Thom Yorke knows where you live. Photo by Steve Forrest, The New York Times.
What’s going on with ?
This question will never not be relevant. Between excruciatingly long breaks between albums, and a general penchant for obtuse symbolism, Thom Yorke’s merry band of art rock misfits are never happier than when their fans are quizzically twisting their beards.
If that’s true, Radiohead is proper chuffed right now. Over the weekend, the band to fans across the U.K. reading: “Sing a song of sixpence that goes / Burn the Witch / We know where you live” and wiping its , and accounts clean. (While followed suit, Radiohead producer and guitarist/keyboardist ‘s Twitter accounts are still live, raising the question of whether all of this wasn’t .)
So: Is Thom Yorke going through a bad break-up or what?
Entirely possible. A better guess suggests it has to do with new music. Murmurs surrounding Radiohead’s ninth LP have been getting louder for months now, culminating with a guy purported to be the band’s manager (whose quote was later disavowed by Radiohead’s PR agency) the new album would be released in June.
Radiohead being Radiohead.
What could this say about new music from Radiohead?
First, that “burn the witch” phrase is almost definitely a reference to an obscure Radiohead song that’s over the years. The band had even on its website before they, y’know, totally deleted it.
Second, let’s consider that Radiohead is big on making statements. “Hail to the Thief” touched on early-aughts dread stemming from the election of George W. Bush and 9/11; the pay-what-you-will release of “In Rainbows” was an effectual no-confidence vote on the record industry. With its companion newspaper, the thrust of “King of Limbs” is harder to tease out — a commentary on the media? The ? In ? — but was presented too methodically to be about nothing. Right?!
One thread connecting deleting your internet presence and sending your fans disconcerting fliers boasting “we know where you live”? Information paranoia. Yorke has at the NSA before, and you’d imagine probably wasn’t a fan of the British Government Communications Headquarters its creepy internet trawling program
Going offline and pinging fans with a disconcertingly IRL newsletter could be Yorke and company’s way of splashing cold water on their collective face. Or, it could just be Radiohead being Radiohead.
If they really wanted to get people’s attention, they could always just release their new album, or take their music off of the streaming service they’ve rallied against. Although, as Google’s “cache” feature could tell you, once it’s online, there’s no turning back.
Cue creepy Radiohead song:
