| Com Lag (2plus2isfive) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | 24 March 2004 | |||
| Recorded | September 2002 – February 2003, 26 November 2003 | |||
| Genre | Experimental rock | |||
| Length | 36:21 | |||
| Label | Toshiba-EMI | |||
| Producer | Nigel Godrich, Radiohead | |||
| Radiohead chronology | ||||
| ||||
Com Lag (2plus2isfive) is an EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released in 2004. It compiles B-sides from Radiohead's sixth album, Hail to the Thief (2003), along with remixes by Cristian Vogel and Four Tet and two live performances.
"Paperbag Writer", whose title references the Beatles song "Paperback Writer", features "sinister fractured funk". [1] "I Am a Wicked Child" is a "tainted, eerie missive" with harmonica. [1] "Where Bluebirds Fly" is a "rattling, fidgety" electronic piece Radiohead used as the introduction music for their Hail to the Thief tour. [1] "I Will (Los Angeles Version)" is an alternative version of "I Will" from Hail to the Thief, [1] and "Fog (Again)" is a live performance of the Amnesiac B-side "Fog", rearranged for piano. [2]
The cover art is by Stanley Donwood, who has designed all artwork for Radiohead since 1994. Donwood said he imagined a range of Delftware that featured "a modified bear, and a despot sperm monster". [3] A jigsaw puzzle based on the cover was released in 2020. [4]
Com Lag was released in Japan and Australia on 24 March 2004, in Canada on 13 April 2004, the United Kingdom on 16 April 2007, [5] [6] and in the United States on 8 May 2007. [7] [8] [9] Early Japanese pressings were printed with a fault that produced static in some tracks. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [10] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
| NME | 7/10 [1] |
| Pitchfork | 4.0/10 [2] |
Reviewing Com Lag for NME , Anthony Thornton wrote: "Never content with relaxing into an accepted way of doing things, this record, while being flawed – it is a B-sides compilation after all – confirms Radiohead as the true inheritors of the Beatles' legacy rather than Oasis." [1] The Paste critic Jeff Elbel described the Com Lag as "an appealing but inessential curio". [12] AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote: "Naturally, the release isn't nearly as cohesive as Hail to the Thief; its apparent intent is to supply the fans with another stream of the band's recordings, regardless of both how they fit together and how mixed the tracks are to begin with." [10] Chris Ott of Pitchfork wrote: "You'd expect more from ideas that Radiohead fleshed out as a unit, but the stolen-time experiments and solo performances on this EP's tail end far outshine its exhausting first half." [2]
All tracks are written by Radiohead
| No. | Title | Original Release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "2 + 2 = 5 (Live at Earls Court, London, 26 November 2003)" | Previously unreleased | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Remyxomatosis (Cristian Vogel Remix)" | "2 + 2 = 5(UK CD Single)" | 5:08 |
| 3. | "I Will (Los Angeles Version)" | "2 + 2 = 5 (UK CD Single)" | 2:13 |
| 4. | "Paperbag Writer" | "There There (single)" | 3:58 |
| 5. | "I Am a Wicked Child" | "Go to Sleep (Canadian/UK CD Single and US 7")" | 3:05 |
| 6. | "I Am Citizen Insane" | "Go to Sleep (Canadian/UK CD Single)" | 3:32 |
| 7. | "Skttrbrain (Four Tet Remix)" | "2 + 2 = 5 (UK CD Single)" | 4:26 |
| 8. | "Gagging Order" | "Go to Sleep (UK/US CD Single)" | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Fog (Again) (Live)" | "Go to Sleep (Canadian/UK CD Single)" | 2:19 |
| 10. | "Where Bluebirds Fly" | "There There (single)" | 4:23 |
| 11. | "2 + 2 = 5" (Live Video)" | Previously unreleased | 4:01 |
| Total length: | 36:21 | ||
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ) [13] | Gold | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. They comprise Thom Yorke ; brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien ; and Philip Selway. They have worked with the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.
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 Oxfordshire.
Amnesiac is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 30 May 2001 by EMI. It was recorded with the producer Nigel Godrich in the same sessions as Radiohead's previous album Kid A (2000). Radiohead split the work in two as they felt it was too dense for a double album. As with Kid A, Amnesiac incorporates influences from electronic music, 20th-century classical music, jazz and krautrock. The final track, "Life in a Glasshouse", is a collaboration with the jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band.
The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. It was produced by John Leckie, with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren. The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).
Hail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released on 9 June 2003 through Parlophone internationally and a day later through Capitol Records in the United States. It was the last album released under Radiohead's record contract with EMI, the parent company of Parlophone and Capitol.
Thomas Edward Yorke is an English musician who is 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. Rolling Stone described Yorke as one of the greatest and most influential singers of his generation.
Airbag/How Am I Driving? is the fifth EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released in April 1998 in North America. It collects most of the B-sides from singles released from Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), plus the OK Computer song "Airbag".
My Iron Lung is the third EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 26 September 1994 by Parlophone Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US. It was produced by Radiohead, John Leckie and Nigel Godrich. It marked Radiohead's first collaborations with Godrich and the artist Stanley Donwood, who have worked on every Radiohead release since.
Dan Rickwood, known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer, Thom Yorke, plus Yorke's other projects, including Atoms for Peace and the Smile. He also creates artwork for Glastonbury Festival, and has published books of short stories and a memoir.
Kieran Hebden, known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acclaimed albums such as Rounds (2003), Everything Ecstatic (2005) and There Is Love in You (2010). In addition to his twelve studio albums as Four Tet, Hebden's work includes a number of improvisational works with jazz drummer Steve Reid and collaborations with Burial and Thom Yorke.
The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time is a collection of 24 short films from the English rock band Radiohead. It was directed and edited by Chris Bran of the Vapour Brothers.
"2 + 2 = 5" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It is the opening track to their sixth studio album Hail to the Thief (2003), and was also released as the album's third and final single. It reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart, number 12 on the Italian Singles Chart, and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. It was included in Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).
The Eraser is the debut solo album by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 10 July 2006 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, the longtime producer for Yorke's band Radiohead.
"Nude" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released in March 2008 as the second single from their seventh studio album, In Rainbows (2007).
In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a pay-what-you-want download, followed by a physical release internationally through XL Recordings on 3 December 2007 and in North America through TBD Records on 1 January 2008. It was Radiohead's first release after their recording contract with EMI ended with their album Hail to the Thief (2003).
"Jigsaw Falling into Place" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, produced by Nigel Godrich. It was released as the lead single from Radiohead's seventh studio album, In Rainbows (2007), on 14 January 2008. The music video, directed by Garth Jennings and Adam Buxton, features Radiohead performing in their studio with cameras attached to bicycle helmets.
The Eraser Rmxs is a remix album of songs from The Eraser, the debut studio album by English musician Thom Yorke. The album was originally intended for release in Japan only on 28 May 2008, and later 25 June 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. It was eventually released on 27 August 2008. It contains 9 remixes of 8 tracks from Yorke's 2006 solo album The Eraser by various electronica, dubstep, and techno artists. The remixes had earlier been released in the UK by XL Recordings as three EPs, each comprising three tracks. The EPs were first released as downloads in December 2007, then on 12" vinyl records in early 2008.
The King of Limbs is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 18 February 2011 as a download, followed by a physical release on 28 March through XL Recordings internationally and TBD Records in North America.
A Light for Attracting Attention is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Smile. It was released digitally through XL Recordings on 13 May 2022, with a physical release on 17 June.
| Studio albums | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compilation albums | |||||||||
| Remix albums | |||||||||
| Live albums | |||||||||
| EPs | |||||||||
| Singles |
| ||||||||
| Other songs | |||||||||
| Video albums | |||||||||
| Related albums | |||||||||
| Related articles |
| ||||||||
