If_You_Say_the_Word

If You Say the Word

If You Say the Word

2021 single by Radiohead

"If You Say the Word" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 7 September 2021 as the first single from the compilation Kid A Mnesia.[1] It was recorded during the joint sessions for Radiohead's albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), but remained unreleased until 2021.[2]

Quick Facts Single by Radiohead, from the album Kid A Mnesia ...

Music

"If You Say the Word" features "delicate" fingerpicking, a "foreboding groove", "chiming" percussion and ondes Martenot.[1]

Music video

Radiohead released a video for "If You Say the Word" on 23 September 2021.[3] It was directed by Kasper Häggström and features a crew capturing businessmen from nature and taking them to work in London.[4][5][6] Spin likened the video to the science fiction series Black Mirror.[7] The video won "Best Alternative Video" at the 2022 UK Music Video Awards.[8]

Reception

Writing for Pitchfork, Marc Hogan described "If You Say the Word" as "lush and elegant". He observed that the lyrics seem both loving and threatening, and wrote that it "doesn't immediately stand out as fodder for a Radiohead best-of playlist, it's still of such strikingly high quality that it's surprising it hasn't surfaced before now".[1] Contact Music described it as a "typically melancholy ambient number" in line with other material from Kid A and Amnesiac.[9]

Personnel

Radiohead

Additional personnel

  • Nigel Godrich – production, engineering, mixing
  • Gerard Navarro – production assistance, additional engineering
  • Graeme Stewart – additional engineering

References

  1. [1]
    Hogan, Marc (7 September 2021). "Radiohead 'If You Say the Word'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  2. [2]
    Richards, Will (23 September 2021). "Watch Radiohead's haunting new video for 'If You Say The Word'". NME. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  3. [3]
    Fu, Eddie (23 September 2021). "Radiohead Share New Video for "If You Say the Word": Watch". Consequence. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  4. [4]
    Strauss, Matthew (23 September 2021). "Radiohead Share Uncanny New "If You Say the Word" Video: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  5. [5]
    Kreps, Daniel (23 September 2021). "Radiohead Go Businessman-Hunting in New Video for 'If You Say the Word'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  6. [6]
    Caraan, Sophie (24 September 2021). "Radiohead Drops Visual for Previously Unreleased Track "If You Say the Word"". Hypebeast. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  7. [7]
    Whitaker, Marisa (23 September 2021). "Radiohead Unveil 'If You Say the Word' Video". Spin. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  8. [8]
    "UK Music Video Awards: Little Simz campaign honoured with more trophies". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  9. [9]
    "Radiohead - If You Say The Word Audio Stream". Contact Music. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
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