Stephen Colbert can?t be influenced by the agendas of politicians and public officials, but if you?re a popular rock group that doesn?t easily embrace television cameras he will gladly roll over for you. On Monday Comedy Central announced that it would expand ?The Colbert Report? to an hourlong broadcast for the first time in that show?s history to present a special episode featuring Radiohead, the British rock quintet of ?OK Computer? and ?Kid A? fame, whose song ?How to Disappear Completely? could sometimes be mistaken for their press strategy. (Perhaps in an effort to be more visible, the band will also appear on Saturday?s season premiere of ?Saturday Night Live,? and will perform at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan on Sept. 28 and 29.)
In a news release Comedy Central said that the one-hour ?Colbert Report? special would be shown next Monday, Sept. 26, and would present the band in interviews and performances of their songs from their recent album, ?The King of Limbs? (including an unreleased track called ?The Daily Mail?), along with that program?s usual mix of topical comedy segments. Mr. Colbert, who isn?t afraid to flaunt his rock-music bona fides, has used his show to feature artists like the Decemberists, LCD Soundsystem and Jack White, who appeared in multiple ?Colbert Report? segments over the summer. Mr. Colbert said in a statement, ?I look forward to meeting the Radioheads and leveraging their anti-corporate indie cred to raise brand awareness for my sponsors.?
