KO at Home
Encyclopedia
__FORCETOC__
KO at Home is a demo
CD by Karen O
(of Yeah Yeah Yeahs
) that was leaked onto the Internet
in mid-December 2006.
recorded 14 songs in her own home several years before they were unearthed in late 2006. The demo (46 minutes and 22 seconds) mostly consists of acoustic
songs, with several different tracks on each song, all played by Karen. She burned these songs onto a CD-R
, created a handwritten cover (including a photo of her with Janet Weiss
of Sleater-Kinney
and an Oscar Wilde
quote) and gave it as a gift to TV on the Radio
's guitarist and music producer, Dave Sitek.
After several years, Dave moved out of his apartment, leaving behind several items including two briefcases. One of these briefcases contained the KO at Home demo CD. An anonymous man (known only as "Mike") found the CD and decided to keep it and give it to a friend as a gift. Before he gave it away, he converted the CD to MP3
s on his computer. Soon after, he decided to post them on the Internet, citing that he found the tracks to be "interesting" and that he "thought other fans might appreciate them." . A German
man posted on the Stereogum
blog "The Story Behind The Karen O Demo" and the TV on the Radio
website that he was a fan of TV on the Radio
and Yeah Yeah Yeahs
and he was disappointed that "KO at Home" was leaked on. A few weeks later the German man was revealed to be none other than Dave Sitek himself.
of the release soon came into question, and both Dave Sitek and Karen O became angry that their privacy had been violated, as the CD was never meant to be released to the public. Within a few days, both Dave and Karen made relative peace with the situation, although still regretful that it happened at all. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
' record label
, Interscope Records
, has confirmed that Karen O is the creator and performer on the KO at Home demo, but has thus far refused to comment any further.
KO at Home is a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
CD by Karen O
Karen O
Karen Lee Orzolek , better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.-Early life:...
(of Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...
) that was leaked onto the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in mid-December 2006.
History
Karen OKaren O
Karen Lee Orzolek , better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.-Early life:...
recorded 14 songs in her own home several years before they were unearthed in late 2006. The demo (46 minutes and 22 seconds) mostly consists of acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
songs, with several different tracks on each song, all played by Karen. She burned these songs onto a CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
, created a handwritten cover (including a photo of her with Janet Weiss
Janet Weiss
Janet Lee Weiss was the drummer of now defunct Sleater-Kinney and is currently a member of Quasi and Wild Flag. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album Mirror Traffic.-Early life:...
of Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
and an Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
quote) and gave it as a gift to TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio is an American art rock band formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York, whose music spans numerous diverse genres, from post-punk to electro and free jazz to soul music....
's guitarist and music producer, Dave Sitek.
After several years, Dave moved out of his apartment, leaving behind several items including two briefcases. One of these briefcases contained the KO at Home demo CD. An anonymous man (known only as "Mike") found the CD and decided to keep it and give it to a friend as a gift. Before he gave it away, he converted the CD to MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s on his computer. Soon after, he decided to post them on the Internet, citing that he found the tracks to be "interesting" and that he "thought other fans might appreciate them." . A German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
man posted on the Stereogum
Stereogum
Stereogum was one of the first MP3 blogs. It was created by Scott Lapatine in January 2002 with a focus on independent and alternative music news, downloads, videos, and gossip. Stereogum has received several awards and citations, including the 2008 Plug Award for best music blog, Blender's...
blog "The Story Behind The Karen O Demo" and the TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio is an American art rock band formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York, whose music spans numerous diverse genres, from post-punk to electro and free jazz to soul music....
website that he was a fan of TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio is an American art rock band formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York, whose music spans numerous diverse genres, from post-punk to electro and free jazz to soul music....
and Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...
and he was disappointed that "KO at Home" was leaked on. A few weeks later the German man was revealed to be none other than Dave Sitek himself.
Controversy
The legalityLegality
The principle of legality is the legal ideal that requires all law to be clear, ascertainable and non-retrospective. It requires decision makers to resolve disputes by applying legal rules that have been declared beforehand, and not to alter the legal situation retrospectively by discretionary...
of the release soon came into question, and both Dave Sitek and Karen O became angry that their privacy had been violated, as the CD was never meant to be released to the public. Within a few days, both Dave and Karen made relative peace with the situation, although still regretful that it happened at all. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...
' record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
, has confirmed that Karen O is the creator and performer on the KO at Home demo, but has thus far refused to comment any further.