Hard Drive Gold

"Hard Drive Gold" is a slightly tongue-in-cheek fantasy about a 15-year-old boy who becomes a millionaire overnight trading cryptocurrency. Singer Joe Newman recounts the different reactions to his financial success, including his teacher: My teacher took me to one side and told me I was scum I left then Googled "neoliberal" And his neighbor: Clearly Mom has talked to Neo with the Audi The next morning he shouts from his door Don't be afraid to make, to make money, boy "It feels like we've been living through this sort of crypto gold rush, and it's an interesting time. It's a fun thing to write a song about," keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton told Apple Music. "I can think of several books I read as a kid that were to do with children becoming incredibly rich. It's almost like a classic theme."

The story of James Howells inspired the "Hard Drive Gold" song title. In 2013, the Newport, Wales IT worker accidentally dumped his hard drive containing the 64-character key to his Bitcoin fortune at a landfill. Howells' local council refused him permission to search for the old computer parts, leaving it buried under piles of garbage. His lost treasure chest is now worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Alt-J wrote "Hard Drive Gold" in uncharacteristically rapid time after Joe Newman came up with the chord structure and melody while messing around on his sofa. "Within the space of maybe half an hour, I'd written this rough structure," he told Apple Music. "I played it to the band, and they responded just as quickly. Sometimes you have to get out of the way of the song and just let it gather momentum itself."