Follow Me Around
{{Short description|2021 single by Radiohead}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Follow Me Around
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Radiohead
| album = Kid A Mnesia
| released = 1 November 2021
| recorded = January 1999 – April 2000
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Acoustic rock
| length = 5:19
| label = XL
| composer =
| writer = Radiohead
| producer = {{hlist|Nigel Godrich|Radiohead}}
| prev_title = If You Say the Word
| prev_year = 2021
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|nrxWiU_v9Qs|"Follow Me Around"}}}}
}}
"Follow Me Around" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 1 November 2021 as the second single from their compilation album Kid A Mnesia. It features the singer, Thom Yorke, on acoustic guitar, with lyrics expressing paranoia and dread.
Radiohead recorded "Follow Me Around" during the joint sessions for Radiohead's fourth and fifth studio albums, Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), but went unreleased until 2021. It was accompanied by a music video starring Guy Pearce.
Music
"Follow Me Around" features a solo performance by Thom Yorke on acoustic guitar, with a "soaring" chorus.{{Cite news |last=Dean |first=Jonathan |title=Kid A Mnesia shows that the future is still Radiohead |language=en |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/music/article/kid-a-mnesia-shows-that-the-future-is-still-radiohead-wwlh92lc0 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2021-10-24 |issn=0140-0460}} The lyrics express paranoia and dread, and reference Margaret Thatcher. Earlier versions instead referenced Tony Blair. The A.V. Club described "Follow Me Around" as perhaps Radiohead's simplest pop song, likening it to Eddie Vedder.{{cite web |last1=McLevy |first1=Alex |date=1 November 2021 |title=Radiohead's long-awaited new single is one of the purest folk-pop songs they've ever written |url=https://www.avclub.com/radiohead-s-long-awaited-new-single-is-one-of-the-pures-1847974997 |access-date=3 November 2021 |website=The A.V. Club}} Rolling Stone said it was one of Yorke's darkest songs.{{Cite magazine |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |last2=Ehlrich |first2=David |last3=Montgomery |first3=James |date=6 September 2016 |title="Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)" (1997) - 20 Insanely Great Radiohead Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/20-insanely-great-radiohead-songs-only-hardcore-fans-know-20160307/polyethylene-parts-1-2-1997-20160304 |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406100255/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/20-insanely-great-radiohead-songs-only-hardcore-fans-know-20160307/polyethylene-parts-1-2-1997-20160304 |archive-date=6 April 2016 |access-date=4 April 2016}}
History
"Follow Me Around" first appeared in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy, which includes a performance recorded during a soundcheck. After Radiohead performed it at a Toronto show in 2000, fans created a website demanding its release.{{cite web |last1=Spinelli |first1=Adrian |date=1 November 2021 |title=Radiohead Finally Releases The Sought-After Rarity 'Follow Me Around' |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/radiohead-follow-me-around/ |access-date=3 November 2021 |website=Uproxx}} Bootleg recordings circulated online and the song became a fan favourite.{{cite web |last1=DeVille |first1=Chris |date=1 November 2021 |title=Radiohead – 'Follow Me Around' |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2165918/radiohead-follow-me-around/music/ |access-date=3 November 2021 |website=Stereogum}}
Radiohead recorded "Follow Me Around" during the sessions for their albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001). In an online diary written during the sessions, the guitarist Ed O'Brien wrote that they wanted to approach it in a new way rather than "fall into old habits". It went unreleased, which critics surmised was because it did not fit the albums' experimental style.
In the following years, Yorke performed "Follow Me Around" occasionally with Radiohead, in solo performances, and with his side project Atoms for Peace.{{cite web |last1=Shutler |first1=Ali |date=1 November 2021 |title=Radiohead finally release fan favourite 'Follow Me Around' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-finally-release-fan-favourite-follow-me-around-3084599 |access-date=3 November 2021 |website=NME}} He and the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood performed a rearranged version in 2017.{{Cite news |last=Rettig |first=James |date=20 August 2017 |title=Watch Radiohead's Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood Play Rarities At Italian Earthquake Benefit |work=Stereogum |url=http://www.stereogum.com/1958419/watch-radioheads-thom-yorke-jonny-greenwood-play-a-rare-duo-set-at-italian-earthquake-benefit-show/video/ |url-status=live |access-date=6 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906135200/http://www.stereogum.com/1958419/watch-radioheads-thom-yorke-jonny-greenwood-play-a-rare-duo-set-at-italian-earthquake-benefit-show/video/ |archive-date=6 September 2017}}
Release
Radiohead released "Follow Me Around" on the 2021 compilation album Kid A Mnesia. It was released as the second single on 1 November. The day before the release, Radiohead uploaded a full-quality clip of the performance from Meeting People is Easy to their YouTube channel.
The "Follow Me Around" music video features the actor Guy Pearce being chased by a drone camera.{{cite web |title=Radiohead - Follow Me Around Video |url=https://www.contactmusic.com/radiohead/video/radiohead-follow-me-around-video |website=Contact Music |access-date=3 November 2021}} It was directed by Us, a directing duo consisting of Chris Barrett and Luke Taylor.{{cite web |title=Some Music Videos & Commercials by Us |url=https://weareus.co.uk/ |website=We Are Us |access-date=3 November 2021}} Pearce said the video was recorded a few weeks before the release.{{Cite magazine|last=Martoccio|first=Angie|date=2021-11-01|title=Radiohead's 'Follow Me Around' is a holy grail for fans. 20 years later, it's here|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-follow-me-around-video-guy-pearce-1251279/|access-date=2021-11-01|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}
Reception
Several publications celebrated the release of a long-awaited fan favourite, including Rolling Stone, The Fader,{{cite web |last1=Darville |first1=Jordan |date=1 November 2021 |title=Radiohead officially releases fan favorite track 'Follow Me Around' |url=https://www.thefader.com/2021/11/01/radiohead-officially-releases-fan-favorite-track-follow-me-around |access-date=3 November 2021 |website=The Fader}} Spin,{{cite web |last1=Whitaker |first1=Marisa |date=1 November 2021 |title=Radiohead Releases Rare Fan Favorite 'Follow Me Around' |url=https://www.spin.com/2021/11/radiohead-follow-me-around/ |access-date=3 November 2021 |website=Spin}} Uproxx and NME. The Times wrote that it was the best of the bonus content on Kid A Mnesia and described it as "a brilliant song made at the wrong time, by a band who had moved on and who, eventually, moved a lot of fans with them too. Because Kid A was not just pop music; it was about educating fans in what pop music could be."
Personnel
=Radiohead=
= Additional personnel =
- Nigel Godrich{{spaced ndash}} production, engineering, mixing
- Gerard Navarro{{spaced ndash}} production assistance, additional engineering
- Graeme Stewart{{spaced ndash}} additional engineering