Today fans of seminal British band Radiohead have woken to a strange new digital world—one that their heroes have checked out of. It started with the band’s website, which over two hours quietly faded to a blank white screen, then Facebook was wiped, Twitter deleted and all other social media erased. Thom Yorke even cleared out his own Twitter for good measure.
In hindsight the band did appear to drop hints of a return to the realm of paper and pens a few days ago when UK fans reported receiving strange leaflets in their mailboxes. The publications included lyrics to Burn the Witch—a long awaited single—as well as the band’s logo. The song was the first reference in the artwork for their 2003 album Hail to the Thief. Four years later the words appeared on their (now blank) website, and the band has teased crowds with the opening chords at a handful of shows over the years. With that history it was assumed the pamphlets were a veiled announcement that a new album was on the way. Now, coupled with the removal of their digital identity, fans are speculating that the moves are part of a postmodern anti-viral, viral marketing campaign.
The band has always been adept at playing with new ways of releasing music. 2007’s In Rainbows was one of the first major albums distributed online without a fixed price—fans were invited to pay what they felt to download it. Obviously happy with the format, Thom Yorke’s recent solo effort Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes was also available for free via BitTorrent.
Reddit users have already begun speculating how the band will release their next offering. Favorites include via webcast, exclusively on vinyl, wax cylinder, over the phone to random citizens and our favorite “via horse-driven carriage with Thom Yorke as a Medieval messenger.”
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Text Wendy Syfret
Image via Wikipedia