"2 + 2 = 5" is a song by the English 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 the third and final single from their sixth studio album, '' Hail to the Thief'' (2003). It reached number two on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by '' Jam!''/Canoe. I ...

, number 12 on the

Italian Singles Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

, and number 15 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was included in '' Radiohead: The Best Of'' (2008).

Recording

"2 + 2 = 5" is a rock song that builds to a loud climax. It was recorded in 2002 at Ocean Way Recording studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with the producer

Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He is known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead, having produced all their studio albums since '' OK Computer'' (1997). ...

. It was recorded as a studio test and finished in two hours. Promotional interview CD sent to British music press.

Title

The title is a reference to the slogan "

two plus two equals five "Two plus two equals five" (2 + 2 = 5) is a mathematically incorrect phrase used in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' by George Orwell. It appears as a possible statement of Ingsoc (Ingsoc, English Socialism) philosophy, li ...

" from the 1949

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

novel ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

'' by

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

.' The song's alternative title, "The Lukewarm", references

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

's ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'', in which the "lukewarm" are those in hell who did nothing wrong but did not oppose wrongdoing.

Track listings

UK CD1 (CDR 6623) # "2 + 2 = 5" – 3:21 # "Remyxomatosis" (

Cristian Vogel Cristian Vogel (born 1972) is an Chilean experimental electronic musician. Biography Vogel was born in Chile and moved to England in the early 1980s with his family, fleeing from the government of Augusto Pinochet. Vogel first began working with ...

RMX) – 5:07 # "

There There "There There" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released as the lead single from their sixth album, '' Hail to the Thief'' (2003), on 26 May 2003. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, number one in Canada and Port ...

" (first demo) – 7:43 UK CD2 (CDRS 6623) # "2 + 2 = 5" – 3:21 # "Skttrbrain" (

Four Tet Kieran Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting UK albums such as '' Rounds'' ...

remix) – 4:26 # "I Will" (Los Angeles version) – 2:14 UK DVD single (DVDR 6623) # "2 + 2 = 5" – 3:21 # "Sit Down Stand Up" (Ed Holdsworth's video) # "The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time" (excerpt)

Personnel

Radiohead *

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician and composer. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the alternative rock band Radiohead, and has written numerous film scores. Along with his elder brother, th ...

Colin Greenwood Colin Charles Greenwood (born 26 June 1969) is an English musician and the bassist for the rock band Radiohead. Along with bass guitar, Greenwood plays upright bass and electronic instruments. With his younger brother, the Radiohead guitari ...

Ed O'Brien Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he met the other mem ...

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 ...

Additional personnel *

– production *Darrell Thorp –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Stanley Donwood – artwork

Charts

Release history

References

External links

AtEaseWeb.com page
{{DEFAULTSORT:2 2 5 2003 singles Parlophone singles Radiohead songs Music based on Nineteen Eighty-Four 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