"These Are My Twisted Words" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was leaked via BitTorrent on 12 August 2009, possibly by the band, and released on 17 August as a free

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

from the Radiohead website.

Release

On 12 August 2009, "These Are My Twisted Words" appeared unannounced on What.CD, a

BitTorrent tracker A BitTorrent tracker is a special type of server that assists in the communication between peers using the BitTorrent protocol. In peer-to-peer file sharing, a software client on an end-user PC requests a file, and portions of the requested fi ...

. A text file included in the

torrent file In the BitTorrent file distribution system, a torrent file or meta-info file is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are compute ...

contained ASCII art, a cryptic poem and a reference to a release date of 17 August. Commentators including the '' Guardian'' and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' speculated that Radiohead had leaked the song themselves following the unconventional pay-what-you-want release of their album ''

In Rainbows ''In Rainbows'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a pay-what-you-want download, followed by a physical release internationally through XL Recordings and in North America ...

'' (2007). On 17 August, Radiohead released "These Are My Twisted Words" as a free

from their website and through a torrent file hosted by

Mininova Mininova was a website offering BitTorrent downloads. Mininova was once one of the largest sites offering torrents of copyrighted material, but in November 2009, following legal action in the Dutch courts, the site operators deleted all torrent ...

. The download included several pieces of artwork by Yorke and the longtime Radiohead collaborator Stanley Donwood, with the suggestion to print them on

tracing paper Tracing paper is paper made to have low opacity, allowing light to pass through. It was originally developed for architects and design engineers to create drawings that could be copied precisely using the diazo copy process; it then found ma ...

. In a blog post announcing the song, the guitarist Jonny Greenwood said it had been recently completed and made no mention of the leak. Radiohead performed "These Are My Twisted Words" on their 2012 '' King of Limbs'' tour.

Composition

"These Are My Twisted Words" is composed in a

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

. It opens with a

motorik Motorik is the 4/4 beat often used by, and heavily associated with, krautrock bands. Coined by music journalists, the term is German for "motor skill". The motorik beat was pioneered by Jaki Liebezeit, drummer with German experimental rock band ...

beat from the drummer,

Philip Selway Philip James Selway (born 23 May 1967) is an English musician and the drummer of the English rock band Radiohead. Along with the other members of Radiohead, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Selway released his deb ...

, before Yorke's vocal enters. Daniel Kreps of ''Rolling Stone'' noted a krautrock influence and likened the song to the ''In Rainbows'' track "Weird Fishes / Arpeggi". Bill Bradley of '' Vanity Fair'' said it had a "signature eerie Radiohead sound". Matthew Schnipper of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' described it as a "simple song" with "a plodding, stubborn forward spirit".

Reception

Brian Parks of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' gave "These Are My Twisted Words" seven out of ten, describing it as "the most recent in a long line of unconventionally beautiful songs for which Radiohead is renowned". Bradley of ''Vanity Fair'' wrote that "all the converted" would like the song. However, Ryan Dombal of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' wrote that its "nauseous guitars, featherweight motorik beat and vaguely whiny lyrics almost read as parody" and concluded that it "isn't as enticing as its method of distribution". In 2016, ''Rolling Stone'' included "These Are My Twisted Words" on its list of "20 insanely great Radiohead songs only hardcore fans know".

References

External links

* {{Radiohead Radiohead songs 2009 singles Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich Songs written by Thom Yorke Songs written by Colin Greenwood Songs written by Jonny Greenwood Songs written by Philip Selway Songs written by Ed O'Brien 2009 songs