Now that Radiohead are no longer bound to conventional band-label dynamics, Capitol Records is trying to make up some of their lost profit by issuing a "Best Of" compilation CD and DVD of the band's music videos. For a review of the CD, visit here. As for the DVD, it is a nice collection of every video the band had done through Hail To The Thief, as well as a live performance of "2+2=5" from Belfort Festival. It is essentially a fuller retrospective and updating of the 7 Television Commericials DVD that came out in 2003 and featured all of the videos from The Bends and OK Computer. It is interesting that those videos still comprise the core of the band's best video work, while their earlier and most recent videos are weaker by comparison.
Let's start with the band's Pablo Honey videos. In general, the less said about Pablo Honey, the better. It is an astonishingly mediocre album from a band that would go on to exhibit such trailblazing talent. And the videos reflect that. Much as the music on Pablo Honey feels very dated and unoriginal, so do the videos, which are awash in early 1990s alt-rock video clichés, such as quick cuts with flashing light. It is basically a lot of jumping around and a lot of hair. In fact, "Pop Is Dead" is such an atrocious video that it's almost hilariously enjoyable, like an embarrassing high school home video of an adult friend. "Stop Whispering" is also silly, with a dude dressing in an old-fashioned scuba suit for no particular reason. The band itself made some questionable fashion choices from Thom Yorke's bleached shag to Ed O'Brien's open shirt. The lone exception to the Pablo Honey malaise is "Creep," which while being somewhat dated, still holds up pretty well. The video is a performance clip with a washed out coloring that suits the song's dreamy melancholy.
Radiohead took a tremendous leap musically from Pablo Honey to The Bends, and so did their videos. "My Iron Lung" revisits the "Creep" performance aesthetic but in a dirtier way. "Just" remains one of the best of their videos to date, both from the allegory of the guy who won't get up and from Yorke's charming histrionics, which seem to marry Mick Jagger's strut to Johnny Rotten's sneer. "Street Spirit" is a pretty video with time delay tricks but feels a bit gimmicky compared to their other videos of the time. There are also both versions of "High and Dry," the US version which features a Pulp Fiction-type diner with sinister characters and the UK rain-soaked performance. I'm not a huge fan of "Fake Plastic Trees," but a lot of people like it. The OK Computer videos continue the quality trend. "Paranoid Android" is a brilliant video featuring Magnus Carlsson's animated Robin character (the R on his hat stands for Robin, not Radiohead). It is surreal, grotesque, funny, and totally unique. "Karma Police" is haunting and allegorical and pretty memorable. "No Surprises" is also a video other bands don't do. It features Yorke's head staring back at the viewer while water fills the screen and he pains to hold his breath. Calling out passive television watching (a video that watches you watch it) as well as a voyeuristic bloodlust, the video is beautifully lit and Yorke's lazy eye has never been creepier or more fascinating.
The band's videos from its Kid A/Amnesiac phase are more of a mixed bag. On the good side, "Pyramid Song" features some lovely computer animation (again featuring a scuba diver!) and a memorable celestial ending. "Knives Out" was directed by Michel Gondry and recalls the Pee-Wee's Playhouse aura from his 2006 film Science of Sleep. On the weaker side, "I Might Be Wrong" features Yorke and Jonny Greenwood playing while the screen fades to black. "Spinning Plates" looks very cool with its organic robotics, but it's actually not that interesting to watch.
Unfortunately, the band's video work on Hail to the Thief took a bit of a tumble. "There There" seems to have a message but feels unnecessarily silly and twee with its squirrel family and jumpy shots of Yorke running. "Go To Sleep" features something like CGI character and looks very dated because of the improvement in animation in the last couple of years. As it is, the video now looks like the Sims or Second Life made a tribute video. By comparison, "Go To Sleep" is well done. It moves through a city landscape while the camera darts around and disorients us. The lack of people makes it all the more memorable. The live performance of "2+2=5" is an excellent treat for fans, capturing the band in all of their live glory and dramatic energy.
Honestly, most music videos are usually pretty terrible. Radiohead are one of the few bands who have consistently made attempts at thoughtful, cinematic, and artful (as opposed to "arty") videos. Not all of their efforts succeed, but even the failures are usually more interesting than the majority of videos produced. Forgiving their early videos, which were likely A&R driven, The Best Of DVD is a fine keepsake for fans of the band. The disc is also excellently produced—it looks and sounds fantastic (and surprisingly loud). The Best Of project might be a cash-grab by Capitol, but this disc actually is an enjoyable result. |