AS IT IS 2016-05-06 Radiohead 'Disappears' from Internet, Releases New Song

AS IT IS 2016-05-06 Radiohead 'Disappears' from Internet, Releases New Song

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The English rock band Radiohead once recorded a song called “How to Disappear Completely.”

Earlier this week, the band appeared to have done just that. On Sunday, Radiohead slowly started to disappear from the Internet. Its Facebook posts and tweets were erased¹. The band’s website went white.

Radiohead fans quickly began discussing the possibility of a new album. It would be the band’s ninth studio album.

Then, on May 3, the band posted a 15-second video clip² on its previously³ empty Instagram account.

The video showed an animated⁴ bird made of clay. Later that day, it posted another video on Instagram of several animated clay people wearing masks, circling around a woman tied to a tree.

And then, finally, came a music video for the band’s first new song in five years.

The song is called “Burn the Witch.” Scenes from the short Instagram videos appear in the music video. It has already been viewed more than 7 million times on YouTube.

The video begins with a man arriving in a new town. At first, the town seems scenic⁵ and friendly. But the man begins to see strange things going on.

The end of the animated video shows people gathered around a huge wooden structure shaped like a person. The man is told to climb a tall ladder and go inside of the wooden structure.

A woman then sets the whole thing on fire.

Fans immediately started trying to understand the meaning of the song and the music video.

Virpi Kettu helped create the band’s new music video. She recently spoke⁶ with Billboard⁷ magazine about “Burn the Witch.”

She told Billboard that she believes the band wanted the video to bring attention to Europe’s refugee⁸ crisis⁹, especially the “blaming of different people...the blaming of Muslims and the negativity” in Europe.

Radiohead begins a world tour later this month.

Words in This Story

clay – n.  a heavy, sticky material from the earth that is made into different shapes and that becomes hard when it is baked or dried

animated – adj. produced by the creation¹⁰ of a series of drawings, pictures, etc., that are shown quickly one after another

negativity – n.  an attitude in which someone considers only the bad qualities of someone or something

1 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 clip   

n.夹子，别针，弹夹，片断；vt.夹住，修剪

参考例句：

• May I clip out the report on my performance?我能把报道我的文章剪下来吗？
• She fastened the papers together with a paper clip.她用曲别针把文件别在一起。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

5 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

8 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

9 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

10 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。