Harry Patch (In Memory Of)
"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" | ||||
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Single by Radiohead | ||||
Released | 5 August 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2009 | |||
Genre | Chamber pop, chamber music | |||
Length | 5:33 | |||
Label | Self-released | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Radiohead singles chronology | ||||
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"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" is a song by the English
Recorded in an abbey shortly before Patch's death, the song consists of Thom Yorke's vocals and a string arrangement composed by Jonny Greenwood, absent of Radiohead's typical mix of rock and electronic instrumentation. The lyrics are from the perspective of a soldier in the First World War, and include modifications of quotations from Patch. While reception to the song was generally positive, with many critics praising the song's message, others criticised it as too sombre. The Patch family voiced their approval of the song's message and the band's charitable use of the proceeds.
Recording
According to a post by Yorke on Radiohead's
Composition
"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" has no standard rock instrumentation, and instead comprises Yorke's vocals and an orchestral
While Radiohead has expressed
Release
"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" premiered on
The song's unconventional release, carried out "in classic Radiohead fashion" according to Mehan Jayasuriya of PopMatters,[16] was praised by The Guardian's John Harris: "Welcome, once again, to the future of popular music: no need for albums, or marketing campaigns, or grand announcements—just a song by Radiohead, recorded mere weeks ago, premiered on yesterday's Today programme, and now available to download."[10] Caleb Garning of Wired noted the song's "abrupt creation" and the sudden announcement of their album The King of Limbs as part of Radiohead's move towards an unpredictable release schedule for new recorded material.[17] In a feature for The Quietus, Wyndham Wallace argued that the track's release is in line with broader music industry trends towards "instant gratification", initiated by the digital release of Radiohead's previous album In Rainbows (2007).[18]
Reception
Critical reception to the song was generally positive. Jim Fusilli of The Wall Street Journal described it as "a masterly achievement", highlighting Yorke's "eerie" vocals and Greenwood's "elegant" arrangement, and concluding that "with Radiohead, the unexpected isn't merely a ploy. It's a new approach to modern music that's often thrilling."[7] Dan Martin of The Guardian described the song as "a desolate lament over bleak, circling strings that build as the song progresses" and wrote that "considering the solemnity of the subject, the song finds Radiohead at their most understated and serene".[19] Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly called the song "a gorgeous anti-war ballad" and said that "Needless to say, it's very much worth any Radiohead fan's pound, regardless of the exchange rate."[12] NME named the track as one of the ten best tracks of the week and called it an "elegiac", "affecting, slow-burn statement" that "rather than hectoring, [...] states simply the horrors of war that Patch spoke so movingly about".[13]
Critic Allan Raible of ABC News compared the song to earlier Radiohead songs "How to Disappear Completely" and "Pyramid Song" and called it "one of the most beautiful compositions Thom Yorke and company have ever released."[20] Richardson gave the song a score of seven out of ten in Pitchfork's song review feature The Playlist, and wrote that while it could be criticized as "a noble but failed experiment, overly maudlin and sentimental even if it is surface-level pretty", the song's "simplicity and unsubtle affect, especially coming from this band, wind up being strengths."[21] In a later column, Richardson would further defend the song from charges of excessive sentimentality and attributes the song's emotional success to its severe subject, death: "If these pieces were connected to thoughts of breaking up with a girlfriend or getting fired or lamenting cold weather or any of a million other of life's tragedies, they wouldn't work, at least not in the same way. They need that huge weight [of death] [...] on the other end to balance them out."[4] Kyle Anderson of MTV.com called the song a "slow, florid affair" and placed its "typically dark" lyrics in the context of Radiohead's previous political activism, such as their participation in the anti-human trafficking MTV EXIT campaign.[22]
Praise for the song was not universal. Rob Harvilla of
Patch's grandson Roger Patch voiced his family's approval, saying:
Our family is very touched that Radiohead has reached out to its followers and especially the younger generation through the single that echoes Harry's interview in 2005. Harry loved music and would be 100 percent behind Radiohead in raising awareness of the suffering of conflict—not least the futility of it—in a way that can also benefit the Legion. It's a great idea which we support wholeheartedly.[24]
Royal British Legion chairman Peter Cleminson said: "Radiohead has picked up the torch from Harry Patch to hold it high. Radiohead uses Harry's own words to remind us of the horrors of war, and we believe Harry would be pleased."[25]
See also
- Last Post, a poem in memory of Patch by British poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy
- List of anti-war songs
References
- ^ a b Yorke, Thom (2009-08-05). "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)". Dead Air Space. Archived from the original on 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ a b c d Jones, Lucy (2009-08-06). "Radiohead's tribute to Harry Patch strikes the right note". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Barton, Chris (2009-08-05). "On Radiohead's 'Harry Patch (In Memory Of)'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (2009-08-05). "Radiohead Offer Up New Song "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ a b Harvilla, Rob (2009-08-05). "On Radiohead's New "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ a b c Fusilli, John (2009-08-08). "Radiohead's Peace Anthem". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ a b Rice, Andrea (2009-08-11). "Radiohead's Anti-War Eulogy "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ a b Lewis, Luke (2009-05-08). "Radiohead's New Song, 'Harry Patch (In Memory Of)' - What Do You Think?". NME. Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
- ^ a b Harris, John (2009-08-06). "Radiohead's farewell to old first world war soldier in song". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Judd, Terri (2009-08-05). "Radiohead release Harry tribute". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-09. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^ a b Vozick-Levinson, Simon (2009-08-05). "Radiohead surprises fans with new song, 'Harry Patch (In Memory Of)'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ a b "10 Tracks You Have To Hear This Week – Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead". NME. 2009-08-17. Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
- ^ "Radiohead: Harry Patch (In memory of)". BBC Online. 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Salmon, Chris (2009-08-14). "Click to download: Radiohead tribute hits purple Patch". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ Jayasuriya, Mehan (2009-08-05). "Radiohead - "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"". PopMatters. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Garning, Caleb (2011-02-24). "Review: With King of Limbs, Radiohead Deals a Deathblow to the 'Album'". Wired. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
- ^ Wallace, Wyndham (2009-08-11). "Radiohead Versus The Release Schedule". The Quietus. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
- ^ Martin, Dan (2009-08-05). "Radiohead: Harry Patch (In Memory Of)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Raible, Allan (2009-08-05). "Review And Commentary: Radiohead's "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^ Anderson, Kyle (2009-08-05). "Radiohead Releases New Song as Tribute to Soldier". MTV.com. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^ Malitz, David (2009-08-06). "ZoMG!!!!! New Radiohead Song!; VMA Nomineeds Announced; Seriously, New Radiohead Song!!!". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ "Harry Patch's family welcome Radiohead tribute song | NME". NME. August 6, 2009.
- Billboard. Archived from the originalon 10 April 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
External links
- Download page
- BBC Today programme page with link to the Harry Patch interview that inspired the song
- Harry Patch (In Memory Of) at MusicBrainz