Burn the Witch (Radiohead song)

"Burn the Witch"
Single by Radiohead
from the album A Moon Shaped Pool
B-side "Spectre" (vinyl)
Released 3 May 2016
Format
Genre
Length 3:40
Label XL
Writer(s) Radiohead
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"Spectre"
(2015)		 "Burn the Witch"
(2016)		 "Daydreaming"
(2016)
Music video
"Burn the Witch" on YouTube

"Burn the Witch" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 3 May 2016 as the lead single from their ninth studio album A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). The song features a string section playing col legno battuto, producing a percussive sound, arranged by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. It was accompanied by a stop-motion animated music video that pays homage to the 1960s British children's television programme Camberwick Green and the 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man. The lyrics and video have been interpreted as a warning against groupthink and authoritarianism.

Background

Radiohead worked on "Burn the Witch" during the sessions for their albums Kid A (2000), Hail to the Thief (2003), and In Rainbows (2007), but were not satisfied with the results. The phrase "burn the witch" appears in the Hail to the Thief album artwork. Singer Thom Yorke mentioned the song in a 2005 blog entry on Radiohead's website and posted lyrics in 2007. Radiohead briefly "teased" the song in performances in 2006 and 2008, but never played it in full.[3][4][5]

Asked in 2013 about the status of Radiohead's unreleased songs, including "Burn the Witch", Radiohead's longtime producer Nigel Godrich responded: "Everything will surface one day... it all exists... and so [they] will eventually get there, I'm sure."[6] He cited the song "Nude", released on Radiohead's 2007 album In Rainbows but written 12 years prior, as an example of a song that took several years to complete.[6]

Recording

According to Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, who arranges the band's string sections, "Burn the Witch" was written with strings in mind. He said: "Very rarely for us, we managed to get strings on near the beginning. We left it unfinished on purpose and left lots of room for the strings and we never do that usually. Usually the strings are the icing on top."[7]

The strings were recorded at RAK Studios in London.[8] They were performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra and conducted by Hugh Brunt, both of whom had previously worked with Greenwood on his score for the 2012 film The Master.[9][10]

Music and lyrics

"Burn the Witch" was described by the Atlantic as an orchestral pop song[1] and by the Guardian as art rock.[2] It features a string section playing col legno, meaning that the players strike their strings with the stick of the bow rather than bowing them. According to Pitchfork, this "transforms the orchestra into another form of percussion, another beat adding to a vaguely electronic undercurrent pummelling the song forward ... [the string section] alternates between sumptuous flourishes and the darkest corners of The Shining’s score."[11] The Atlantic critic Spencer Kornhaber likened the strings to heavy metal, "chugga-chugga-chugga-ing the entire time".[1] In the second half of the song, the strings "gradually disintegrate"; while the cellos and basses adhere to a conventional chord progression, the higher strings become "deathly, Herrmann-esque and quite horrid".[12] The song also features electronic percussion.[13]

The lyrics direct the listener to "abandon all reason / avoid all eye contact / do not react / shoot the messengers / burn the witch". Pitchfork interpreted the song as a criticism of authority and a warning against groupthink, expressing a "deep sense of dread and skepticism".[11] Animator Virpi Kettu, who worked on the "Burn the Witch" music video, interpreted the lyrics as a comment on the European migrant crisis and scapegoating of Muslims.[14] The Guardian felt the song might address mass surveillance or the threat to open discussion posed by the self-policing users of social media.[2]

Music video

Stills from the "Burn the Witch" music video

The "Burn the Witch" music video was directed by Chris Hopewell, who previously directed the animated video for Radiohead's 2003 single "There There". It uses stop-motion animation in the style of the Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley series of 1960s English children's television programmes (also known as the Trumpton Trilogy).[15] The video was conceived and finished in 14 days[16] and released on YouTube one week later on 3 May 2016.[17]

The plot homages the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man.[16][18] An inspector is greeted by a town mayor and invited to see a series of unsettling sights, culminating in the unveiling of a wicker man. The mayor urges the inspector to climb into the wicker man, whereupon he is locked inside as a human sacrifice and the wicker man is set on fire. As the flames gather, the townspeople turn their backs and wave goodbye to the camera. After the song ends, the inspector escapes among the trees.

Pitchfork writer Marc Hogan suggested that the use of the Trumpton Trilogy style, which portrays an idyllic, crime-free rural Britain, reflects the rhetoric of family values used by right-wing politicians such as Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, and members of the UK Independence Party.[15] Animator Virpi Kettu said the video was deliberately lighter in tone than the song, as Radiohead "wanted the video to contrast with what they're playing and to wake people up a bit."[14] According to the son-in-law of Trumpton creator Gordon Murray, the family was not asked permission to use the style for the video and saw it as a "tarnishing of the brand."[19][20]

Promotion and release

The leaflet sent to fans, featuring embossed lyrics from "Burn the Witch" and Radiohead's "modified bear" logo.

In April 2016, one week before the release of Radiohead's ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool, fans who had previously made orders from Radiohead received embossed cards with lyrics from the song: "Sing a song of sixpence that goes / burn the witch / we know where you live."[21] "Burn the Witch" was released as the album's lead single as a download on 3 May 2016 on Radiohead's website and on streaming and digital media services.[22][23] A 7-inch single, with Radiohead's 2015 song "Spectre" as the B-side, was released on 13 May 2016 exclusively to Bull Moose stores in the New England area.[24]

Reception

Pitchfork named "Burn the Witch" the week's "Best New Track", with senior editor Jillian Mapes writing: "It's not since Kid A standout 'How to Disappear Completely' that Radiohead have created a song this simultaneously unsettling and gorgeous."[11] Michael Hann of The Guardian called it "thrilling... certainly the kind of return – bold and expansive, as well as dark and claustrophobic – that the world might have hoped for".[2] Larry Bartleet of NME wrote: "A Radiohead melody has rarely sounded this joyful or indulgent, which puts the disturbing lyrics into especially sharp relief."[25] Daniel Ross, analysing the song for Classic FM, wrote that "while Radiohead are often held up as denizens of doing it differently ... 'Burn The Witch' is them working smart rather than working hard. They’ve set up simple confines, but within them they’ve experimented heavily and made something exceptionally strange, tonally speaking, and inventive to boot. Approved."[12] Rolling Stone named "Burn the Witch" one of the 30 best songs of the first half of 2016.[13]

Track listing

Download

Digital release[22]
No. Title Length
1. "Burn the Witch"   3:40

7"

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "Burn the Witch"   3:40
Side B
No. Title Length
1. "Spectre"   3:19

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[27] 63
Canada Rock (Billboard)[28] 30
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[29] 16
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[30] 18
France (SNEP)[31] 51
Ireland (IRMA)[32] 51
Italy (FIMI)[33] 92
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[34] 62
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[35] 40
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 74
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[37] 64
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[38] 23
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[39] 21
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[40] 29
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[41] 9
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[42] 44

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalogue no.
Worldwide 3 May 2016 XL Download XLDS791[23]
 United States 16 May 2016 7" 407917[26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kornhaber, Spencer (3 May 2016). "'Burn the Witch': Radiohead's Gorgeous and Scary Comeback Song". The Atlantic. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hann, Michael (3 May 2016). "Radiohead: 'Burn the Witch' review – a return the world might have hoped for". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Yoo, Noah; Monroe, Jazz (3 May 2016). "Watch Radiohead's Video for New Song 'Burn the Witch'". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (3 May 2016). "Watch Radiohead's Sinister 'Burn the Witch' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Yorke, Thom (2007-02-04). "in the conversation pit no. 3". Dead Air Space (Radiohead blog). Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  6. 1 2 Kreps, Daniel (18 February 2013). "Thom Yorke Talks 'Amok' Leak, Photobombing in Reddit Q&A". Spin. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Radiohead interview: 'It's a very happy time' - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  8. ↑ "Hear Radiohead's New Album "A Moon Shaped Pool" at 11 pm tonight on the FTW New Music Show". 91X FM. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Gibsone, Harriet (7 May 2016). "Radiohead's new album to be released on Sunday". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Larson, Jeremy D. "Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool: The 5 Most Important Things To Know". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Mapes, Jillian (3 May 2016). "Reviews - Tracks: Radiohead - 'Burn the Witch'". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  12. 1 2 "A music theory breakdown of Radiohead's 'Burn The Witch'". Classic FM. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  13. 1 2 Christopher R Weingarten (June 22, 2016). "30 Best Songs of 2016 So Far". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Radiohead 'Burn the Witch' Animator on the Sleepless Nights Behind New Video". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  15. 1 2 Hogan, Marc (3 May 2016). "Decoding the Politics in Radiohead's "Burn the Witch" Video". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  16. 1 2 Strauss, Matthew (3 May 2016). "Radiohead Artist Stanley Donwood Shares 'Burn the Witch' Behind-the-Scenes Shots". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  17. ↑ "Burn the Witch" official music video on YouTube.
  18. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (3 May 2016). "Watch Radiohead's Sinister 'Burn the Witch' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  19. ↑ Minsker, Evan (15 May 2016). "Radiohead's "Burn the Witch" Breached Copyright, Animator's Family Says". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  20. ↑ Guardian Music (16 May 2016). "Radiohead video breaching copyright, say Trumpton creator's family". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  21. ↑ Peters, Mitchell (30 April 2016). "Radiohead Fans Receive Mysterious 'Burn the Witch' Leaflets Ahead of New Album". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  22. 1 2 "Burn the Witch – Single by Radiohead". iTunes US. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Radiohead – Burn the Witch – XL". Bleep. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "Radiohead's "Burn the Witch" receives vinyl release". Consequence of Sound. 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  25. ↑ Bartleet, Larry (3 May 2016). "Radiohead – 'Burn The Witch' Track Review: A Disturbingly Joyful Return". NME. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  26. 1 2 "Radiohead – Burn The Witch b/w Spectre (Indie Exclusive)". Bull Moose. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  27. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (14 May 2016). "ARIA Singles: Drake 'One Dance' Is Still No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "Chart Search". Mediabase Canada Rock for Radiohead. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Radiohead – Burn the Witch" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Radiohead – Burn the Witch" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  31. ↑ "France Top Singles Charts (Week 18, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 19, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  33. ↑ "Top Digital - Classifica settimanale WK 19 (dal 2016-05-06 al 2016-05-12)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  34. ↑ "Radiohead – Chart history" Japan Hot 100 for Radiohead. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  35. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Radiohead – Burn the Witch" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  36. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Radiohead – Burn the Witch". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  37. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2016-05-19" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  38. ↑ "Radiohead – Chart history" Billboard Adult Alternative Songs for Radiohead. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  39. ↑ "Radiohead – Chart history" Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 for Radiohead. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  40. ↑ "Radiohead – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Radiohead. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  41. ↑ "Radiohead – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Radiohead. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  42. ↑ "Radiohead – Chart history" Billboard Rock Airplay for Radiohead. Retrieved 17 May 2016.

External links

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