*these are my ramblings so take them as you please*
At a concert in 2012 in Tinley Park, IL, Radiohead debuted a new song titled "Ful Stop" - a relentless and textural piece that was well received by the audience. After the song finished, Thom quipped, "I'll get better with age, y'know..."
That phrase couldn't be more fitting for Burn The Witch
This song has had a long history dating back to Kid A sessions and had been attempted at pretty much every album session since. Lyrics popped up on the Dead Air Space website, and even appeared on the Hail to the Thief album art. Thom had previously teased little bits at shows when at the piano, but other than that... nothing.
Needlessly to say, when the teasers began popping up hinting that Burn The Witch would be appearing on the album, the excitement mounted into a frenzy.
And then it appeared...
Whoa.
First off, those strings. Those fucking strings... I have always held Jonny in the highest regard when it comes to writing and arranging orchestral parts for both Radiohead and for the cinema. His arrangements are much more than just strings bowing lush classical sounds. The strings are played unconventionally, and that's still putting it mildly. He employs avant-garde techniques that allow the orchestral sound to become integral to the overall mood of the song. And this song is the next step for that.
Take a moment to consider the fact that, instead of using synthesizers or guitars to replicate the sound of violin players beating the strings with the back of their bows, they had string players actually beat the strings with the back of their bows. It's a sound you can't replicate anywhere else. I'll go as far as to say that this is one of Jonny's greatest arrangements. He utilized the strings in such a way as to create a uniquely terrifying sound. It's driving. It's attention grabbing. These are actual people playing this. Not electronics or computers. Real people. From start to finish. Fucking amazing.
This will hopefully go down as a great moment in combining 20th Century Classical music with modern songwriting.
It's Penderecki Pop
There are moments in the song where the notes glide up as the bows hit (listen as Thom says "this is a low-flying panic attack") and create a sound that makes your spine pull up straight. There are the chilling spidery notes during the "Avoid all eye contact" verse and make the lyrics all the more tense. And even when the bows are played traditionally, the cellos chug away, the violins glide up and down (which create a sound similar to Jonny's Ondes Martenot playing). The moment when the shivers go down my spine is when Thom sings "Abandon all reason" and the strings swell and slide around his melody. It's truly brilliant.
Thom's voice has a calm collected coolness. There's no sense of dread or uncertainty. You can almost see him put the reassuring hand on the shoulder of the hunted reminding them to "avoid all eye contact" and to "stay in the shadows" - and the moment when he says to "sing the song on the jukebox that goes: Burn the witch! We know where you live!" is a masterful moment as he's showing you how the song is sung and the song is terrifying.
The powerful combination of the lyrics and music, especially during the refrain, create a scene of terror and fear. When I listened to the song without the video, closing my eyes and letting my imagination wander, I saw mobs of people with torches and pitchforks. I could see the finger pointing as Thom wails "We know where you live!" It is a frightening moment.
It's so interesting that they could create a song that aurally describes the kind of horror those men and women who were hunted and burned in the actual witch trials and burning felt. That's what I thought of at least. They should make a new version of "The Crucible" just to play this song as the end credits roll.
Of course, the song communicates more than that. It applies to the modern day, with people fearing those they do not understand. The recent issues with the refugee crisis and the Islamaphobia apply just as strongly. And that's part of what makes this song so good.
It's astounding that Radiohead managed to pack all this into 3 minutes and 40 seconds, but they are true masters of the art and craft of songwriting.
If this song is a hint at what's to come, we better prepare ourselves for the darkness.
Until next time...
~R
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