Considering that the band received a plethora of well-deserved attention last year, my Radiohead coverage was minimal when compared to some other publications. I figured that it would be pointless to constantly feature an immensely popular band when I had a variety of very enjoyable unknowns just waiting to be featured. I reviewed the second half of In Rainbows and named the entire album my favorite of 2007 though, hopefully providing enough fanfare to a band who deserves most of it.
With that in mind, since we are the mid-way point of 2008 and Radiohead continues to be in the midst of a tour, I figured that it would be somewhat appropriate to host a contest which reminds us of some of their earlier works. A new DVD, The Best of Radiohead, chronologically features the most notable music videos from the prolific band. Featuring directors by the likes of Michel Gondry (“Knives Out”), Jonathan Glazer (“Street Spirit (Fade Out)”), and Brett Turnbull (“Creep”), 20 music videos are collected in addition to a live version of “2+2=5” at the Belfort Festival.
There will be two winners who each receive one DVD each. Entering is simple: Reply to THIS post, answering the very simple question, “Out of the 20 music videos collected on the DVD, which one is your favorite and why?”. The contest will close on 6/22 at 1:00PM EST.
Please supply your proper e-mail address. If you are selected as the winner, it will be the way I contact you. I will choose the winner based on the most fulfilling response and I will send out the DVD once I get the address. By “most fulfilling”, do I mean the response that sides with my personal opinion the most favorably? Haha, perhaps.
Click below to view the track listing.
01. Creep (directed by Brett Turnbull)
02. Anyone Can Play Guitar (directed by Dwight Clarke)
03. Pop Is Dead (directed by Dwight Clarke)
04. Stop Whispering (directed by Jeff Plansker)
05. My Iron Lung (directed by Brett Turnbull)
06. High and Dry (UK version) (directed by David Mould)
07. High and Dry (US version) (directed by Paul Cunningham)
08. Fake Plastic Trees (directed by Jake Scott)
09. Just (directed by Jamie Thraves)
10. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (directed by Jonathan Glazer)
11. Paranoid Android (directed by Magnus Carlsson)
12. Karma Police (directed by Jonathan Glazer)
13. No Surprises (directed by Grant Gee)
14. Pyramid Song (directed by Shynola)
15. Knives Out (directed by Michel Gondry)
16. I Might Be Wrong (directed by Sophie Muller)
17. Push Pulk / Spinning Plates (directed by Johnny Hardstaff)
18. There There (directed by Chris Hopewell)
19. Go To Sleep (directed by Alex Rutterford)
20. Sit Down Stand Up (directed by Ed Holdsworth)
21. 2+2=5 (Live at Belfort Festival) (directed by Fabien Raymond)
I’d have to choose There There. Why? Well, leaving aside the magnificence of the song itself, I love the concept idea, I love the old film aesthetics and I love the motion technique they used. I think they really catched the spirit of the song (this is a personal oppinion), as in Street Spirit and Pyramid Song.
I like how well the action synchronizes with the audio. The first scene is nothing less than the first line of the song: “In pitch dark I go walking in your landscape”, but it’s curious how they did not made the whole scenario dark: just the background is black and the trees and Thom are pretty well illuminated. This gives a theatrical feel and, furthermore, tells us that is a fantasy video we’re about to see.
There’s also the final scene (gives me goose bumps every time) in which Thom runs from the crows, and this compaginates perfectly with the music taking a more aggresive tone.
Well, that’s it. Mind you, it was a tough choice!
“street spirit (fade out)”
the end of the video gave me chills, simple as that. i always pictured the song as being somewhat supernatural, and seeing a figure rise to heavens just sent a chill up my spine. not the most descriptive i know but thats what did it for me
Fake Plastic Trees. I just thought that seeing Thom in a shopping cart was just the craziest thing. His face was just perfect for the song.
There there. It was the video and the song that made me realize what a great band I have encountered. The atmosphere that the video gives and the rareness, was enough to make me fall in love with them. “Why so green and lonely?” were words that really affected me at the time. The video with Thom and the animations made the song somewhat obscure, but unforgettable. 🙂
Ah, Creep. One of Radiohead’s classic songs. In fact, the very song that drew me to them when I first began listening in 1997. Yes, 5 years post the release of Pablo Honey, but hey…I was 10 at the time. Still young and impressionable.
Anyway, enough about my history and more about the video shall we?
It begins much like the song; slow. Subtle shots of the band, but with the focus on Thom. The way the lights are set up show a classic early 90’s video. The soft glow reflecting off the hair of each person, it gives me that nostalgic feeling of watching Much Music (Canadian MTV) when I was young. As the song progresses into the chorus, it pans out and shows the audience. Quick takes to the crowd dancing in slow motion while Thom, at this point, begins to play the guitar. The chorus ends and it’s back to how we started. No emotion until the chorus, which in my opinion is great. It’s acted out like the melody is being played.
I will be honest, the fact that this is one of my favourite songs by Radiohead (for reasons mentioned above) is what biased me to pick this video. It’s simple, and subtle. Exactly what I look for in a video. Though I would give an honourable mention to Karma Police.
That’s my song/video of choice and why I like it. Nostalgia, simplicity, elegance and subtlety band together to create a product I’ve enjoyed for over 10 years and will continue to enjoy.
Thanks,
Yasa (Brandon)
“Knives Out” would be my personal favorite. I enjoy everything that Michel Gondry has directed, most noteably his music videos. They are always shot in interesting ways with playful imagery. What’s interesting is that the video was shot in only one take. Even though this isn’t my favorite song (which is airbag), the video is just amazing.
Radiohead have lived their musical journey is this very committed and sober way wich has allowed many of their songs to become a sort of echoe of the human anxiety. Many times, the truthfulness of Radiohead’s songs allows us to believe that they are more than just songs, in the sense that they were not fabricated, but just captured by some strange and beautiful spiritual habillity to understand silence. “I might be wrong”, just so that the thoubt might continue to keep us from dying.
Music Video: Karma Police
Although director Jonathan Glazer called the music video for “Karma Police” a “complete failure” (in an interview with Indiewire.com), I believe it is the perfect visual accompaniment to what I consider one of Radiohead’s best songs. The idea of karma is one that has long been tossed around – literally and facetiously – but Radiohead’s perspective in the video is effective in that it lends itself to the people who take karma seriously, and those that shrug it off. Thom has stated that the video is “for someone who has to work for a large company. This is a song against bosses.”
The video’s approach is minimalistic (which is what Glazer admitted he was going for), but the conveyed message is poignant even in its satire. Although “Karma Police” is a megaphone for those employed beneath crushing corporation bureaucracies, the video strikes a familiar chord with all of us. We have all experienced the feeling of being picked on, run down, exploited, toyed with, and beaten, whether at the hands of a boss, someone else, or just the world in general. I hate the feeling of not being able to win; being stuck on one notch of the ladder (in business and in life) with little hope of moving up. Of course the ultimate annoyance with karma and a boss is the sometimes-arbitrary power they both yield. This is what I believe the music video keys on as it shows a car chasing a man along an empty road until the man is so exhausted that he collapses in a heap, unable to keep running. The car could easily run him over, but for some reason, it keeps just enough distance to give the man a chance – a reason to hope – but this hope is merely “allowed”; it is not truly a reality. This makes the revenge that much sweeter when the man drops a match on an oil leek running from the car, which sets the vehicle on fire. The camera fades to black as flames engulf the car, the final, fiery scenes eerily matching the “siren” sound created by guitarist Ed O’Brien who Thom said “[fed] sound through a digital delay machine” to get the distinct noise.
Ultimately, “Karma Police” is an intriguing song made all that much more provocative by the creative, imagery-infused video. It is a rallying cry of sorts, a blissful vendetta against the ones who keep others down, be it a boss, the government, another authority figure, or the inexplicable force of ‘karma’ itself.
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Thanks so much for your blog; you have put me in the way of many amazing, new artists.
-Sam