"These Are My Twisted Words"
Single by Radiohead
Released17 August 2009
Genre
Length5:31
LabelSelf-released
Songwriter(s)Radiohead
Producer(s)Nigel Godrich
Radiohead singles chronology
"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"
(2009)		 "These Are My Twisted Words"
(2009)		 "Supercollider" / "The Butcher"
(2011)

"These Are My Twisted Words" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was leaked via BitTorrent on 12 August 2009, possibly by the band, and released on 17 August as a free download from the Radiohead website.

Release

On 12 August 2009, "These Are My Twisted Words" appeared unannounced on What.CD, a BitTorrent tracker.[1] A text file included in the torrent file contained ASCII art, a cryptic poem and a reference to a release date of 17 August.[2] Commentators including the Guardian and Rolling Stone speculated that Radiohead had leaked the song themselves following the unconventional pay-what-you-want release of their 2007 album In Rainbows.[3][4]

On 17 August, Radiohead released "These Are My Twisted Words" as a free download from their website and through a torrent file hosted by Mininova.[5] The download included several pieces of artwork by Yorke and the longtime Radiohead collaborator Stanley Donwood, with the suggestion to print them on tracing paper.[5] In a blog post announcing the song, the guitarist Jonny Greenwood said it had been recently completed and made no mention of the leak.[5] Radiohead performed "These Are My Twisted Words" on their 2012 King of Limbs tour.[1]

The text file included in the original torrent contained the phrase "Wall of Ice", triggering speculation that it was the title of an upcoming Radiohead EP.[6] The phrase "wall of eyes" later appeared in promotional materials for Radiohead's next album, The King of Limbs (2011).[7] More than a decade later, the title Wall of Eyes was used for an album by the Radiohead side project the Smile.[8][6]

Composition

"These Are My Twisted Words" is composed in a 5
4 time signature.[9] It opens with a motorik beat from the drummer, Philip Selway, before Yorke's vocal enters.[10][11] Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone noted a krautrock influence and likened the song to the In Rainbows track "Weird Fishes / Arpeggi".[4] Bill Bradley of Vanity Fair said it had a "signature eerie Radiohead sound".[12] Matthew Schnipper of The Fader described it as a "simple song" with "a plodding, stubborn forward spirit".[11]

Reception

Brian Parks of PopMatters gave "These Are My Twisted Words" seven out of ten, describing it as "the most recent in a long line of unconventionally beautiful songs for which Radiohead is renowned".[13] Bradley of Vanity Fair wrote that "all the converted" would like the song.[12] However, Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork wrote that its "nauseous guitars, featherweight motorik beat and vaguely whiny lyrics almost read as parody" and concluded that it "isn't as enticing as its method of distribution".[10] In 2016, Rolling Stone included "These Are My Twisted Words" on its list of "20 insanely great Radiohead songs only hardcore fans know".[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "20 Insanely Great Radiohead Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know". Rolling Stone. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. ↑ Hoffman, Harrison (13 August 2009). "Did Radiohead just leak the first song from their new EP?". CNET. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
  3. ↑ Sean Michaels (14 August 2009). "Was the new Radiohead song leaked by the band?". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
  4. 1 2 Kreps, Daniel (13 August 2009). "New Radiohead Song 'These Are My Twisted Words' Leaks". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Michaels, Sean (18 August 2009). "Radiohead officially release 'These Are My Twisted Words'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  6. 1 2 Montgomery, James (17 August 2009). "Radiohead Put Wall Of Ice EP Rumors To Rest, For Now". MTV. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Hudson, Alex (13 November 2023). "The Smile Announce Sophomore Album Wall of Eyes, Share Title Track". Exclaim!. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (13 November 2023). "Radiohead Side Project the Smile Return With New Album Wall of Eyes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Randall, Mac (2011). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. Delta. p. 262. ISBN 0-385-33393-5.
  10. 1 2 Dombal, Ryan (24 August 2009). "Radiohead — 'These Are My Twisted Words'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  11. 1 2 Schnipper, Matthew (17 August 2009). "Radiohead, "These Are My Twisted Words" MP3". The Fader. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  12. 1 2 Bradley, Bill. "New Radiohead MP3: "These Are My Twisted Words"". The Hive. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  13. ↑ Brian Parks (24 August 2009). "Radiohead - "These Are My Twisted Words" (stream)". PopMatters. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
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