These Are My Twisted Words
{{Short description|2009 single by Radiohead}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name = These Are My Twisted Words
| cover = Radiohead - These Are My Twisted Words.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Radiohead
| album =
| released = 17 August 2009
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Alternative rock|experimental rock|krautrock}}
| length = 5:31
| label = Self-released
| writer = Radiohead
| producer = Nigel Godrich
| prev_title = Harry Patch (In Memory Of)
| prev_year = 2009
| next_title = Supercollider
| next_title2 = The Butcher
| next_year = 2011
}}
"These Are My Twisted Words" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released via BitTorrent on 12 August 2009, possibly by Radiohead. On 17 August, Radiohead released it as a free download on their website. Several critics likened the song to krautrock.
Release
On 12 August 2009, "These Are My Twisted Words" appeared unannounced on What.CD, a BitTorrent tracker. A text file included in the torrent file contained ASCII art, a cryptic poem and a reference to a release date of 17 August.{{cite web |author=Hoffman |first=Harrison |date=13 August 2009 |title=Did Radiohead just leak the first song from their new EP? |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10309227-26.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110160432/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10309227-26.html |archive-date=10 January 2011 |access-date=21 August 2009 |website=CNET}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/14/new-radiohead-song|title=Was the new Radiohead song leaked by the band?|author=Sean Michaels|date=14 August 2009|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=21 August 2009}}{{cite magazine|author=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=13 August 2009|title=New Radiohead Song 'These Are My Twisted Words' Leaks|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/new-radiohead-song-these-are-my-twisted-words-leaks-20090813|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=21 August 2013}}
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.{{Cite web|last=Michaels|first=Sean|date=2009-08-18|title=Radiohead officially release 'These Are My Twisted Words'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/18/radiohead-official-release|access-date=2021-10-07|website=The Guardian|language=en}} 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. In a blog post announcing the song, the guitarist Jonny Greenwood said it had been recently completed and made no mention of the leak. Radiohead performed "These Are My Twisted Words" on their 2012 King of Limbs tour.
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. The phrase "wall of eyes" later appeared in promotional materials for Radiohead's next album, The King of Limbs (2011).{{cite web |last=Hudson |first=Alex |date=13 November 2023 |title=The Smile Announce Sophomore Album Wall of Eyes, Share Title Track |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_smile_announce_sophomore_album_wall_of_eyes_share_title_track |access-date=13 November 2023 |website=Exclaim!}} More than a decade later, the title Wall of Eyes was used for an album by the Radiohead side project the Smile.{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2023-11-13 |title=Radiohead Side Project the Smile Return With New Album Wall of Eyes |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-smile-new-album-wall-of-eyes-paul-thomas-anderson-video-1234875865/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Montgomery |first=James |date=17 August 2009 |title=Radiohead Put Wall Of Ice EP Rumors To Rest, For Now |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/pu5hsd/radiohead-put-wall-of-ice-ep-rumors-to-rest-for-now |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113133848/https://www.mtv.com/news/pu5hsd/radiohead-put-wall-of-ice-ep-rumors-to-rest-for-now |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 November 2023 |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=MTV |language=en}}
Composition
"These Are My Twisted Words" is composed in a {{music|time|5|4}} time signature.{{cite book|last=Randall|first=Mac|title=Exit Music: The Radiohead Story|publisher=Delta|year=2011|isbn=978-0-385-33393-1|pages=262}} It opens with a motorik beat from the drummer, Philip Selway, before Yorke's vocal enters.{{cite web |author=Dombal |first=Ryan |date=24 August 2009 |title=Radiohead — 'These Are My Twisted Words' |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11454-radiohead-these-are-my-twisted-words/ |access-date=23 May 2014 |website=Pitchfork}}{{cite magazine|author=Schnipper|first=Matthew|date=17 August 2009|title=Radiohead, "These Are My Twisted Words" MP3|url=http://www.thefader.com/2009/08/17/radiohead-these-are-my-twisted-words-mp3/|magazine=The Fader|access-date=23 May 2014}} Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone noted a krautrock influence and likened the song to the In Rainbows track "Weird Fishes / Arpeggi". Bill Bradley of Vanity Fair said it had a "signature eerie Radiohead sound".{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2009/08/new-radiohead-mp3-these-are-my-twisted-words|title=New Radiohead MP3: "These Are My Twisted Words"|last=Bradley|first=Bill|website=The Hive|language=en|access-date=2019-03-31}} Matthew Schnipper of The Fader described it as a "simple song" with "a plodding, stubborn forward spirit".
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".{{cite magazine |author=Parks |first=Brian |date=24 August 2009 |title=Radiohead - "These Are My Twisted Words" (stream) |url=http://www.popmatters.com/post/110307-radiohead-these-are-my-twisted-words-new-song/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202070743/http://www.popmatters.com/post/110307-radiohead-these-are-my-twisted-words-new-song/ |archive-date=2 February 2016 |access-date=23 May 2014 |magazine=PopMatters}} Bradley of Vanity Fair wrote that "all the converted" would like the song. 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". In 2016, Rolling Stone included "These Are My Twisted Words" on its list of "20 insanely great Radiohead songs only hardcore fans know".{{Cite magazine |date=7 March 2016 |title=20 Insanely Great Radiohead Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/20-insanely-great-radiohead-songs-only-hardcore-fans-know-81425 |access-date=23 November 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|radiohead.com|Radiohead official website}}
{{Radiohead}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich
Category:Songs written by Thom Yorke
Category:Songs written by Colin Greenwood
Category:Songs written by Jonny Greenwood
Category:Songs written by Philip Selway