As previously mentioned, one of the unique aspects of Radiohead is their embrace of the Internet, which can have its drawbacks as well as positive qualities. I'm wondering how it felt for the band to have Amnesiac out and all over the 'net months prior to its release. "In effect, you know, some of it was up there last year because we were playing the dates live," Phil begins, a bit evasively. "But, um...it's good! It's really helped the shows along as well, because people have been able to come along and actually know the new material."

I'm also curious about the other side of things, whether the record company gave them any slack for that. What happens from a band perspective when stuff leaks out, and were EMI really concerned?

Phil laughs. "Not that we've heard. People don't seem to be unduly worried about it--not to our faces." There is a bit of a devilish snicker at the end of that which I enjoy immensely.

"I mean, it's as we've said about it in the past," he states. "There's not an awful lot of difference between downloading something off the 'net and the home taping that we did when we were kids. If you liked something, generally you would actually go out and buy it once you've taped it. They said at the time that home taping would kill music, and it didn't."

Radiohead's songwriting process has always been of interest, simply because the songs themselves are so interesting. I want to know about how songs come into being, and whether the fact that most were Thom's initially gave the other band members a sense of freedom to add new elements if that had the opposite effect, leading them to feel they couldn't contribute.