JONNY GREENWOOD - Superhet Popcorn Receiver

When I was at U of North Texas, they'd sound an air raid siren as a test every once in a while and the sheer force of it was incredible. People would wince in pain. I had always intended to record it as something of a keepsake.

It's great how it starts off as an eerie textural soundmass and suddenly explodes into that string-plucking percussive interlude (so sick, I just love it).

The string work is Tony Conrad/Penderecki in scope and the playing is marvelous. That kind of dissonant thing---like they're playing totally out of tune, but they're really right there with it. It's perfect.

Jonny can't help his Romantic streak. Dissonance rarely sounds this beautiful.