In this song frontman Thom Yorke heaps scorn on desperate wannabes who seek validation via rock stardom. According to Q magazine April 2008 everyone in the studio, from band to catering staff was roped in to play guitar. The track was then cut up and added to the arrangement. Yorke got the idea for the famous line "I wanna be Jim Morrison" after seeing Oliver Stone\'s movie The Doors. The line is meant to convey Yorke\'s dissatisfaction with the mythical status Morrison is given. This was made clear in the band\'s appearance at the MTV Beach House, where they played this song, and Yorke sang, "Maybe if I grow my hair I can become Jim Morrison," before shouting "Fat! Ugly! Dead!" The band\'s lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood played guitar with a paintbrush on this song. Jonny Greenwood has said "I never listened to guitar playing in any band, ever, I still don\'t, really. Worshiping guitarists is all buying guitar magazines. Anybody can play guitar, but writing songs is a far harder challenge. I\'d rather idolize someone like Elvis Costello than I would Steve Vai."
In this song frontman Thom Yorke heaps scorn on desperate wannabes who seek validation via rock stardom. According to Q magazine April 2008 everyone in the studio, from band to catering staff was roped in to play guitar. The track was then cut up and added to the arrangement. Yorke got the idea for the famous line "I wanna be Jim Morrison" after seeing Oliver Stone\'s movie The Doors. The line is meant to convey Yorke\'s dissatisfaction with the mythical status Morrison is given. This was made clear in the band\'s appearance at the MTV Beach House, where they played this song, and Yorke sang, "Maybe if I grow my hair I can become Jim Morrison," before shouting "Fat! Ugly! Dead!" The band\'s lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood played guitar with a paintbrush on this song. Jonny Greenwood has said "I never listened to guitar playing in any band, ever, I still don\'t, really. Worshiping guitarists is all buying guitar magazines. Anybody can play guitar, but writing songs is a far harder challenge. I\'d rather idolize someone like Elvis Costello than I would Steve Vai."