Radiohead album by album

On 11 June 2019 Radiohead released over 16 hours of material from 'OK Computer' sessions. It was known as the Minidiscs hacked

From Wikipedia

MiniDiscs [Hacked] is a compilation of recordings by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, made while they were working on their 1997 album OK Computer. It comprises over 16 hours of demos, rehearsals, live performances and other material. The recordings, taken from MiniDiscs belonging to singer Thom Yorke, were not intended for release; after they leaked online in June 2019, Radiohead released them through the music sharing site Bandcamp for 18 days, with all proceeds going to the environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion. The album received positive reviews.

MiniDiscs [Hacked] contains over 16 hours of demos, rehearsals, outtakes, and live performances recorded while Radiohead were working on their third album, OK Computer (1997).[1] It includes unreleased songs, alternative mixes, early versions of OK Computer songs (such as an extended version of "Paranoid Android"), and versions of later songs "Lift", "True Love Waits", "Nude", "Last Flowers", "Motion Picture Soundtrack" and "Life in a Glasshouse".[1][2]

The recordings are taken from MiniDiscs belonging to Radiohead singer Thom Yorke.[1] Though some had been released on the 2017 OK Computer reissue OKNOTOK 1997 2017,[3] most were never intended for release.[1]

On 5 June 2019, the recordings were leaked online by a collector who claimed to have traded them for unreleased Beatles recordings.[4] They may have been stolen while archived material was being prepared for the OK Computer reissue.[4] Guitarist Ed O'Brien said they had been hacked from Radiohead's cloud archive.[5]

According to conflicting reports, the thief initially demanded a $150,000 ransom from Radiohead not to release the recordings.[6] However, according to an investigation by Pitchfork, the thief, who used the name Zimbra, had instead hoped to sell them to fans.[4] Zimbra told Pitchfork that "the whole $150k thing and 'ransom' was taken way out of context".[4] A fan who negotiated with Zimbra said he did not believe extortion was his intent: "He never told us anything to suggest he was trying to get money from the band, only from fans."[4] Zimbra released the recordings free after news broke on the discussion site Reddit.[4]

On 11 June, Radiohead made the recordings available to stream or purchase from the music distribution site Bandcamp for 18 days.[7] All proceeds went to the environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion,[7] raising approximately £500,000.[8] The official release removed a 12-minute field recording and non-Radiohead material, such as several minutes of a James Bond score.[9] Guitarist Jonny Greenwood wrote on Twitter that the collection was "only tangentially interesting",[10] while Yorke wrote on the Bandcamp page: "As it's out there it may as well be out there until we all get bored and move on."[1]


1. "MD111" 70:47
2. "MD112" 61:27
3. "MD113" 65:08
4. "MD114" 57:21
5. "MD115" 57:04
6. "MD116" 25:57
7. "MD117" 55:28
8. "MD118" 57:03
9. "MD119" 53:37
10. "MD120" 58:17
11. "MD121" 60:21
12. "MD122" 73:13
13. "MD123" 17:52
14. "MD124" 72:22
15. "MD125" 56:10
16. "MD126" 68:04
17. "MD127" 26:49
18. "MD128" 41:52

 

Here's a comprehensive google doc document with tracklist and more!

RADIOHEAD – OK MINIDISC (OK COMPUTER ARCHIVES)

 

unmade is definitely the stand out track of that soundtrack.. simply beautiful.

and these "hacked" mini discs ... i still haven't digested all of it. so so so so much to take in. there are some versions of Lift, that should have been the choice for the OKNOTOK

 

I missed a lot in here! I had somewhat checked out of Thom’s solo material after the sorta underwhelming Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. The Suspiria soundtrack won me over in a huge way. The fully formed songs on it are all excellent and weird and sad and unsettling, just like the movie. The scene with “Unmade” should not work, with such a sad, affecting song fully laid over an intensely bonkers, disturbing scene, but it all fits. The music really brings out the sadness and despair behind the gore and terror. That soundtrack got me to finally see a Thom solo show in the fall of 2018. Even though he only did one song from the soundtrack (“Unmade” as the encore), the other material sounded so lively in a show setting, it made me reevaluate TMB. Plus he did basically every song from the forthcoming Anima except for “Dawn Chorus.”

The Minidiscs are stuffed full of unbelievable material. I spent a good two weeks only listening to them when they dropped, taking it all in. The biggest takeaways for me were these:
- this band works incredibly hard on their songs. Hearing all of the changes and variations through the discs showed that they really hammered these songs out, and made sure they were as good as they could possibly be. A lesser band might settle for a “pretty good” arrangement or structure or lyric. Radiohead pushed themselves to another level very consciously.

- “Attention” is so frustrating but so good. I hate that there’s no clear BEST version of it, and they clearly liked the song enough to keep working on it. It’s wild that no one even knew this song existed and they had so many versions sitting around. What other unknown songs like this are out there??

- Listening to each embryonic version of “Airbag” was like hearing them get one step closer to the right level of intensity. When the intro riff finally appears, it’s like the hero showing up in a movie.

- the discarded version of “Lift” is the definitive version of that song. Chills every time. I totally understand why they sat on it and didn’t release it, but they nailed something special on it. I’m so glad it’s finally available.

 

Do you want to discuss each Minidisc individually? (at least highlights)

 

I'd personally love to hear each minidisc discussed as I'm totally unfamiliar with this treasure trove

 

Here's Mini Disc 1 (aka 111)

Radiohead - MiniDiscs [ Hacked ] - MD111

The first track, 'Poison', is an early version of 'Exit Music'. And then 'Life in a Glasshouse'

 

It still blows my mind that those two songs have a common ancestor

 

'Attenzione'

Very much early Radiohead sounding!. It could be passed as 'Pablo Honey' era

 

'Electioneering Rehearsal'

 

'Lift' (live 1996)

 

'True Love Waits' (full band)

 

The disc 1 version of “Attention” might be my favorite one

 

All of these are fascinating - how many other bands could afford to throw away a song like "Attenzione"?

 

No Surprises (Lyon soundcheck 1996)

 

Motion Picture Soundtrack (Early rehearsal)

 

It's about time for a new LP, ok lads?

 

Thing is Reckoner might be my favorite song of theirs, but it's by far not the most technically complex. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi has more things going on but doesn't do much for me.

 

I adore In Rainbows but yeah...Weird Fishes/Arpeggi is musically very clever but it's probably my least favourite on the album.

My favorite Radiohead song varies from All I Need, Bodysnatchers and Lucky...

 

This week we have a show with a fine vintage - from the Chicago Metro, April 1996 with special thanks to
JBTV Music Television
- tune in on Friday here: https://youtu.be/rvoP5w1Q2tQ at 8pm BST/12pm PT/3pm ET.

 

They've been teasing something on TikTok that seems like it will be the belated Kid A / Amnesiac retrospective.

 

I really hope so. The tiktok format is fairly similar to the old blips they used to promote Kid A. I’m dying for a big comprehensive box set from that era. Fingers crossed!

 

Thom from the basement



further proof how strong Disk 2 is.... swoon

 

Minidiscs has some fantastic moments, it's unfortunate I'm too lazy to listen to it all!