Talk Show Host

As a fiercely loyal Radiohead fan, I confess I have long been suspicious of Christopher O’Riley’s transcriptions of the band’s music. Surely it would sound like a lounge pianist working his way through a fake book? I considered the whole thing an affront to my hipster pride and, as usually happens in situations of this sort, dismissed it entirely without ever hearing a note. Shamed by my uncharacteristic closed-ear-edness, I finally gave Hold Me To This a spin. Though the disc won’t be entering heavy rotation at my house, I admire the fact that O’Riley even confronted Radiohead “hit” “Talk Show Host” (the same track featured in Baz Luhrman’s film Romeo and Juliet) and made it his own. O’Riley is obviously a fan, and the project, while never approaching the depth of the originals, is perhaps most interesting when viewed as simply an expression of that.

—MS