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 after July 1984 because the song "You Think You're A Man" by American performance artist Divine, which was released in July 1984, was the newest song on the tape.[5] The majority of the songs on the tape were British in origin, dating from 1980 to 1984.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
Leads
Possible
- Bradford Reaves: CIA Blues:[10][11] 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.[12] At the time, the album was not uploaded; however, when the cassette was converted and uploaded, this lead was disproven.[13][14]
- Zebra - CIA:[15]
- 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.[16] This was aided by the fact that the track length corresponded to the commonly uploaded length for the lost song CIA.[17] This lead was debunked after the vinyl was digitized and the song was uploaded.[18]
- Conditioned Response:[19]
- The Switch - Coming Home:[20]
Lyrics
| Presumed Lyrics |
| (Verse 1)
Are you comin' home for vacation? Can you leave your work behind? Will someone man your battlestation? Will you give them all your time? We all feel the same frustration And hope to God you're on our side (Chorus) Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend this winter drivin' me insane? Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend the season at the CIA? (Verse 2) Last year you studied Russian wheatfields Searched for silos you'd never find And when they found out, you struck a deal To bring back Levis on company time But you jumpеd ship once in lsrael And slipped away at thе Arab line (Chorus) Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend this winter drivin' me insane? Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend the season at the CIA? (Verse 3) Can you paint a still life of your location? Will the children wear a smile? Do you believe that's liberation? Or is it trimming for your file? If someone deserves a commendation Let's present it at his final mile (Chorus) Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend this winter drivin' me insane? Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend the season at the CIA? Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend this winter drivin' me insane? Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend the season at the CIA? Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend this winter drivin' me insane? Are you comin' home to stay? Or will you spend the season at the CIA? (Outro) Are you coming? Are you coming home? |
References
- ↑ https://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=42844
- ↑ https://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=43033
- ↑ https://spiritofradio.ca/SongSearchAdd.asp
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q46N3IYg0Y
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q46N3IYg0Y&lc=Ugy8fLb1rOtbRp6ihmt4AaABAg.9eBIl25Qaqt9eE84dacDLB
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1eg9tk0/regarding_the_cia_recording_my_friend_who_owns/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/r0tr1t/cia_unknown_postpunk_song_recorded_in_canada/
- ↑ https://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/interested-in-solving-some-musical-mysteries-try-to-identify-these-songs/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1d5nyli/cia_an_update/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/18vmgjb/i_might_have_found_the_artist_who_made_the_cia/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5fRCT1hWAw
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/12448615-4th-Floor-4th-Floor
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/embed/SDTrvxl8XOQ
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q46N3IYg0Y&lc=UgzVpvg3_93l-HR2MFh4AaABAg
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/embed/WCHmjJ72rXY
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/189yuf7/hmmmmmmmmm/
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/13839352-The-Reform-CIA-Gimme-Your-Love
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/the-reform-cia
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1amcyrf/conditioned_response_is_not_responsible_for_cia/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1d4u0r8/cia_isnt_coming_home_by_the_switch/