You want to know why I’m lying here? You really want to know? (Radiohead Videos)

Member Name: TJ-Mackey

Product:	Radiohead Videos
Date:	09/06/01 (1236 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The videos.

Disadvantages: It's a videotape.

"The video of Paranoid Android has been censored by MTV. They took all nipples out of the cartoon, but they had no problem with the scene in which a man cuts off his own arms and legs." - Thom Yorke.

A naked woman in a tree; an axe-welding politician; an angel flying a helicopter; and a game of ping-pong in heaven. All of that's just from the first film in this collection! Directed by Magnus Carlsson (creator of the animated series 'Robin'), the video for 'Paranoid Android' is produced just like an episode of that cartoon. We follow a couple of teenagers and their escapades in the city, while a disaffected UN politician drowns his sorrows, finally culminating in a surreal meeting on a bridge. Although this certainly isn't my favourite Radiohead video, it's still interesting to watch, and of course is accompanied by an epic song.

This collection, entitled '7 Television Commercials', brings together all of the videos from Radiohead's second and third albums, 'The Bends' and 'OK Computer'. While most music videos simply feature the band playing (with some 'cool stuff' going on in the background), Radiohead's couldn't be further from that bland formula. Indeed, they even decide to subvert it in the video for 'Just', making the 'background' incidents a lot more interesting than the band themselves.

For me at least, the highlights of this tape are the two videos directed by Jonathan Glazer: 'Karma Police' and the quite brilliant 'Street Spirit'. Glazer is one of the best music video directors working at the moment, and his other credits include Jamiroquai's 'Virtual Insanity' and UNKLE's 'Rabbit in Your Headlights'. If you can catch the Channel 4 documentary on him, it's well worth watching.

'Street Spirit' is one of those songs you just stop and listen to. It's easily my favourite Rad
iohead single; and with its haunting opening melody and Thom Yorke's sepulchral vocals, the band have never sounded more poetic. It's fitting then that the video is just as beautiful as the music. By shooting in black-and-white and blending extreme slow motion with normal footage, Glazer captures the spirit of the song perfectly. One exquisite shot shows Thom smashing two opposing sheets of glass, alternating between them as the glass fragments hang almost motionless in mid-air. I think it's safe to say that 'Street Spirit' contains some of the finest cinematography I've ever seen in a music video.

Glazer's other contribution, while not being as visually stunning as 'Street Spirit', still manages to captivate, perhaps through its deceptively soporific nature. "Karma police, arrest this man" are the opening lyrics, while the majority of the video is filmed looking through the windscreen of a slow-moving car as it chases someone down a darkened road. The song originated from one of the band's sayings: "The karma police will catch up with him sooner or later" - the video essentially shows what you get if you mess with someone. Great stuff.

I don't want to discuss every video in detail in this opinion, but I do think 'No Surprises' deserves a special mention. The entire video is just one stationary shot of Thom wearing a glass helmet, looking straight back at the camera while the song's lyrics scroll up the screen. The helmet gradually fills up with water, until Thom is submerged for almost an entire minute. The lullaby nature of the song is very calming, while the actual video is perfectly suited to the lyrics, touching on the idea of feeling trapped and wishing for a quiet life.

The remaining three videos on the tape are:

• the much-talked about 'Just'

• the U.S. version of 'High and Dry' - a bit like a Tarantino movie r>
• 'Fake Plastic Trees' - the band are pushed around a supermarket in shopping trolleys!


a couple of interesting facts...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• during the filming of the Karma Police video, carbon monoxide was accidentally pumped through the air conditioner, poisoning Thom as he sung in the back seat. Apparently he even fainted during the final part of the song, and the crew had to pull him out of the car and give him oxygen.

• the most frequently asked question on the alt.music.radiohead newsgroup is "What did the man say at the end of the 'Just' video?"... Unfortunately, the band have said they will never reveal the answer. Watch it for yourself and see if you can work it out.


iMMersE your soUL in LOVE at www.radiohead.com or www.followmearound.com