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"FeelingPulledApartByHorses" / "TheHollowEarth"
Single by Thom Yorke
A-side	"FeelingPulledApartByHorses", "TheHollowEarth"
Released	21 September 2009
Recorded	August 2009
Genre	Electronic
Label	Xurbia Xendless, XL Recordings
Songwriter(s)	Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood
Producer(s)	Nigel Godrich
Thom Yorke singles chronology
"Analyse" (2006) "FeelingPulledApartByHorses" / "TheHollowEarth" / "TheHollowEarth" (2009) "Ego / Mirror" (2011)

"FeelingPulledApartByHorses" and "TheHollowEarth" are songs by Thom Yorke, produced by Nigel Godrich. They were released as a limited double A-side vinyl in September 2009, and as a download on 6 October 2009.

Yorke's band Radiohead first performed "FeelingPulledApartByHorses" in 2001. Yorke later performed it solo, and with his bands Atoms for Peace and the Smile. "TheHollowEarth" came from the recording sessions for Yorke's album The Eraser (2006).

Writing and recording

Yorke's band Radiohead performed an early version of "FeelingPulledApartByHorses", then titled "Reckoner", in 2001. Yorke likened it to heavy metal. Pitchfork described it as a "droning rocker", and Rolling Stone said it featured "one of the loudest and most sinister riffs in Radiohead's catalog". In 2005, Yorke performed the song on acoustic guitar at a Trade Justice Movement show.

Working on the song for their 2007 album In Rainbows, Radiohead added a coda that developed into a different song with the original title, "Reckoner". Afterwards, Yorke and the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood reworked the original song. They omitted the chorus and added bass guitar, "glitchy" drums, "disembodied" vocals, and an extended synthesiser coda. Rolling Stone described it as "more subdued and textural", in the style of Yorke's 2006 album The Eraser. Yorke described "TheHollowEarth" as a "bass menace" that came from the recording sessions for The Eraser.

Release

The songs were released as a double A-side 12-inch single on 21 September 2009 and as a download on 6 October 2009. The vinyl was limited to 8000 copies worldwide. Pitchfork gave "FeelingPulledApartByHorses" a positive review, writing: "Quartering, in medieval times, meant being pulled apart by horses; Yorke's skillful production here re-imagines that punishment as a disorienting pleasure."

Live performances

In 2009, Yorke formed a new band, Atoms for Peace, to perform his solo material. They performed "FeelingPulledApartByHorses" on their 2013 tour. Yorke and Greenwood performed "FeelingPulledApartByHorses" with their band the Smile on their 2022 tour. A performance was included on the 2023 Smile EP Europe: Live Recordings 2022.

Track listing

References

1. McLean, Craig (January 2002). "Radiohead". The Face.
2. ^ Hogan, Marc (25 September 2009). ""Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses" by Thom Yorke Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
3. ^ Kreps, Daniel (21 September 2009). "New Thom Yorke single 'Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses' released". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
4. "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Radiohead Songs". Rolling Stone. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
5. "Ed O'Brien & Thom Yorke at BBC 6Music". BBC 6 Music. 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
6. ^ "Radiohead's Thom Yorke confirms new single release". NME. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
7. "Thom Yorke – Feelingpulledapartbyhorses". Discogs. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
8. Lea, Tom (28 January 2013). "A new career in a new town: Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich open Pandora's box and run amok as Atoms for Peace". Fact. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
9. Gentile, John (25 September 2013). "Thom Yorke introduces himself as Jay Z". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
10. Golsen, Tyler (19 May 2022). "The Smile premiere new song 'Friend of a Friend' live". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
11. Murrary, Robin (30 January 2023). "The Smile announce Europe: Live Recordings 2022 EP". Clash. Retrieved 30 January 2023.

External links

• DEAD AIR SPACE – Radiohead's blog with Yorke's announcement

• 2009 songs
• 2009 singles
• Thom Yorke songs
• Songs written by Thom Yorke
• Songs written by Jonny Greenwood
• Song recordings produced by Nigel Godrich
• XL Recordings singles