"Follow Me Around" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 1 November 2021 as the second single from their compilation album ''

Kid A Mnesia ''Kid A Mnesia'' is a reissue compiling the albums ''Kid A'' (2000) and '' Amnesiac'' (2001) by the English rock band Radiohead. It also includes a bonus disc, ''Kid Amnesiae'', comprising previously unreleased material. It was released on 5 N ...

''. It was recorded during the joint sessions for Radiohead's fourth and fifth studio albums, ''

Kid A ''Kid A'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and their hometown of Oxford. After t ...

'' (2000) and ''

Amnesiac Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use o ...

'' (2001), but went unreleased until 2021.

History

"Follow Me Around" first appeared in the 1998 documentary ''

Meeting People is Easy ''Meeting People Is Easy'' is a 1998 British documentary film by Grant Gee that follows the English rock band Radiohead on the world tour for their 1997 album ''OK Computer''. It received positive reviews and was nominated for a Grammy Award fo ...

''. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' described it as one of singer

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 describ ...

's darkest songs, with lyrics about "shadowy figures lurking in corners". Yorke performed "Follow Me Around" occasionally in solo shows, with Radiohead, and with his side project

Atoms for Peace "Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953. The United States then launched an "Atoms for Peace" program that supplied equipmen ...

. He and the Radiohead guitarist

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, t ...

performed a rearranged version in 2017. After a performance at a Radiohead show in Toronto in 2000, fans created a website demanding the song's release. "Follow Me Around" was included on the 2021 compilation album ''

'' and released on 1 November, 2021, as the second single. The day before the release, Radiohead uploaded a full-quality clip of the soundcheck performance from ''Meeting People is Easy'' to their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

channel.

Music video

On 1 November 2021, coinciding with the initial release of the song, Radiohead released a music video featuring the actor

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series '' Neighbour ...

being chased by a drone camera. The video was directed by Us, a directing duo consisting of Chris Barrett and Luke Taylor. Pearce said the video was recorded a few weeks before the release.

Reception

In ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

'', Alex McLevy wrote that "Follow Me Around" was "maybe the simplest, purest pop song adiohead haveever put out". Several publications celebrated the release as a long-awaited fan favourite, including ''

,'' ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'', ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', ''

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audienc ...

'' and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''.

Personnel

Radiohead

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 guitaris ...

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 debu ...

Additional personnel

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). ...

production, engineering, mixing * Gerard Navarro production assistance, additional engineering * Graeme Stewart additional engineering

References

{{Radiohead 2021 songs Radiohead songs Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich Songs written by Thom Yorke Songs written by Jonny Greenwood Songs written by Colin Greenwood Songs written by Ed O'Brien Songs written by Philip Selway XL Recordings singles