In major cities across the world like London, New York, Amsterdam, and more, mysterious Radiohead-themed street art has been popping up. The words these anonymous posters contain are reminiscent of the lyrics of “Fitter Happier” off of OK Computer, with political messages such as “More Public Fear/More Private Security” and “Less Political Participation/Worse Politicians/More Fear.” These speculations that the street art is related to OK Computer are strengthened by the dates at the bottom of each piece, which note 1997 and 2017, alluding to OK Computer’s 20th anniversary coming up on May 21st.

Additionally, Stanley Donwood, the artist and writer behind Radiohead’s album and poster artwork since 1994, recently posted an work on Instagram post featuring the Radiohead logo front and center along with the caption “soon to be real,” only heightening speculations that the Radiohead camp is behind the street art ahead of the seminal album’s 20th anniversary. Pitchfork notes that it has reached out to Radiohead about these mysterious pop-up works.

Take a listen to “Fitter Happier,” then take a look at Donwood’s post and images of the street art to decide for yourself what’s the meaning behind the works.

[Photo credit: Dan Jordan]

 

 

soon to be real

A post shared by @stanleydonwood on

 

 

 

[H/T Pitchfork]