…let alone the “Arcadia” song itself, and it’s been out for well over half a year now. This is the older Morr Music sound I so dearly love, with a dash of Thom Yorke gone solo too. It’s both organic and mechanic.
I found the song first, after buying two tickets to see Akron/Family in San Francisco a few weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ticketmaster now rewards you for paying double for your ticket with a free download from iTunes. I had long since given up on the iTMS, since I detest the terms of engagement and poor sound quality (always puffed up to sound ‘better’ on those flimsy white headphones), but two free songs were enough to get me interested, so off I went to find something new.
Obviously, I was hooked in an instant, and I listened to this song over and over again (along with the other one I downloaded at the same time, which is good, but not nearly as memorable). And then I found the video:
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything as haunting, nor initially as off-putting, but I sat transfixed as I watched it. I am in awe of what people can do with illustration and animation, but rarely see both done so well at once. Organic and mechanic, again, and the results are stunning.
I’m not convinced this particular imagery is the perfect fit for the song, but since I’m genetically incapable of deciphering lyrics on my own, I can only point to what I feel in the song. And in that regard, there’s a certain soaring quality held back with a muted melancholy, and it’s this dichotomy that gives the song its tension and suspense.
There’s a beauty in both the song and the video, even if it remains unfulfilled in the end. But that’s what kept me listening to the song again and again, and now keeps me watching the video just as often. And I suppose that fact alone makes the video a worthy companion to the song.
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I find the clip a fitting fit to the song. My daughter and I are checking Radiohead in StL tomorrow night. Radiohead light shows are the sh-t.
I find the clip a fitting fit to the song. My daughter and I are checking Radiohead in StL tomorrow night. Radiohead light shows are the sh-t.
Thanks, Phil. I wasn’t convinced of its fit until I finished writing, but now I fully agree with you. btw, you’re the second person to tell me you have tickets to see Radiohead. I’m very jealous. Enjoy the show!
Thanks, Phil. I wasn’t convinced of its fit until I finished writing, but now I fully agree with you. btw, you’re the second person to tell me you have tickets to see Radiohead. I’m very jealous. Enjoy the show!
hey, I came back for another visit to your blog.. I REALLY like your theme color's arua and power—not at all what one would expect from a gunmetal grey. I also knew JUST where to find that kickass Thom song. I think tags, if you want a second opinion, are wonderful clatter for the otherwise not-complicated-enough, not-kept-busy-enough, mind. But that's just me. ha ha pax; you and your family enjoy the SPRING as I remain,
phil and family
Thanks, Phil. The design and color palette, like everything else on this
blog, are a work in progress. I keep coming back to this song and the video
too, definitely one of my favorites from the past year or so.
Yea. Video went onto Real Player on my PC, and I want to export it to my facebook as background music , not many guys my age have facebook, but my kids go to it rather than to their email, so I want to use it to communicate with them. My son's in Afghanistan and HE uses Facebook—the paridigm of tomorrow's young people! So far no luck, and I agree—it's a deep-reaching song, a life of its own.