The dust is settling but there is still speculation and rumor-mongering about what exactly has happened over the past few days. For those late to the show, you should check out the recent posts here at GP to get you up to speed.
We all had a good feeling that something was going to happen today. Some people were convinced that a new EP would be released. We certainly hoped that would be the case. Alas, it wasn’t and of course there was a bit of disappoint in many people’s eyes. Whatever people, we have a new Radiohead song, and a good one at that.
So, what really happened? We reached out to the band’s management for a statement but so far, nothing. What happened really comes down to two scenarios: The band leaked the mp3 last week or the band didn’t leak the mp3 last week.
Let’s just say for a moment that the band did leak it out. That would be an easy thing to assume as it’s crazy, weird, and something that Radiohead would do. It’s a big “fuck you” to the record industry, blah blah. And while they are at it, they have it be leaked through what.cd with a confusing nfo file which sets the internet abuzz with rumors, speculation, and frankly, ridiculousness. If you were in a huge band, wouldn’t it be kind of humorous to watch your fans trying to decipher each and every little detail? All types of press picked up on this leak. It was even played on Sirius XM radio as the “new Radiohead song from the upcoming Wall of Ice EP.” The point is, this thing went viral like crazy. I mean, look at Jonny’s new photo on DAS with the word “Conspirator” on it. Sneaky, sneaky.
What doesn’t make sense to us is why the band would leak it out themselves only to release it officially today. One of our mods at Mortigi Tempo, Pennyroyalty, put it best:
“Deliberately leaking one track ahead of officially releasing just that one track is not exactly what i’d call a masterstroke, actually i think it would be kind of silly. if it’s true then they just turned the release of a cool new song into a pretty underwhelming event for me, although hey the tracing paper is nice and all. anyway i suggest people don’t get on their high horses about their genius publicity move just yet.”
So this leads us to the other scenario: The band had nothing to do with the leak. We hear all the time about music getting leaked out before it is released. It happened with Hail to the Thief. What usually happens is someone at the plant where the make the CDs takes a copy home and maybe burns one for a friend. Then that friends decides to rip it to their computer and share with a couple of friends and so on. It happens all the time. What’s puzzling about this is that this is a digital release. Unless we’re missing something, there is no physical CD that could have been duplicated somewhere like what usually happens. If this thing was leaked, then it must have been someone getting their hands on a mp3 early. How does that happen? Did someone in the band send it out to friend for a listen and it leaked that way? Then, because it was already out, the band decided to officially release it today?
We’re not convinced of either scenario just yet and hopefully the band will make some sort of announcement soon. Or maybe we shouldn’t care and just enjoy the new track. 🙂
Here’s a pretty solid recap of the whole saga.
