Talk:My Iron Lung

Different covers

Strange. My copy is a blue-cover, but has all of the songs mentioned here, including Punchdrunk, Trickster, acoustic Creep and Iron Lung... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.7.176.133 (talk) 01:20, 23 May 2005 (UTC)

That's the normal way, as the page implies. In England it was two versions of a single and in the US it was one big EP. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.218.93.163 (talk) 20:40, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

Different release versions

I was surprised in reading this article to see no mention of the version that was released originally in Canada and the US. My CD copy has a blue tint cover, it identifies this as an EP on the cover, and includes just 5 songs - "My Iron Lung", "The Trickster", "Lewis (Mistreated)", "Permanent Daylight", and "You Never Wash Up After Yourself". It's not the double single (which is a 7 song version) and not what is described as "the EP release" (suggesting there is only one version of the EP). This version was released in North America in 1994. I see lots of articles for albums that show track listings for various different versions of the release and wonder if this might be a helpful addition here. 134.41.91.158 (talk) 13:02, 26 May 2021 (UTC)

This is something I'd really like to get some clarity on in regards to whether this was a single release, an EP, what was released where etc. If anyone knows of any reliable sources that cover this please share them. Popcornfud (talk) 13:45, 26 May 2021 (UTC)

Well, like I said, the CD cover identifies it as an EP. I don't know about the reliability of this site, but they have the correct catalogue number, cover pictures, and track list here: https://www.discogs.com/Radiohead-My-Iron-Lung/release/3163565 and here: https://www.discogs.com/Radiohead-My-Iron-Lung/release/75889 134.41.91.158 (talk) 01:43, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

Album vs EP vs single (moved from Popcornfud talk page)

Hi Popcornfud. The My Iron Lung article has the statement that ""My Iron Lung" was also released as a single." I've checked though sources, official and unofficial, including Discogs [1] and the band's website [2], and I can't find details of this single. You added the text last year [3], though without a source. Can you recall where you saw this information? If not, no worries, I'll just remove it until a source can be found. SilkTork (talk) 15:21, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

Hi there @SilkTork. It's a confusing situation. As far as I can tell, this was indeed released as both a single and an EP. This is sourced in the body of the article, not the lead (per WP:CITELEAD).

Here's how Mac Randall, in his biography Exit Music, which is cited in the article, described the release:

On September 26, the first product of the long-running Beckie sessions, “My Iron Lung”, was issued in Britain in four separate versions - two CDs, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl — each with a different track order of B-sides. This multi-format release was, like the re-release of “Creep” had been, a despicable ploy on the pay of EMI to get Radiohead fans to buy the same song several times, thereby inflating its chart position.

So he essentially sees it as a single released in different formats, seemingly. (He refers to it as a "single" later in the chapter.) However, numerous sources also describe it as an EP, and the cover title is written as "My Iron Lung EP" on several versions of the release.

Here's one of the single editions Discogs. (Note that unlike other versions of the release, this cover does not say "EP" on it.)

It may be there is a better way to summarise all this, especially when the sources are unclear. I will review the sources again. Popcornfud (talk) 22:45, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

I've been looking into, and making adjustments as I discover info. Yes, there were two 4-track CDs released. Under the UK chart rules, a 4-track CD is counted as a single. There was also a 7 track, 28 minute CD released, which classes it as an album. So this particular release, in its various versions, counts as a single, an EP, and an album! That's a little special! ;-) SilkTork (talk) 09:01, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

Looking again at the Mac Randall Exit Music book, he talks in detail about how My Iron Lung was released in various single formats with different B-sides, then writes: The Australian version of 'My Iron Lung' was the only one to feature all six B-sides on one disc, a sensible alternative that has since become widely available. So it might be that it only became an EP later? Popcornfud (talk) 15:36, 24 February 2023 (UTC)