There is an inherent fragility in "House of Cards" - a simplicity which hints at deeper tones of beauty. A gorgeous, soothing ballad made up of humble parts, yet filled with apprehensive ideas. It is precisely this combination of romance and anxiety that director James Frost captures in his revolutionary new video for Radiohead's tune. It's a vision of humanity disintegrating into bits of digital information - albeit with grace and beauty.
Thom Yorke and company have continually been ahead of the industry curve when it comes to new technology, whether singing about it (OK Computer), embodying it in sound (Kid A) or utilizing it in new ways to market (In Rainbows). Thematically they've tackled the unnerving and exciting collision between our creativity in industry and classical human self-expression. And with the video for "House of Cards" they (and Frost) present human feeling existing within the futuristic walls of our computers, yet existing on the very edges of extinction.
This is where the video soars. The images of not only the collapsing lovers, but of the falling world around them, invites the viewer to make larger connections between the small story in this apartment and the broader implications of the pictures. The singer wants us to forget the debility of life and emotion, but the fractured scenes make this impossible. What does it mean to be in "denial," as Yorke croons in the chorus? Are we kidding ourselves to believe true romance is possible; is trying to escape from the futility of loveless nights in itself futile?
Furthermore, there is the suggestion that as we progress into and become one with our technological creations, we are losing something invaluable. The telephone lines which fade into darkness could mean that the things we invent to further enhance meaning, will actually give us nothing; disconnecting us from each other and leaving the world black, void of color. Perhaps, even in making this video, we risk losing part of the artistic hand in film making.
Yet, like the music, the despair is accompanied by serene hope. After all, Yorke's romantic suggestion, despite going against the better judgment of the lovers, is an avenue for escape from the sameness of that party - a momentary surge of energy. Maybe in denial, in letting our house crumble, we actually defeat inevitability. In a way Frost illuminates the world through his graphics, like an infrared lens finding the rainbows hidden in society. Even though we are bombarded with static fuzz, faces push through and make themselves visible - like Yorke's surprising, transcendent vocal melody rising above the repeating tune - we see the unrelenting spirit of human expression. Unclear, uncertain, but alive.
We continue our look at Radiohead's oeuvre with the post-OK Computer era videos. While they hold firm the connection with the modern world and technological existence, these videos showcase a changing sensibility as the band moves further into the 21st century...
Click here for Part One, which contains every video from the early years of Radiohead.
Idioteque (2000) Kid A
dir. by Grant Gee
First off, this is a fairly terrible copy of the video. None of these vids where meant to be seen on YouTube, but without it we wouldn't probably ever see any of them, so let's move on. The song that the band plays is an alternate take from the version that appears on the album, which is partially why it's so interesting to watch them come up with it. Though Yorke once again takes center stage, it's nice to see Johnny Greenwood and the rest of the guys doing there thing. You get a real sense of how spacious and layered the tracks on Kid A really are.
Motion Picture Soundtrack (2001) Kid A
dir. by Stanley Donwood & Shynola
This is not necessarily a full-fledged video, since it is chiefly a collage of pieces done for the promotional campaign of Kid A, but it is at parts gorgeous and at others maddeningly thick. Much of the images resonant quite well with the music of the album as a whole, which fluctuates between these polar opposites of fiery heart and cold distance. One can almost imagine the video reflecting the production of the songs themselves, moving from a volcano of conceptual ideas into a multi-faceted and highly produced snowstorm.
Pyramid Song (2001) Amnesiac
dir. by Shynola
A visually engrossing journey through one of Radiohead's finest moments. Director Shynola takes Yorke's references to Dante and imagines a future society that might find our current one akin to hell, resting on the floor of the river Styx. But as our protagonist (first video to not feature any members of the band) passes street lamps and stained-glass windows, he or she does not hesitate at the gates of suburbia. The deathly air surrounding this whole thing is no accident; this is a character considering suicide. As we pan out to see the air tube connected to nothing, we are confronted by pretty little lights in the sun. Does it mean our happiness aligns only momentarily? That we are destined to reach it only again in memory? Maybe, maybe not. It's a pretty sweet image though.
Knives Out (2001) Amnesiac
dir. Michel Gondry
Gondry used similar spinning cameras, changing sets and multiple characters to great paranoiac effect in Eternal Sunshine, so it's not surprising that he has said this video is more about him than Radiohead. It's actually a very poignant look at what it might feel like to lose a loved one. The romantic elements are quiet familiar to any fan of the director, but there are also cues coming from the song which is clearly about some sort of separation between people. It's a mood that suits Thom well, and even if this is among Radiohead's strangest videos, this is probably the lead singer's best performance. The scenes on the train are especially memorable for their humor. All of which is made more impressive when you know this was all done in one take.
I Might Be Wrong (2001) Amnesiac
dir. by Chris Bran
This continues the trend of featuring at least one video per album that is highly influenced by the actual cover art of the record. The cat like creature who seems to consistently cry is stuck in a maze of dead ends, where what seems like a light in the distance is only a reflection of something in the past. Thom does his thing, but overall the video is a bit stale at parts - and the intrusions of the real-world seems oddly out of place.
More a short film than a music video, Hardstaff uses the bubbling cauldron of "Pulk..." to blueprint the creation of his monstrous machine for "Like Spinning Plates." It looks a whole lot like the Matrix at times, or one very large needlessly intricate record player. Either way babies are being brainwashed and having souls sucked out...I think.
Go To Sleep (2003) Hail to the Thief
dir. by Alex Rutterford
While the world collapses around them, these suits scurry aimlessly to and fro between work and death - too busy to listen to the voices of the "loonies" on the park benches screaming for some change. The rose growing from concrete reminds me of Tupac more than anything else, and I imagine if Radiohead and Tupac put something together it would have been way better than what Linkin Park and Jay-Z came up with.
Sit Down, Stand Up (2003) Hail to the Thief
dir. by Ed Holsworth
At first this video is kind of funny, in a SNL Micheal J. Fox kind of way, but that's before we get some gruesome images of the consequences of the "raindrops." Holsworth is fairly obvious about his politics, but he makes some very subtle suggestions as well. A protest sign against the "American dream" reads like a surgeon general's warning and a few seconds later the sparks from fired missiles look almost like the Fourth of July. It kind of caught me off guard to think this was made almost five years ago...not much has changed.
There There (2003) Hail to the Thief
dir. by Chris Hopewell
One of the most popular Radiohead videos, Hopewell creates a fanatasical land which holds a less than friendly underbelly. The video features marvelous set design and intricate coloring with Thom delivering yet another classic performance. It feels a lot like a fairy-tale (reminds me of that Nickelodeon show David the Nome) and has a fairly certain moral to it. Though the complication arises in deciding who the good and bad forces truly are.
I Will (2003) Hail to the Thief
dir. by ?
A live performance that made it's way around video channels for a while, I include it only to offer some perspective on the contrast between the first few videos and the last. A lot has changed about the band but the crowds still remain. And no matter how hard Yorke and his directors may try to convince us that he's a creep, in the end him and his band mates come off as rather nice, likable guys. Well, they also play some pretty incredible music, so that helps.
House of Cards (2008) In Rainbows
dir. by David Frost
There is an inherent fragility in "House of Cards" - a simplicity which hints at deeper tones of beauty. A gorgeous, soothing ballad made up of humble parts, yet filled with apprehensive ideas. It is precisely this combination of romance and anxiety that director David Frost captures in his revolutionary new video for Radiohead's tune. It's a vision of humanity disintegrating into bits of digital information - albeit with grace and beauty. [Read full review]
Others:
Like Spinning Plates (alternate) (2002) Amnesiac dir. by Laurent Briet One of the most spellbinding music videos ever committed to tape. Like Hardstaff, director Briet finds notes of creation in the opening sounds of the song. What exactly is being created is of less certainty. But globes, worshiped females and birds seem to imply the history of creation itself - and the way in which it seems conditioned to, once again, inevitably suck our souls out. The effect used here looks even more Matrix-ish than the previous one, so it's clear that the song lends itself to very exotic imagery. It's no coincidence that these are two of the more dense videos Radiohead has produced. While the music plays backwards, Thom sings forwards - and yet he creates a melody that seems backwards. Yet even beyond the depth of this particular track, the fact that these two epic visions emerged in this way is proof of how influential the song is in the creation of a video - and further proof that Radiohead are making some of the most arresting and inspiring stuff around.
I Might Be Wrong (alternate version) dir. by Sophie Muller A rather frantic piece from the director of your favorite and least-favorite Gwen Stefani videos. It was filmed after the Internet-only release original, but failed to make a huge impact due to it's hyper-stylized cinematography. I actually think it highlights the rather spooky elements of the song quite well.
Rabbit In Your Headlights (1998) Unkle ft. Thom Yorke dir. by Jonathon Glazer It obviously immediately will recall the Karma Police video but it quickly moves into far more disturbing areas. Watching this man get run over by cars is really hard, especially when it seems like many of them are doing so intentionally. But in the end we are inspired by his resilience, his refusal to give into an environment bent on his destruction, instead forcing his will upon those objects which hold him down. Glazer uses yet another Christ-pose, which may just be a coincidence, but calls for a deeper analysis of the work. And every time I hear Thom say "rabbit" I anticipate seeing that giant horrid animal from Sexy Beast popping around the corner.
El Presidente (1998) Drugstore ft. Thom Yorke This is kind of ridiculous.
I Will (2003) Hail to the Thief Of all the fan-made videos we found on YouTube, this is one that was the most thoroughly engrossing - even if it's not the entire song.
Thom Yorke "Harrowdown Hill" dir. by Chel White One of our favorite videos of '06. Not surprisingly it fits rather well with the rest of the Radiohead videography despite bearing only the name of Yorke.
We introduce a new feature which takes a studied look at the video careers of elite directors and musicians...
This is our collection of Radiohead's music video history. Stretching from 1993's Pablo Honey all the way to 2003's Hail to the Thief, we spent hours hunting through hundreds of poor live recordings and earnest fan-made videos on YouTube to find these originals for you. While this is not an entirely complete list (a series of shorter productions from Kid A are missing), it represents every major release as well as a few videos that only the most die hard fans will have seen.
We offer no overarching analysis of the band's video output, but it's clear that in choosing the first entry in our Depth of Focus series we quite deliberately settled on a group whose videography has few equals in terms of overall quality and creativity. From Jonathon Glazer to the ever-present Michel Gondry, the majority of Radiohead's videos are helmed by highly skilled individuals with esteemed artistic vision. These are videos that are as entertaining as they are substantial. But of course you'd expect nothing less from the greatest rock band in the world. Start Shouting...
Creep (1993) Pablo Honey
dir. by Brett Turnball
Looking back, this is really probably the band's least creepy video. Though it uses a number of interesting filters and lightning techniques the most impressive moment of the entire thing is when Thom belts out the climax of the song - which is probably the way they wanted it. Note: The US version of this music video was directed by Corinne Ray.
Anyone Can Play Guitar (1993) Pablo Honey
dir. by Dwight Clarke
Actually filmed before "Creep," most of this one is silly, but it does succeed in mocking celebrity band culture and in presenting the band as an alternative. Once again Thom steals the show with his now famous hyper kinetic straight-jacket convulsing.
Pop is Dead (1993) Pablo Honey [Japan]
dir. by Dwight Clarke
Umm. The first in a series of bad hair days.
Stop Whispering (1993) Pablo Honey
dir. by Jeff Plansker
This is when things get interesting. If you look past the obvious distractions (ahem), there is genuine commentary emerging from behind the camera. Like the song itself, director Plansker asks us to take a broader view of the world - which actually entails noticing the smallest of details.
My Iron Lung (1994) The Bends
dir. Brent Turnbull
Though the band's sound and style of live performance has changed quite a bit over the years, this is a welcome glimpse into what an early Radiohead show was like - and it captures the energy fairly well.
Fake Plastic Trees (1995) The Bends
dir. by Jake Scott
The first truly great Radiohead video works around a rather simple concept - the band riding around in shopping carts in a sterile supermarket. Yet the clean imagery conjures some bleak thoughts. Pushed around with our backs to the world, led forward by the eye of our parents, we are trained from birth to seek approval and attention in love. And it isn't just our family, society and the men behind the cameras are equally complicit in our needy psychological development. But as Yorke sings, it can be tiresome spending your life pleasing others. And it isn't just a fake plastic romance we're dealing with, it's a fake plastic world in which everyone hides behind images in order to feel any sense of worth.
Just (1995) The Bends
dir. by Jamie Thraves
Like something out of Beckett or Kafka, this masterpiece of suspense and absurdity is all the better for it's non-ending. Yet despite that famous inaudible whisper, a more significant moment comes earlier when the young man inexplicably trips over the older man laying across the empty sidewalk. The younger man begins compassionately asking the fallen if he's alright, but then quickly turns to anger once he realizes the man is not hurt at all. As people crowd around they shift between offerings of help and mad questioning of the stubborn man. These people are initially quite "civilized," but in their rabid pursuit of knowledge they lose all customs and inhibitions. And though we know from his mouth movements that the man probably isn't whispering "the horror, the horror" - he is waking these folks up to something rather dark and frightening about their guarded hearts.
Lucky (1995) Help!
dir. by ?
The opening shots of cute little kids in war torn neighborhoods sets up the violence of the middle passage - the bombs and killing are a direct result of a poverty-stricken upbringing. The final black and white still images emphasize that these kids are truly stuck in an unfair cycle. How do we free them? By buying this album of course! We could have done without the celebrity appearances bridge, but then again knowing Oasis is on-board totally makes me anti-poverty.
So near the release of Pulp Fiction in '94, this might seem like a blatant attempt at cashing in on a popular trend (there are some seemingly obvious references), but Cunningham and the band have some tricks of their own planned. It's a story of trust and betrayal, where couples and shady businessman alike suffer the consequences of doubt, and where the only true moment exists in a chance encounter between Yorke and a young kid in the restroom. The band itself supposedly stumbled upon this cafe before deciding to shoot the entire project here, and we get a real slice-of-life feel with the multiple characters and road-stop imagery. Which is actually the same reason the diner seen in Tarantino's film works so impeccably.
Street Spirit (1996) The Bends
dir. by Jonathan Glazer
Glazer went on to direct an absolute stunner of a film, Sexy Beast in 2000, but his visual tricks and jaw-dropping technique rarely have been on fuller display than in this gorgeous work. Pinning slow-motion and fast-motion in the same shot is a breathtaking maneuver, but it's the ballet-like aerial flight that really sends this video soaring. There's more than just nifty editing and cinematography here though, the pose Thom strikes at the end is more than a little cross-bearing. It also mirrors him sprawled on a car and falling through the air at the beginning of the black-and-white vid. But how does one make the transition from falling to floating? By immersing "your soul in love" of course.
Paranoid Android (1997) OK Computer
dir. by Magnus Carlsson
By this point it's fairly clear that Radiohead (and their directors) see the world as a strange, confusing and painful place to grow up. There are drunk homeless men lining the streets, a man cries while a giant zero flashes on the screen above and even the angels fly mechanical helicopters (god loves his children indeed). The off-beat animation depicts a world where greedy men will stop at nothing to keep their power & masculinity intact and the tree of knowledge comes with a hefty price. All of which makes one want to just escape it all - climb up a pole somewhere. But there are also beautiful mermaids in the sea, friends to share taxis with and a shining sun beneath the bridge. Or at least that's what I tell myself.
Fitter, Happier (1997) OK Computer
dir. by James Engwell
Though this was never going to get a lot of play on MTV, it stands as a very effective and chilling representation of the themes in the track. Just as the rising piano and fuzz represent the cracks in the framework of our ideals, here we get distorted images and blurred vision. It isn't just that our robotic adherence to the norm is void of real happiness, it's also increasingly harmful and meaningless.
Karma Police (1997) OK Computer
dir. by Jonathan Glazer
The first half of this video is highly claustrophobic with it's faux-one-take and dimly lit swiveling camera work. We are thoroughly in the mind of our unseen driver, unable to escape once the door slams shut and Yorke enters. Glazer hints at the sinister intimations in the chorus, "this is what you get," by painting Thom all gangster-like; with a black-leather jacket and cold demeanor. Perhaps he's out to right a wrong or maybe he's just messing with this guy. Yet in the minute when he "loses himself," he hesitates and succumbs his power. The man outside jumps on this opportunity and everything is lost - including our backseat self-confidence.
Maybe my personal favorite, it puts the emphasis on the music and lyrics through twinkling lights and literally putting the words on the screen (not to mention Yorke's face front and center). It's a simple video for a deceivingly simple song. But the words are backwards, and they scroll past almost too fast to read. Yorke's writing is pretty clear here, the world is upside down and drowning people in it's blandness. But in repeating the phrase "no alarms and no surprises" so many times it's clear that all the blame can't just be put on a government that doesn't speak for us. Thus here we have him looking in a mirror, realizing that he is the one that must pull himself out of the water - speak up.
Let Down (1998) OK Computer
dir. by Simon Hilton
This unreleased video shakes a lot of power out of what seems like the left over symbols and words from the OK Computer cover art. Playing out like a elementary chalkboard lesson, it utilizes the same powers of suggestion embedded in socially structured suffocation for the purposes of promoting free-thinking.
Palo Alto (1998) Airbag/How Am I Driving?
dir. by Grant Gee
This is an interesting video that continues many of the themes we've seen cycling through the OK Computer-era. It also focuses closely on the effect of music on people while quietly suggesting a dillema between making high-tech music and what seems to be the stifling progression of technology. That last shot looks a lot like Sidney Lumet's Network too, which is a connection I hadn't previously thought to make. That's a damn good movie.
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