Perhaps you thought Radiohead would wish you a merry, cheery Christmas? Not bloody likely. The paranoid androids have just released a customizable digital greeting card line through their online public library in which fans can send a personalized card to friends and family featuring a number of different dystopian messages for the holidays.
The options for the outside message on the card are fairly standard — Fa La La, La La, La, La, La or Laa — but it’s the inside message that really gets to the heart of the band’s feelings for holiday pabulum. You can go for the seemingly cheery “Everything Is Rosy,” “Hope for the Future” or “Peace on You,” or the more 2020 appropriate “In Lieu of Emptiness” and “Sunlit Uplands Still Await.”
Depending on which message is selected for the exterior, a dark and brooding image appears on the front of the card once fans have finished assembling the not-so-cheery greeting.
“THIS FESTIVE CARD IS FOR YOU TO MAKE AND SEND TO ACQUAINTANCES NEW AND OLD,” reads a message from the band on their website. “NO ELEMENT OF DATA PLACED ONTO IT WILL BE STORED BY RADIOHEAD. PLEASE DON’T RUN. THIS IS STILL A LIBRARY.”
As reported by Pitchfork, guitarist Jonny Greenwood wrote a holiday message to fans in which he said, “Right now, I just feel this: I hope you are all safe and well and not too scared, or too bored. I also hope that somehow we can be part of making music for you soon, and that the pleasure of making music, and hearing music, whether in a gig, concert hall, church, or at home with friends—is not forgotten in this desolate year.”
