In response to the band's archive being "hacked," and in lieu of paying a $150,000 ransom demanded by the perpetrator, 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Radiohead Tuesday (June 11) released 18 hours of raw studio and live material surrounding their 1997 album OK Computer that recently leaked online. Listen to the wealth of recordings down toward the bottom of this post.

The trove of largely unheard music is only officially available for a limited time, the band revealed. For the next 18 days, Bandcamp purchases of Radiohead's MINIDISCS [HACKED]—for a minimum donation of £18 (or $22.81)—will go toward international conservation movement Extinction Rebellion.

"We got hacked last week—someone stole Thom's minidisc archive from around the time of OK Computer, and reportedly demanded $150,000 on threat of releasing it," guitarist Jonny Greenwood said in a statement. "So instead of complaining—much—or ignoring it, we're releasing all 18 hours on bandcamp in aid of Extinction Rebellion. Just for the next 18 days. So for £18 you can find out if we should have paid that ransom."

He added, "Never intended for public consumption (though some clips did reach the cassette in the OK Computer reissue) it's only tangentially interesting. And very, very long. Not a phone download. Rainy out, isn't it though?"

A description of the 1.8GB collection contained on Radiohead's Bandcamp page further deemphasizes the material's importance in the band's minds, contending its appeal extends only "until we all get bored and move on."

we’ve been hacked
my archived mini discs from 1995-1998(?)
it’s not v interesting
there’s a lot of it

if you want it, you can buy the whole lot here
18 minidisks for £18
the proceeds will go to Extinction Rebellion

as it’s out there
it may as well be out there
until we all get bored
and move on

Thmx

Get MINIDISCS [HACKED] for the next 18 days below.

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