Album
Airbag / How Am I Driving?
1998 · Rock
10 collectors on Gatefold own this

Airbag / How Am I Driving? is an Alt/Indie album by Radiohead, originally released in 1998. On Gatefold: 11 pressings tracked, owned by 10 collectors.
The Clerk says
The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.
Tracklist
- 1Airbag4:47
- 2Pearly*3:33
- 3Meeting In The Aisle3:09
- 4A Reminder3:51
- 5Polyethylene [Parts 1 & 2]4:22
- 6Melatonin2:09
- 7Palo Alto3:44
Sound DNA
- Alt/Indie
- Alternative Rock
- gritty
- yearning
- urban
Airbag / How Am I Driving? is the fifth extended play (EP) by English alternative rock group Radiohead, released in April 1998 specifically to the North American market. It includes most of the songs that had been issued as B-sides on Radiohead's CD singles from OK Computer in the previous year.
The contents of Airbag / How Am I Driving? differ slightly from the EP No Surprises / Running From Demons = ノー・サプライゼス 〜ランニング・フロム・ディーモンズ~ (Japan 1997) (opens in a new tab), released a few months earlier in Japan. The song "Airbag", which opens OK Computer, was never officially released as a single. The version on this EP ends cold rather than transitioning to the song "Paranoid Android" as it does on the album.
"Meeting in the Aisle" was Radiohead's first instrumental, featuring programming by Zero 7's Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker.
The sample that opens "A Reminder" is a recording from Prague Metro's automated announcement system: "Finish getting on and getting off; the doors are closing. The next station will be Jiřího z Poděbrad." An early version of "Palo Alto" was entitled "OK Computer."
The EP stylistically bridges the gap between the progressive-alternative OK Computer and Radiohead's experimental future sound, much as the My Iron Lung EP of 1994 had foreshadowed The Bends and OK Computer.
On the EP cover, the number 1426148550 is given. It was a working UK telephone number, and the voice on the other end, which simply said, "Hello?" was that of Radiohead singer Thom Yorke. Fans could even leave a message, and some of the content was used in later productions. This number has been disconnected for years. Calling it, as of 2009, yields BT's standard "The number you have dialed has not been recognised" message. Yorke, in concerts at the time, joked that it is the number to call to report bad drivers.
Airbag / How Am I Driving? debuted at number 56 on the Billboard 200, selling 20,000 copies in its first week. Although only 25 minutes long, the EP gained the distinction of being nominated for a 1999 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance, up against full-length albums by other artists.
The EP was re-issued in the Netherlands and the UK in early 2007. Before its re-release, the EP had been a highly sought-after item by Radiohead fans outside of North America. In 2009, the album was released by EMI on iTunes.
There is a mispress CD containing non Radiohead related music (2 songs by Cassius). This was distributed in 1998 with some copies of the Dutch collectors singles box set that included the Airbag EP as a free single.
Https://www.discogs.com/release/8891332-Cassius-Foxxy-Edit-Club-Soixante-Quinze-Edit
All songs written by Radiohead.
Credits
The people behind it.
Performers
- Colin GreenwoodBASS
- Ed O'BrienGUITAR, BACKING VOCALS
- Jonny GreenwoodLEAD GUITAR, PIANO, ORGAN
- Phil SelwayDRUMS
- Thom YorkeVOCALS, GUITAR, PIANO
10 collectors on Gatefold own this · 11 pressings tracked on Gatefold
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