Hail to the Thief (subtitled The Gloaming, written as Hail to the Thief, (or, The Gloaming.) in the album booklet) is the sixth studio album by English rock band Radiohead, released on 9 June 2003 in the United Kingdom and 10 June 2003, in the United States. It debuted at number one in the UK and at number three in the United States. After two Radiohead albums that featured heavily processed vocals, less guitar, and strong influence from experimental electronica and jazz, Hail to the Thief was seen as a return to alternative rock, drawing its sound from every era Read Full BioHail to the Thief (subtitled The Gloaming, written as Hail to the Thief, (or, The Gloaming.) in the album booklet) is the sixth studio album by English rock band Radiohead, released on 9 June 2003 in the United Kingdom and 10 June 2003, in the United States. It debuted at number one in the UK and at number three in the United States.
After two Radiohead albums that featured heavily processed vocals, less guitar, and strong influence from experimental electronica and jazz, Hail to the Thief was seen as a return to alternative rock, drawing its sound from every era of the band's existence. Preceded by the single "There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere.)", the album reached number one on the UK charts, and met with modest but worldwide commercial success, selling 994,000 units in the United States.
Band members described the album as having a more "swaggering" sound and a relaxed recording process, in contrast to the tense Kid A and Amnesiac sessions. At nearly an hour in length, Hail to the Thief is the band's longest album, although many of its songs are within the three- and even two-minute range, shorter than the band's average. Thom Yorke said he was inspired by Beatles songs of that length which he thought felt much longer. This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
The album received universal acclaim from professional critics upon release, based on a Metacritic score of 85/100, or 85%. Neil McCormick, writing in The Daily Telegraph, called it "Radiohead firing on all cylinders, a major work by major artists at the height of their powers", and the record performed typically well in magazines' end-of-year lists, especially in the United States. It was the fifth straight Radiohead release to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. Unswayed, the NME's James Oldham saw it as "a good rather than great record" and Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called it "neither startlingly different and fresh nor packed with the sort of anthemic songs that once made them the world's biggest band." In 2004, coproducer Nigel Godrich and engineer Darrell Thorp were honoured with Grammy Awards for their work on Hail to the Thief.
Like the album itself, every song on the album has two titles. The intended titling for the album is as follows:
1. 2 + 2 = 5. (The Lukewarm.) - 3:19
2. Sit Down. Stand Up. (Snakes & Ladders.) - 4:20
3. Sail to the Moon. (Brush the Cobwebs out of the Sky.) - 4:18
4. Backdrifts. (Honeymoon Is Over.) - 5:23
5. Go to Sleep. (Little Man Being Erased.) - 3:22
6. Where I End and You Begin. (The Sky Is Falling In.) - 4:29
7. We Suck Young Blood. (Your Time Is Up.) - 4:57
8. The Gloaming. (Softly Open Our Mouths in the Cold.) - 3:32
9. There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere.) - 5:24
10. I Will. (No Man's Land.) - 1:59
11. A Punchup at a Wedding. (No no no no no no no no.) - 4:57
12. Myxomatosis. (Judge, Jury & Executioner.) - 3:53
13. Scatterbrain. (As Dead as Leaves.) - 3:22
14. A Wolf at the Door. (It Girl. Rag Doll.) - 3:21
However, due to a misprint in the album artwork, there was no period after the "5" in "2 + 2 = 5".
After two Radiohead albums that featured heavily processed vocals, less guitar, and strong influence from experimental electronica and jazz, Hail to the Thief was seen as a return to alternative rock, drawing its sound from every era of the band's existence. Preceded by the single "There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere.)", the album reached number one on the UK charts, and met with modest but worldwide commercial success, selling 994,000 units in the United States.
Band members described the album as having a more "swaggering" sound and a relaxed recording process, in contrast to the tense Kid A and Amnesiac sessions. At nearly an hour in length, Hail to the Thief is the band's longest album, although many of its songs are within the three- and even two-minute range, shorter than the band's average. Thom Yorke said he was inspired by Beatles songs of that length which he thought felt much longer. This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
The album received universal acclaim from professional critics upon release, based on a Metacritic score of 85/100, or 85%. Neil McCormick, writing in The Daily Telegraph, called it "Radiohead firing on all cylinders, a major work by major artists at the height of their powers", and the record performed typically well in magazines' end-of-year lists, especially in the United States. It was the fifth straight Radiohead release to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. Unswayed, the NME's James Oldham saw it as "a good rather than great record" and Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called it "neither startlingly different and fresh nor packed with the sort of anthemic songs that once made them the world's biggest band." In 2004, coproducer Nigel Godrich and engineer Darrell Thorp were honoured with Grammy Awards for their work on Hail to the Thief.
Like the album itself, every song on the album has two titles. The intended titling for the album is as follows:
1. 2 + 2 = 5. (The Lukewarm.) - 3:19
2. Sit Down. Stand Up. (Snakes & Ladders.) - 4:20
3. Sail to the Moon. (Brush the Cobwebs out of the Sky.) - 4:18
4. Backdrifts. (Honeymoon Is Over.) - 5:23
5. Go to Sleep. (Little Man Being Erased.) - 3:22
6. Where I End and You Begin. (The Sky Is Falling In.) - 4:29
7. We Suck Young Blood. (Your Time Is Up.) - 4:57
8. The Gloaming. (Softly Open Our Mouths in the Cold.) - 3:32
9. There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere.) - 5:24
10. I Will. (No Man's Land.) - 1:59
11. A Punchup at a Wedding. (No no no no no no no no.) - 4:57
12. Myxomatosis. (Judge, Jury & Executioner.) - 3:53
13. Scatterbrain. (As Dead as Leaves.) - 3:22
14. A Wolf at the Door. (It Girl. Rag Doll.) - 3:21
However, due to a misprint in the album artwork, there was no period after the "5" in "2 + 2 = 5".
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2 + 2 = 5
Radiohead Lyrics
Are you such a dreamer,
To put the world to rights?
I'll stay home forever,
Where two and two always makes a five
I'll lay down the tracks,
Sandbag and hide,
January has April showers,
And two and two always makes a five
It's the Devil's way now,
There is no way out,
You can scream and you can shout,
It is too late now
Because you have not been
Payin' attention,
Payin' attention,
Payin' attention,
Payin' attention
Yeah I feel it, I needed attention,
Payin' attention,
Payin' attention,
Payin' attention
Yeah I need it, I needed attention,
I needed attention,
I needed attention,
I needed attention
Yeah I love it, the attention,
Payin' attention,
Payin' attention,
Payin' attention
(Soon, oh)
I try to sing along,
I get it all wrong,
'Cause I'm not,
'Cause I'm not
I swat 'em like flies,
But like flies the buggers keep coming back
But I'm not,
Oh hail to the thief,
Oh hail to the thief
But I'm not,
But I'm not,
But I'm not,
But I'm not
Don't question my authority or put me in the dock,
'Cause I'm not,
'Cause I'm not
Oh go up to the king, and the sky is falling in,
But it's not,
But it's not
But it's not
Maybe not,
Maybe not
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLIN CHARLES GREENWOOD, EDWARD JOHN O'BRIEN, JONATHAN RICHARD GUY GREENWOOD, PHILIP JAMES SELWAY, THOMAS EDWARD YORKE
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