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"2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm.)" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the third and last single from their sixth album Hail to the Thief in 2003. The song reached number 15 on the UK singles chart.[1]
[edit] Themes
The song's title recalls the symbol of unreality from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.[2] In the book, inhabitants of an authoritarian future state are made to engage in doublethink, replacing their own conscience and beliefs with those imposed from above. At the end of the novel, the protagonist's individuality is demolished, as he avows that two and two are, in fact, five. With lyrics like "All hail to the thief, but I'm not" and "Don't question my authority" there have been repeated suggestions from many musical critics that the song is based on the controversial election of George W. Bush in 2000. The band have strenuously denied this, saying in one interview, "It would be too easy for us to insult George Bush".
Hail to the Thief lists subtitles, or alternative titles, for each of its songs. The alternative title for "2 + 2 = 5", whose lyrics also include the album's title, is "The Lukewarm". Singer Thom Yorke has mentioned it as a reference to the works of Dante.[4]
The song has a change in the time signature at exactly 2:25 in the song (2+2=5).
[edit] Track listings
- Promotional single
- CD CDRDJ6623
- "2 + 2 = 5" - 3:21
- 12" 12RDJWL6623
- "Sktterbrain" (Four Tet remix)
- "Remyxomatosis" (Super Collider remix)
- Single
- CD one CDR6623
- "2 + 2 = 5" - 3:21
- "Remyxomatosis" (Christian Vogel RMX) - 5:07
- "There There" (first demo) - 7:43
- CD two CDRS6623
- "2 + 2 = 5" - 3:21
- "Skttrbrain" (Four Tet remix) - 4:26
- "I Will" (Los Angeles version) - 2:14
- DVD DVDR6623
- "2 + 2 = 5" - 3:21
- "Sit Down Stand Up" (Ed Holdsworth's video)
- "The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time" (excerpt)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
