radiohead’s in rainbows was made available for public download a little less than a year ago. i’ve listened to the album in its entirety but the first several tracks usually arrested my attention. as a result, i grew immune to the haunting beauty of “videotape”, the final track on another great radiohead album.
this is a live performance on nigel godrich’s podcast turned television program, from the basement. please enjoy this rendition of “videotape” and check out from the basement if the opportunity should arise.
2 a: recall to mind of a long-forgotten experience or fact
- from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
“That’s a big house, man.”
I looked back towards the man from my passenger seat. He calmly sat in his wheelchair, staring intently at the house across from where we were parked. He hadn’t spoken a word till now.
“My grandmother used to have a house like that. Just down the street, on P–. When I was little, when my mother was still alive, she would bring us to my grandmother’s. Oh, we’d have so much fun, man.” He paused, as though he were reveling in his memory. Then he continued in his slow, seemingly tired and pedantic pace. And I listened, nodding, smiling in silent support.
“And on weekends my uncle would always take us to the beach. And early on in the morning, like 6, he’d take me for a haircut. God, I really miss him, man. “
He paused once more. He eventually spoke again, but of other things. Of how he had spent 15 years in prison, vowing to never set foot in there again. “‘Oh you’ll be back’ they said. I said, ‘you won’t see me again.’ man, i didn’t want to be no fuckin’ loser, man.”
He would mention his leg, eaten from the bone outwards by some disease. No, you couldn’t see the ravages done to it-the leg wasn’t there anymore-but the memory of the pain was etched upon his weathered face. And he continued on, until they returned from the food pantry, each hand clasping a bag of groceries. We loaded the van then drove off. He resigned to his previous solitude, but i knew where his mind lingered. In the halls of a great big house, on the sandy shores of waxing tide. Some place away from here. Some place better.