Radiohead has officially released those 18 hours of leaked OK Computer outtakes
Radiohead fans, a lot that love to obsess over the intricacies of their favorite band, faced an interesting moral quandary last week: 18 hours of outtakes and demos from the OK Computer sessions leaked online, forcing them to choose between digging through it or respecting the fact that the band chose never to release it. If you’re still struggling with that choice—or simply haven’t been able to carve out an 18-hour window of free time—you are in luck. In an to fans—one that references The Big Lebowski in its subject line—the band’s revealed that it’s uploaded the music in question to Bandcamp, where fans can buy it for £18, which comes out to roughly $23. It will be available for only 18 days, and all proceeds go to Extinction Rebellion, an environmental movement.
Guitarist Jonny Greenwood also announced the news via Twitter, adding that the band was blackmailed for $150,000 following the hack of the material.
“We got hacked last week—someone stole thom’s minidisk archive from around the time of OK Computer, and apparently demanded $150,000 on threat of releasing it. So instead of complaining—much—or ignoring it, we’re releasing all 18 hours on Bandcamp in aid of Extinction Rebellion. Just for the next 18 days. So for £18 you can find out if we should have paid that ransom. Never intended for public consumption (though some random clips did reach cassette in the OK Computer reissue) it’s only tangentially interesting. And very, very long. Not a phone download. Rainy out, isn’t it though?”
Per Spin, the leaks include previously released outtakes like “Lift” and “I Promise,” but there’s also a slew of unreleased live-only tracks in addition to ambient snippets, short riffs, and alternate versions of “True Love Waits,” which eventually appeared on 2016's A Moon Shaped Pool.
A trimmer message accompanied the music on Bandcamp:
we’ve been hacked
my archived mini discs from 1995-1998(?)
it’s not v interesting
there’s a lot of it
if you want it, you can buy the whole lot here
18 minidisks for £18
the proceeds will go to Extinction Rebellion
as it’s out there
it may as well be out there
until we all get bored
and move on
Check it out below.