom Yorke has claimed that “Pyramid Song” was written during a period of “obsession” with Charles Mingus’ song “Freedom.” However, to these ears, I’ve always heard stronger shades of John Coltrane’s “Olé” in Yorke’s piano chords, and the jazz-influenced drumming of Phil Selway.
