Burn the Witch (Radiohead song)

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"Burn the Witch"
Single by Radiohead
from the album A Moon Shaped Pool
B-side"Spectre" (vinyl)
Released3 May 2016
Genre
Length3:40
LabelXL
Songwriter(s)Radiohead
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"The Daily Mail" / "Staircase"
(2011) 		"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, the lead single from their ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). It features a string section playing with guitar plectrums, producing a percussive sound. Radiohead first worked on the song during the sessions for their fourth album, Kid A (2000), and developed it for over a decade.

"Burn the Witch" was released as a download on 3 May 2016 on Radiohead's website, followed by 7-inch single released exclusively in independent record stores later that month. It was accompanied by a stop-motion animated music video that pays homage to the Trumptonshire series of 1960s British children's television programmes and the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man. Critics interpreted the lyrics and video as a warning against groupthink and authoritarianism.

"Burn the Witch" was named one of the best songs of the year by Rolling Stone, Billboard and the Village Voice, and was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. It was one of the bestselling UK vinyl singles of 2016.

Background[edit]

Radiohead worked on "Burn the Witch" during the sessions for their albums Kid A (2000), Hail to the Thief (2003) and In Rainbows (2007).[3] The title appears in artwork in the Hail to the Thief booklet.[3] The singer, Thom Yorke, mentioned the song in a 2005 post on Radiohead's blog[3] and posted lyrics in 2007.[4] He briefly played chords from the song in performances in 2006 and 2008, but told the audience that Radiohead would perform it "when we get the orchestra".[5]

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

Recording[edit]

According to the guitarist Jonny Greenwood, who arranges Radiohead's string sections, "Burn the Witch" was written with strings in mind. He said: "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; Greenwood had worked with both before on his score for the 2012 film The Master.[9][10] Rather than bowing the strings, the orchestra players used guitar plectrums,[11] creating a percussive effect.[12]

Godrich's father died on the day of the recording. According to Godrich, "I literally left him on a fucking table in my house and went and recorded. And it was a very, very emotional day for me. He was a string player as well so it was one of those things where it felt like he would want me to go and just do this."[13]

Music and lyrics[edit]

"Burn the Witch" was described by The Atlantic as an orchestral pop song[1] and by The Guardian as an art rock song.[2] According to Pitchfork, the string section "alternates between sumptuous flourishes and the darkest corners of The Shining's score".[12] The Atlantic critic Spencer Kornhaber likened the strings to heavy metal, "chugga-chugga-chugga-ing the entire time".[1] In the second half, the strings "gradually disintegrate"; while the cellos and basses adhere to a conventional chord progression, the higher strings become "deathly" and "horrid".[14] The song also features electronic percussion.[15]

The lyrics direct the listener to "abandon all reason / avoid all eye contact / do not react / shoot the messengers / burn the witch".[12] Yorke said the lyrics were inspired by the News of the World newspaper publishing the names and addresses of sex offenders in 2000.[16]

Video[edit]

Props from the "Burn the Witch" music video on display in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019[17]

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 Trumptonshire trilogy, a series of 1960s English children's television programmes.[18] According to the son-in-law of Trumptonshire creator Gordon Murray, the family was not asked permission to use the style and saw it as a "tarnishing of the brand".[19][20] The video was conceived and finished in 14 days[21] and released on YouTube one week later on 3 May 2016.[22]

The story homages the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man[21][22] and depicts mob rule in a rural community.[23] An inspector is greeted by a town mayor and shown a series of unsettling sights, culminating in the unveiling of a wicker man. The mayor urges the inspector to climb into it, 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. The inspector escapes among the trees.

Interpretation[edit]

Pitchfork interpreted "Burn the Witch" as a criticism of authority and a warning against groupthink, expressing "dread and skepticism".[12] The Guardian felt it addressed mass surveillance or the threat to open discussion posed by the self-policing users of social media.[2] The Pitchfork writer Marc Hogan suggested that the idyllic rural Britain depicted in the video addressed the rhetoric of family values used by right-wing politicians such as Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and members of the UK Independence Party.[18] After Trump was elected US president on 8 November 2016, Yorke tweeted lyrics from the song and linked to its music video, interpreted as a criticism of Trump's policies.[23][24]

The animator Virpi Kettu, who worked on the music video, interpreted the song as a comment on the European migrant crisis and scapegoating of Muslims. The visual style was deliberately lighter in tone than the song, as Kettu said Radiohead "wanted the video to contrast with what they're playing and to wake people up a bit".[25]

Promotion and release[edit]

The card 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."[26]

"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.[27][28] A 7-inch single, with the 2015 song "Spectre" as the B-side, was released exclusively in independent record stores on May 13 in the UK and soon after internationally.[29] It became the year's 26th-bestselling vinyl single in the UK.[30] The manga author Tite Kubo used the title for a spin-off Bleach manga.[31]

Reception[edit]

Pitchfork named "Burn the Witch" the week's "Best New Track", with the 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."[12] 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."[32]

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."[14] However, Alex Hudson of Metro criticised the lyrics and rhythm, writing: "It is not the Radiohead of old: taking underground musical movements and turning them into a mass market record ... Here, they sound like they are influenced by the mass market rather than them influencing it."[33] The New Republic writer Ryan Kearney criticised the lyrics for their abundance of common phrases such as "shoot the messengers", writing that Yorke was "the most overrated lyricist in music today".[34]

Rolling Stone named "Burn the Witch" one of the 30 best songs of the first half of 2016.[15] Billboard named it the 19th-best pop song of 2016,[35] and the annual Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll ranked it number 12.[36] It was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.[37]

Track listing[edit]

7"[edit]

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

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[39] 63
Canada Rock (Billboard)[40] 37
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[41] 16
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[42] 18
Finland Download (Latauslista)[43] 20
France (SNEP)[44] 51
Ireland (IRMA)[45] 51
Italy (FIMI)[46] 92
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[47] 62
Portugal (AFP)[48] 56
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[49] 40
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 74
UK Singles (OCC)[51] 64
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[52] 21
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[53] 9
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[54] 23
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[55] 29
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[56] 44

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (2016) Position
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[57] 91

Certifications[edit]

Certifications and sales for "Burn the Witch"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[58] Gold 40,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Region Date Label Format Catalogue no.
Worldwide 3 May 2016 XL Download XLDS791[28]
United States 16 May 2016 7" 407917[38]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Kornhaber, Spencer (3 May 2016). "'Burn the Witch': Radiohead's Gorgeous and Scary Comeback Song". The Atlantic. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c 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. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  5. ^ "How do Radiohead's resurrected songs on A Moon Shaped Pool compare to the originals?". Fact. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b 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. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  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. Archived from the original on 21 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. (9 May 2016). "Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool: The 5 Most Important Things To Know". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Listen to Jonny Greenwood Break Down Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool Tracks". Pitchfork. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e Mapes, Jillian (3 May 2016). "Reviews - Tracks: Radiohead - 'Burn the Witch'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  13. ^ Greene, Andy (8 June 2017). "19 Things We Learned Hanging Out With Radiohead". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  14. ^ a b "A music theory breakdown of Radiohead's 'Burn The Witch'". Classic FM. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  15. ^ a b Christopher R Weingarten (22 June 2016). "30 Best Songs of 2016 So Far". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  16. ^ Everitt, Matt (11 March 2017). "The First Time with Thom Yorke". BBC Radio 6 Music. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Class of 2019 Exhibit". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  18. ^ a b Hogan, Marc (3 May 2016). "Decoding the Politics in Radiohead's "Burn the Witch" Video". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 5 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. ^ a b Strauss, Matthew (3 May 2016). "Radiohead Artist Stanley Donwood Shares 'Burn the Witch' Behind-the-Scenes Shots". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  22. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (3 May 2016). "Watch Radiohead's Sinister 'Burn the Witch' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  23. ^ a b "Thom Yorke uses Radiohead's "Burn the Witch" to comment on the ill-fated 2016 election". Consequence of Sound. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Radiohead's Thom Yorke Had The Perfect Reaction To Donald Trump's Election Victory". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  25. ^ "Radiohead 'Burn the Witch' Animator on the Sleepless Nights Behind New Video". Billboard. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  26. ^ Peters, Mitchell (30 April 2016). "Radiohead Fans Receive Mysterious 'Burn the Witch' Leaflets Ahead of New Album". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  27. ^ "Burn the Witch – Single by Radiohead". iTunes US. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  28. ^ a b "Radiohead – Burn the Witch – XL". Bleep. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  29. ^ "Radiohead's "Burn the Witch" receives vinyl release". Consequence of Sound. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  30. ^ White, Jack (3 January 2016). "The Official Top 40 biggest selling vinyl albums and singles of 2016". Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  31. ^ Romero, Pedro (11 October 2020). "With Burn the Witch, Bleach's Tite Kubo Doubles Down on His Alt-Rock Love". CBR.com. Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 23 November 2022. Mangaka Tite Kubo, aside from the fact that he created the famous manga/anime series Bleach, is also known for incorporating an endless amount of references into his body of work. And in continuing this trend, Kubo named Burn The Witch, his Bleach one-shot-turned spinoff miniseries, after the 2016 song of the same name by alternative rock band Radiohead.
  32. ^ Bartleet, Larry (3 May 2016). "Radiohead – 'Burn The Witch' Track Review: A Disturbingly Joyful Return". NME. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  33. ^ "Radiohead's new song Burn The Witch isn't actually new at all". Metro. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  34. ^ Kearney, Ryan (31 May 2016). "The Radiohead Racket". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  35. ^ "Billboard's 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks". Billboard. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  36. ^ "PAZZ+JOP 2016". Village Voice. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  37. ^ "Here Is the Complete List of Nominees for the 2017 Grammys". Billboard. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  38. ^ a b "Radiohead – Burn The Witch b/w Spectre (Indie Exclusive)". Bull Moose. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  39. ^ Ryan, Gavin (14 May 2016). "ARIA Singles: Drake 'One Dance' Is Still No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  40. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  41. ^ "Radiohead – Burn the Witch" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  42. ^ "Radiohead – Burn the Witch" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  43. ^ "Radiohead: Burn the Witch" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  44. ^ "France Top Singles Charts (Week 18, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  45. ^ "Chart Track: Week 19, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  46. ^ "Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 19 (dal 2016-05-06 al 2016-05-12)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  47. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  48. ^ "Radiohead – Burn the Witch". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  49. ^ "Radiohead – Burn the Witch" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  50. ^ "Radiohead – Burn the Witch". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  51. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  52. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  53. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  54. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  55. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  56. ^ "Radiohead Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  57. ^ "Hot Rock Songs - Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  58. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Radiohead – Burn the Witch". Music Canada. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

External links[edit]

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