"Supercollider" and "The Butcher" are songs by the English alternative rock band

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

, released as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

in April 2011 for Record Store Day and June in North America. Radiohead worked on both songs during the sessions for their eighth album, '' The King of Limbs'' (2011).

History

Singer Thom Yorke first performed "Supercollider" solo on 6 June 2008 at

Malahide Castle Malahide Castle ( ga, Caisleán Mhullach Íde), parts of which date to the 12th century, lies close to the village of Malahide, nine miles (14 km) north of central Dublin in Ireland. It has over of remaining parkland estate, forming the ...

, Dublin. Radiohead worked on it during the recording of their eighth album, '' The King of Limbs,'' but did not finish it until March 2011, one month after the album's release. The song features a "calm electronic pulse". "The Butcher" was recorded and mixed during the ''King of Limbs'' sessions, but Radiohead decided it did not fit the album. It features "stuttering" drums and a one-note

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

Release

"Supercollider / The Butcher" was released as a

single on

12-inch vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

on 16 April, 2011, for Record Store Day. On 18 April, Radiohead released downloads of the tracks to those who had ordered ''The King of Limbs'' from their website.

Reception

'' Rolling Stone'' described the songs as "superb electro ballads" that would have fit the "moodier second half" of ''The King of Limbs,'' and awarded the single 4 out of 5. The ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' wrote that "Supercollider" had a "a lovely rise and fall", and particularly praised Yorke's

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

. However, the '' Vulture'' critic

Marc Hogan Marc Hogan (born October 3, 1981) is an American journalist. He currently works as a senior staff writer at Pitchfork. Hogan has been a music critic at Pitchfork since 2004. He has contributed to a number of other publications, including '' SPIN ...

felt that "The Butcher" had "impressively rumbling percussion, but, by Radiohead standards, not too much more". In 2021, ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' writer Chris Deville wrote that "Supercollider" was "the kind of epic that can work as an album’s centerpiece and spine", and that "The Butcher" combined dance beats with "Radiohead’s most dirge-like tendencies in fascinating ways". He speculated that ''The King of Limbs'' would be a fan favourite had it included the songs along with " The Daily Mail" and " Staircase", also released that year.

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Supercollider The Butcher 2011 singles Radiohead songs Record Store Day releases Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich