"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.
| "Follow Me Around" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Radiohead | ||||
| from the album Kid A Mnesia | ||||
| Released | 1 November 2021 | |||
| Recorded | January 1999 – April 2000 | |||
| Genre | Acoustic rock | |||
| Length | 5:19 | |||
| Label | XL | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Radiohead | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Radiohead singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Follow Me Around" on YouTube | ||||
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
edit"Follow Me Around" features a solo performance by Thom Yorke on acoustic guitar, with a "soaring" chorus.[1] The lyrics express paranoia and dread, and reference Margaret Thatcher.[1][2] Earlier versions instead referenced Tony Blair.[1] The A.V. Club described "Follow Me Around" as perhaps the simplest pop song Radiohead had ever released, likening it to Eddie Vedder.[3] Rolling Stone said it was one of Yorke's darkest songs.[4]
History
edit"Follow Me Around" first appeared in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy, which includes a performance recorded during a soundcheck.[5] After Radiohead performed it at a Toronto show in 2000, fans created a website demanding its release.[5] Bootleg recordings circulated online and the song became a fan favourite.[6][7]
Radiohead recorded "Follow Me Around" during the sessions for their albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001).[6] In an online diary written during the sessions, the guitarist Ed O'Brien wrote that the band wanted to approach it in a new way rather than "fall into old habits".[4] Critics surmised that it went unreleased as it was too conventional and did not fit the albums' experimental style.[1][3][6] In the following years, Yorke performed it occasionally with Radiohead, in solo performances, and with his side project Atoms for Peace.[7] He and the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood performed a rearranged version in 2017.[8]
The latest live performance of "Follow Me Around" was during Thom Yorke's Everything solo 2024 tour in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, November 24th.[9][10]
Release
editRadiohead released "Follow Me Around" on the 2021 compilation album Kid A Mnesia. It was released as the second single on 1 November.[6] The day before the release, Radiohead uploaded a full-quality clip of the performance from Meeting People is Easy to their YouTube channel.[7]
Music video
editThe "Follow Me Around" music video features the actor Guy Pearce being chased by a drone camera.[11][12] It was directed by Us, a directing duo consisting of Chris Barrett and Luke Taylor.[13] Pearce said the video was recorded a few weeks before the release.[11]
Reception
editSeveral publications celebrated the release of a long-awaited fan favourite, including Rolling Stone,[11] The Fader,[2] Spin,[14] Uproxx[5] and NME.[7] 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."[1]
Personnel
editRadiohead
editAdditional personnel
edit- Nigel Godrich – production, engineering, mixing
- Gerard Navarro – production assistance, additional engineering
- Graeme Stewart – additional engineering
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Dean, Jonathan. "Kid A Mnesia shows that the future is still Radiohead". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ^ a b Darville, Jordan (1 November 2021). "Radiohead officially releases fan favorite track 'Follow Me Around'". The Fader. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b McLevy, Alex (1 November 2021). "Radiohead's long-awaited new single is one of the purest folk-pop songs they've ever written". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b Kreps, Daniel; Ehlrich, David; Montgomery, James (6 September 2016). ""Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)" (1997) - 20 Insanely Great Radiohead Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Spinelli, Adrian (1 November 2021). "Radiohead Finally Releases The Sought-After Rarity 'Follow Me Around'". Uproxx. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d DeVille, Chris (1 November 2021). "Radiohead – 'Follow Me Around'". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Shutler, Ali (1 November 2021). "Radiohead finally release fan favourite 'Follow Me Around'". NME. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ Rettig, James (20 August 2017). "Watch Radiohead's Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood Play Rarities At Italian Earthquake Benefit". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/thom-yorke/2024/tokyo-garden-theater-tokyo-japan-43562b0b.html
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDJR3-_V1Zk
- ^ a b c Martoccio, Angie (2021-11-01). "Radiohead's 'Follow Me Around' is a holy grail for fans. 20 years later, it's here". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
- ^ "Radiohead - Follow Me Around Video". Contact Music. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Some Music Videos & Commercials by Us". We Are Us. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ Whitaker, Marisa (1 November 2021). "Radiohead Releases Rare Fan Favorite 'Follow Me Around'". Spin. Retrieved 3 November 2021.