Follow Me Around

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"Follow Me Around"
Single by Radiohead
from the album Kid A Mnesia
Released1 November 2021
RecordedJanuary 1999 – April 2000
GenreAcoustic rock
Length5:19
LabelXL
Songwriter(s)Radiohead
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"If You Say the Word"
(2021) 		"Follow Me Around"
(2021)
Music video
"Follow Me Around" on YouTube

"Follow Me Around" is a song recorded by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 1 November 2021 as the second single from their compilation album Kid A Mnesia. It was recorded during the joint sessions for Radiohead's fourth and fifth studio albums, Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), but went unreleased until 2021.

History[]

"Follow Me Around" first appeared in the 1998 documentary Meeting People is Easy.[1] Rolling Stone described it as one of singer Thom Yorke's darkest songs, with lyrics about "shadowy figures lurking in corners".[2]

The song has been performed on rare occasions by both Radiohead and Thom Yorke at solo shows, as well as a performance by Yorke and Nigel Godrich's side project Atoms for Peace.[3][4] Yorke and guitarist Jonny Greenwood performed a rearranged version in 2017.[5] After a performance at a Radiohead show in Toronto in 2000, fans created the website followmearound.com demanding the song's release.[6]

"Follow Me Around" was included on the 2021 compilation album Kid A Mnesia, released on 1 November 2021 as the second single.[7] The day before the single's release, Radiohead uploaded a full-quality partial clip of the soundcheck performance from Meeting People is Easy to their YouTube channel.[8]

Music video[]

On 1 November 2021, coinciding with the initial release of the song, Radiohead released a music video featuring actor Guy Pearce being chased by a drone camera.[9][10] The video was directed by Us, a directing duo consisting of Chris Barrett and Luke Taylor.[11] Pearce said the video was recorded "a few weeks" before the release.[12]

Reception[]

Writing for The A.V. Club, Alex McLevy called "Follow Me Around" "maybe the simplest, purest pop song [Radiohead have] ever put out".[4] The track was described by Rolling Stone as "a holy grail for fans".[9] Several other publications similarly celebrated the release of the track as a long-awaited fan favourite, including The Fader,[13] Spin,[1] Uproxx[6] and NME.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Whitaker, Marisa (1 November 2021). "Radiohead Releases Rare Fan Favorite 'Follow Me Around'". Spin. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  2. ^ ""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.
  3. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (1 November 2021). "Radiohead Share New Video for "Follow Me Around": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Watch Radiohead's Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood Play Rarities At Italian Earthquake Benefit". Stereogum. 20 August 2017. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  6. ^ a b Spinelli, Adrian (1 November 2021). "Radiohead Finally Releases The Sought-After Rarity 'Follow Me Around'". Uproxx. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  7. ^ DeVille, Chris (1 November 2021). "Radiohead – "Follow Me Around"". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b Shutler, Ali (1 November 2021). "Radiohead finally release fan favourite 'Follow Me Around'". NME. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  9. ^ a b Martoccio, Angie (1 November 2021). "Radiohead's 'Follow Me Around' Is a Holy Grail for Fans. 20 Years Later, It's Here". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Radiohead - Follow Me Around Video". Contact Music. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Some Music Videos & Commercials by Us". We Are Us. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  12. ^ 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Darville, Jordan (1 November 2021). "Radiohead officially releases fan favorite track "Follow Me Around"". The Fader. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
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