Song · Kid A / Amnesiac era (2000–01)
Fast-Track
A B-side of “Pyramid Song”, with a second take that waited two decades for Kid A Mnesia.
2000
half past one in the morning
Ed O'Brien's online diary for 20 March 2000 finds Thom Yorke putting the finishing touches to his vocals while O'Brien learned Logic, music software whose manual, he wrote, was as thick as a hardback War and Peace.
he's singing along to 'fastrack'. he's hyperactive as well....it's 1.30am..fantastic.
ed o'brien · online diary, 20 march 2000
2001
the b-side
It came out in May 2001 on the second CD of the “Pyramid Song” single. PopMatters heard a grooving instrumental of cut-up drums, darting synths and guitar noise, with a quiet, treated voice bobbing in and out, muttering sounds that could not be made out, and thought it the weakest track on the single. An alternative take from the same sessions waited until Kid A Mnesia in 2021, as “Alt. Fast Track”.
the video
The B-side, as released.· Frank Benitezwatch on youtube →
the record(2)
Remixes & alternate versions (1)
- Alt. Fast Track
sources3
- The site's own catalogue note, based on Genius and fan archives.
- PopMatters, review of the “Pyramid Song” singles, 21 May 2001, for how it sounds.
- treefingers.com, the 2003 lyric page for “Fast-track”, for Ed O'Brien's diary entry and the release month.