RADIOHEAD 'BURN THE WITCH' INDUSTRY CONTEXT Flashcards
Who is Radiohead?
A famous British Rockband formed in 1985.
Summarise the BTW music video?
Features a distinctive and unsettling stop-motion style, portraying a small, seemingly idyllic village where the townspeople engage in a ritualistic process.
Who are Radiohead signed to?
- Intially signed to EMI, however left the label to self-release their album ‘In Rainbows’ as a (pay-what-you-want) dowload. Pioneering digital album distribution.
- Now signed to XL Recordings.
What genre is Radiohead?
- Alternative rock/Experimental/ Electronic Music.
- Use abstract lyrics, atmospheric production and avant-garde elements.
What is ‘Burn The Witch’?
- First track from Radiohead’s 9th album ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ (2016)
What album is ‘Burn The Witch’ from?
- ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’- blends orchestral elements with electronic sounds.
Radiohead & their cultural and political contributions?
- The band is known for their activitism (very vocal on digital rights/ impact of streaming services on artists)
- Political views: Left-leaning progressives. Tom York (lead singer) has been very critical of conservative politicans such as Thatcher, Trump.
- Themes- often explore themes of alienation and disillusionment with modern life, anti-capitalist rhetoric
When was Burn The Witch released on YT?
May 2016
Who produced and animated ‘BTW’?
- Produced by- Chris Hopwell.
- Animated by- Jackknife Prints
What does the song warn against?
- Group-thinking/ mob rule
- Authoritarianism/ Populism/Nationalism
- Mass surveillance
- Politicians who promise a return to a vistionist version of the past/history
- The visual style was deliberately lighter in tone than the song. Radiohead “wanted the video to contrast with what they’re playing and to wake people up a bit”
What was the song attacking?
rhetoric of traditional values used by right-wing politicians such as Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen (member of UK independence party). After Trump was elected US president on November 2016, Yorke tweeted lyrics from the song and linked to its music video, interpreted as a criticism of Trump’s policies.
What was the critical reception of the song?
- 41 million views on YT
- Nominated for a UK Music Video Award
- “sharp critique of modern authoritarianism wrapped in a children’s TV nightmare.”- The Guardian
Culturl context?
- Rise of Populism & Nationalism across Europe and the US as populist far-right movements were being popularised.
- Brexit was just weeks away (June 2016), with increased anti-immigrant rhetoric, nationalist discourse, and fears around refugees and terrorism.
