10 Greatest Ever Radiohead Songs
8. Videotape
Once again, Videotape is a Radiohead song concerned about life and death. Only this time, it sounds much more optimistic.
Initially the song sounds relatively simple from a compositional standpoint, but once you listen closer you’ll hear a secret rhythm buried beneath the piano and drums. It’s ever so slightly syncopated, and it has you nodding your head to a beat that sounds in time... but isn’t. It’s another example of Radiohead pushing their sound and experiments forward, whilst remaining accessible.
Thom Yorke describes his last day on earth as the most beautiful one he’s ever seen, which really hammers home the acceptance of the inevitability of death. This day will be on the highlight reel. It will be on his Videotape.
Before the studio version was released, live versions of the song existed with a completely different arrangement. It was far more upbeat and almost danceable. The lyrics remained the same but the interpretation of the same lyrics would differ if this was the final version. Instead, we are treated to what sounds like the most angelic funeral march imaginable.
It’s a perfect way to end In Rainbows, one of the strongest records in their immensely varied discography.