When Radiohead made it big with “Creep” in 1993, there was a push to recreate that success. Their label had them touring extensively to capitalize on the song’s popularity, but that ultimately soured the band on the whole experience. They almost became a one-hit wonder because of it, too burnt out and paranoid about making a successful follow-up.
So it makes sense that Thom Yorke has gone on to become an artistic chameleon. He frequently steps outside of previous comfort zones, instead of worrying about repeating the same success. That’s a lesson he had to learn the hard way after many years, as he told Harry Styles in an October 2026 Rolling Stone interview.
Styles is also considered somewhat of a chameleon. He’s dabbled in different sounds, looks, themes, and compositions since the end of his boy band days. Different media as well, taking on several acting roles in recent years. But in speaking with Yorke, the two discussed how they manage to avoid repetition. Specifically, the commercialization that comes after success.
Thom Yorke on the Enjoyment of ‘Starting Over From Scratch’ When Writing New Music
When asked how they avoid repeating themselves, Thom Yorke answered, “I can’t, even if I wanted to. I couldn’t do it again.” He added, “If you write ‘Everything in Its Right Place’ [from Kid A], do you think, ‘Yeah, I’ll write another one of them’? It doesn’t make sense. You can’t. I’ve tried.”
“I think if you have something that’s very successful, there’s a lot of pressure to repeat that,” Yorke continued. “It doesn’t go anywhere, because that’s like working to commission … It’s a commercial art form, so you’re always going to get people asking you to do that.”
Harry Styles then noted the “interesting cycle” of releasing a successful song. “You make something that connects with people, because you’ve captured something about the human experience, whether it’s a vulnerability or a sensitivity that comes with being human,” he said. “And then any kind of success around that thing makes it take on this life of its own. Then everything around you makes your experience incredibly not human.”
He added that what he finds interesting about Yorke’s work is that he’s still “looking at what’s under the fingernails” in his songwriting. That is, showing the ugly, gritty, and extremely human parts of life. And yet, people consider him “in this kind of godlike status,” said Styles.
“I think the reason for that was having to learn quite a difficult lesson,” Yorke replied. “Around Kid A, Amnesiac, before that, I really struggled every time I had to try to do something new. I was explaining it to myself while I was doing it, literally. It’s like a form of madness, and I couldn’t get out of it. I felt I needed to justify it somehow—not apologize, but justify it in an intellectual way.”
He admitted that the reason for this “madness” was that he “needed to get out of it.” Literally, he explained, he would leave the studio and go for walks. Then, as time goes on and life changes, “the choice to carry on doing this kind of work, you have to enjoy it,” said Yorke. “And the enjoyment comes from having to start again from scratch every time. Whatever you learn, you’ve got to unlearn.”
Harry Styles on the Imposter Syndrome That Comes With Commercial Success
Essentially, a lot of those successful songs—that aren’t specifically manufactured to go viral—happen by accident. Songwriters, poets, artists, any creative person can understand this phenomenon. Sometimes, the success is unexplainable, because the artist has no idea where it comes from.
“You can’t be savvy about [songwriting],” said Thom Yorke. “You can work really hard on it—but the good stuff just happens, and you don’t know why. And you’ve got to be honest with yourself that you don’t know why. When stuff forms that you like, you just grab onto it, and you don’t let go.”
Harry Styles then wondered if that’s why “the impostor syndrome that can come with that commercial success exists.” He continued, “If you write in that way, it almost feels like you’re not responsible for it. So then if people are like, ‘Oh, you’ve made this thing, and that means that you’re this,’ there’s something in there that feels like, ‘Oh, I can’t take credit for it. It just happened to me.’”
Anyone who has experienced imposter syndrome will know exactly what Styles is talking about. He reiterated Yorke’s theory, saying, “The best things tend to just happen.”
For Styles, that type of songwriting seems to produce his favorite songs. “I’ve always found the things that I end up liking the most, or have been the most special things to me, are the ones where you write it, and then as you’re listening back, you’re learning something about yourself,” he said. “You’re realizing that you’ve said something, rather than, ‘I’m going to sit down—I’m going to say this.’”
Photo by Naomi Rahim/WireImage
The post Why Artists Try So Hard To Recreate Successful Songs, According to Thom Yorke: ‘It’s Like a Form of Madness’ appeared first on VICE.
