CIA

	ⓘ This lostwave is classified as unsolved.
	CIA
Alternative name(s)	Coming Home / This Winter / Season at the CIA
Year	c. 1984
Original poster	datafreq
Search started	2020
	File:CIA.mp3

CIA (also known as "Are You Coming Home", "This Winter" or "Season At The CIA") is an unknown post-punk song uploaded to YouTube in 2020 by DJFormaldehyde.

Origins and Search

On February 21st, 2020, user datafreq first uploaded the song to the New Wave Outpost forums, sourced from a cassette tape recorded in Canada in 1984.^[1]

DJFormaldehyde posted CIA to YouTube and the New Wave Outpost forums on July 20, 2020.^[2] The song was discovered on a tape made by a friend of DJFormaldehyde that included songs recorded from CFNY-FM Spirit of Radio,^[3] a Canadian radio station known at the time for playing new wave, electronic, and alternative music.^[4] The song was likely not recorded before July 1984 because the song "You Think You're A Man" by American performance artist Divine, which was released in July 1984, was the oldest song on the tape.^[5]

The search for CIA gained traction in November 2021, with the song making its way to the lostwave subreddit and being reuploaded multiple times that year.^[6] This was also the year that Alan Cross, who was a radio broadcaster at CFNY from 1986 onwards, uploaded the song to his website, broadening the search.^[7]

It is assumed that CIA was aired once as part of CFNY's annual Talent Search contest. The contest airs fifty songs annually, typically broadcasting bands with zero exposure or releases.^[8]

Leads

Possible

Bradford Reaves: CIA Blues:^[9]^[10] Unlikely, because Reaves' known music is in the folk rock style.

Debunked

4th Floor - Coming Home: An early lead suggested that the song was by the Alternative Rock band 4th Floor, as they had a song on Discogs called "Coming Home" that was released in 1984.^[11] At the time, the album was not uploaded; however, when the cassette was converted and uploaded, this lead was disproven.^[12]^[13]
Zebra - CIA:^[14]
The Reform - CIA: In early 2024, speculation centered on the song "CIA" by The Reform, a rock/power pop song released in 1986 by a US band.^[15] This was aided by the fact that the track length corresponded to the commonly uploaded length for the lost song CIA.^[16] This lead was debunked after the vinyl was digitized and the song was uploaded.^[17]
Conditioned Response:^[18]
The Switch - Coming Home:^[19]

References

DJ Formaldehyde Upload

Remastered Version

User Richfromhell discussing the tape

[1] ttps://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=42844

[2] ttps://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=43033

[3] ttps://spiritofradio.ca/SongSearchAdd.asp

[4] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q46N3IYg0Y

[5] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q46N3IYg0Y&lc=Ugy8fLb1rOtbRp6ihmt4AaABAg.9eBIl25Qaqt9eE84dacDLB

[6] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/r0tr1t/cia_unknown_postpunk_song_recorded_in_canada/

[7] ttps://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/interested-in-solving-some-musical-mysteries-try-to-identify-these-songs/

[8] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1d5nyli/cia_an_update/

[9] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/18vmgjb/i_might_have_found_the_artist_who_made_the_cia/

[10] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5fRCT1hWAw

[11] ttps://www.discogs.com/release/12448615-4th-Floor-4th-Floor

[12] ttps://www.youtube.com/embed/SDTrvxl8XOQ

[13] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q46N3IYg0Y&lc=UgzVpvg3_93l-HR2MFh4AaABAg

[14] ttps://www.youtube.com/embed/WCHmjJ72rXY

[15] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/189yuf7/hmmmmmmmmm/

[16] ttps://www.discogs.com/release/13839352-The-Reform-CIA-Gimme-Your-Love

[17] ttps://archive.org/details/the-reform-cia

[18] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1amcyrf/conditioned_response_is_not_responsible_for_cia/

[19] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1d4u0r8/cia_isnt_coming_home_by_the_switch/

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