The Hidden Syncopation of Radiohead's "Videotape" by WARRENMUSIC
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ธ.ค. 2016
- The Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm Module and entire WARRENMUSIC Series are available NOW! - warrenmusic.xyz/
You can also check out my cover of "Videotape," a humble attempt at honoring multiple versions of Radiohead's masterpiece - • "Videotape" by Radiohe...
For a deeper dive, check out my cover of "Videotape" here with a superimposed drum track to help guide your ear to hear the syncopation when you opt-in to receive updates from me - eepurl.com/cthdRL
The ways in which Radiohead's music has challenged me as a musician and songwriter are unspeakable, but I try my best to put it in words in this video about this deeply embedded musical idea hiding in plain sight (hearing): hidden syncopation.
This is a subject worth many more videos and words, but for now, to view it through the lens of "Videotape" I hope excites and motivates you to get out there and really study and make more music.
Sign up to hear from Warren and receive free Rhythm Song Puzzles (transcription exercises!) for Episode 04 of my new Rhythm Module featuring songs from Feist, Arcade Fire, Queen, Al Green, Mr Twin Sister, and so much more! - eepurl.com/h5oJFj
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Since 2007, WARRENMUSIC has existed to help people get the most out of the music they love. Through a video series focused on music theory and ear-training, to Skype lessons and in-person workshops, chord charts, MIDI transcriptions, and video tutorials, this channel is focused on helping music students hear and think about music the way musicians do: in a way that is both deep yet accessible. Reach out today and take a step towards building the musicianship you always dreamed of having. Because musicianship lasts a lifetime.
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I have tears. About 8 years ago once after a long day sight-reading percussion rhythms at the conservatory, I got on the bus and without looking at which song it was I unpaused the last song that was playing on my iPod and started following the rhythm of the drums, as one does when a song begins. It happened to be the last bit of Videotape after the drums had joined in, and I found myself counting the beats a way I had never done before when I listened to the song from the beginning. Was never a special one to me until then, I was obsessed with it for the following weeks.
I haven't watched anything remotely related on TH-cam lately so I can't explain how on earth this video showed up in my recommended list, but I can't put it in words the joy it gave me. It revived my love for music theory. Subscribed and followed instantly on last.fm. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is one of the coolest stories I've heard yet. Thank you so much for sharing. It was both a sort of a personal experience and an accidental discovery. And somehow you found yourself here, with someone else appreciating the same thing. Incredible. This kind of thing is why I made this channel and this video! Feel free to email me and let's continue the conversation - warren@warrenlain.com
dope.
very heartening to read this. i love to see restoral of joy in musics mysterys
This video is a masterpiece, it's narrated like a detective story. And the murderer is totally unexpected. I always had the vague feeling that that song had something unusual in it, and now I know WHY. Thank you so much.
I'm so glad you liked this and it's cool you thought of it that way. I put a lot of time and research into it so I really hoped the presentation would go over well.
I am crying. real tears. I have been taking drum classes for about an year. When i realized this unknowingly a few months ago while listening to the song, i couldnt put it into words but i felt like something had clicked and i didnt think much of it. But I had the song stuck in my head for days. Watching this video.. why am I crying? Its like witnessing god.
Thanks for sharing. Amazingly, you aren't the first who had this reaction here in the comments...
Everybody in Radiohead has impeccable rhythm. I love when they purposely obscure where the down beat is in some of their songs. Reckoner comes in on the 4 and keeps you floating until the guitar comes in on the 1. Their song the Butcher completely throws you off, making you think it's a simple four on the floor feel until it flips and the kick is on all the up beats (at least the electronic kick). So good.
+Chris Semmelbeck Yes, agree 100%!
This video is perfect. A treat to watch for an avid Radiohead fan. I love that you included bits off of the At Ease message board and Citizen Insane. Radiohead fandom par excellence.
Also: At Ease is still around.
This is fucking incredible dude, thanks for putting this together. I'm so glad to have found your channel. Keep up the good work!
Very glad you have found this channel as well! Thanks for the kind words.
Videotape was far from favourite Radiohead track but my god, I have a huge new appreciation for it now! There is always 'more' to most Radiohead tracks! There is not another band on earth that devotes such time and care when it comes to pacing and rhythm. Thank you Warren!
I usually have to listen to Radiohead songs multiple times. Then at some point suddenly they just hit different
This is so great. One of my favourite videos of 2016.
When I first heard "Videotape" I thought it was the most boring song on the album and always skipped it. But at a certain moment, when I really got into Radiohead, I gave it another try and listened to the whole song. As soon as I heard the beats, my previous opinions about the song faded away directly. There was something about it that messed with my brain, but couldn't really figure out what exactly was going on.
I always thought that the drums/beats were off-beat, but now it's obvious; the piano is syncopated.
Speechless. Well done Warren
+weerman44 when I first heard it, piano only, it was fine! When I heard he album version, I thought the drums were super syncopated and I was into it. Every version and re-orienting of it gave me something new to enjoy! Now I bounce back and forth between on and off the beat when I listen, sometimes by choice, sometimes because I lose the "1."
It's like an aural (optical) illusion. One day you see the rabbit, blink, and now you see the duck.
Hi warren, great video, I always loved the piano in videotape, even though I don't know a lot about music, I felt that there's something unusual with that piano chord progression, especialy in the album version. I think there's a chance that thom yorke use the same trick in Like spinning plates, check out the version he played for a canadian show called Music plus, best regards.
this can be said for every radiohead song it's always more especially if you are depressed, it will pull the layers back if you let it
this is a quote from thom talking to david byrne about videotape:
TY: Oh God we tried torturously many--. I mean, I can’t think of an
example. I mean “Videotape” was the absolute--uh, the last track--the
last track was the absolute agony, because that went through every
possible parameter. I had an absolute obsession that it should be
umm--like Surgeon, which is really hard, you know, uh, post-rave trance
track. [Laughs.] And umm... Tried endlessly, you know? [Laughs.]
And to be fair to the others, they didn’t--they didn’t-as
they possibly should’ve done-kick me out of the room. Uh, but--uh, you
know--we tried and possibly we got something out of it but probably not.
But you know, and the other thing was that-- with that track--was that
Jonny was absolutely obsessed about the fact that the piano was in the
wrong, you know, the piano was ahead--it’s an eighth ahead of where the
one is. [Laughs.] The one is an eighth ahead. And he wanted to just
stuck to the whole rhythm an eighth ahead. So you--but it didn’t. It was
a constant argument about where the one was. [Laughs.]
And shifting it and blah-blah. And then we ended up with
something really, really bad, you know. And what happened was I left
the--funny enough, I left the studio--. [Laughs.]
-for, like, most of the day. [Laughs.] Came back in the evening,
umm, and Jonny and Nigel had stripped everything away. And what we were
left with is what was on the record. So there you go.
+Arian Hagen wow, I've never heard of this. Where is this? Confirms everything.
I think you mean this URL - citizeninsane.eu/t2007-11-09Wired.htm
Awesome!
People who put 'uh' into transcripts... wtf.
Original link is dead now, but luckily the Wayback Machine caught it.
In case anyone is interested:
web.archive.org/web/20100314222535/citizeninsane.eu/t2007-11-09Wired.htm
Thanks, I was looking for that! I wonder why Wonsy deleted it... And to think, people don't think this interview evidence. Vehement denial - twitter.com/brianrbarone/status/893653490865668096
Very interesting. I always thought this song was almost too simple; there had to be something else happening. At this point, I cannot un-hear those piano chords on the downbeat. I had the same problem with "Bodysnatchers," initially. I heard the opening guitar accents as downbeats, so when the drums came in, it sounded crazy.
This is why I made the superimposed drum track version! Have fun.
Honestly this is one of the coolest videos I've watched in a long time. The explanation is great but even more so, I love the passion you put behind it. You made a 38-minute video that fascinated me from beginning to end.
That's so nice to hear!! Happy it helped you. Feel free to sign up for my newsletter if you'd like to be among the first hear about the next video like this!
Brilliant work! Admittedly I had never come across syncopation before watching this video and I still can't 'hear' the different perspectives but you've done the best job possible of explaining it.
Ignoring the fact that the content of this video is superb, I have to go out of my way and complement your format, which adds so much to it. I love your manner of speaking, and the lack of editing. Your demeanor is so conversational, easing the guard I've developed against overly crafted videos or essays whose attempts at convincing me of something bring out the hypercritical skeptic in me. But I can just glide along with you and your thoughts. Thank you.
That is so nice to hear. I appreciate the way you described that. I didn't realize but it makes sense that one might have defenses up when videos/essays are all trying to beat you over the head with some "secret."
So accurate
Love this so much! Everytime you go in depth like this with song samples and clips, it makes me so happy and excited to make music!
I’ve listened to fairly simple pop music my whole life so these types of things are right on the edges of my ability to even understand, But I really really enjoyed this, and was able to completely understand what you were talking about. Thank you for making this video. What’s so fascinating to me is how hard it is to “unhear“ something. I hear the syncopated beat now only.
It's hard even for seasoned musicians to "unhear" things too. It requires a lot of focus. But congratulations, now the song has revealed another side of itself to you!
I've never listened to Radiohead before, but that Vox video led me to your video and I'm super glad I watched it. I'm listening to this album now and it's so incredibly interesting, my ears are really just craving for more. I think this video is spot on, I'm no expert on music theory but the rhythms they are using throughout are so thoughtful and complex that it IS strange that they would just do something as simple as 4/4 to end the album. It's almost as if they are leading us on a journey to find that syncopation in videotape. Wow just wow
the hardest one is little by little, followed shortly by identikit due to where the accents on guitar are and where the recorded drums start
Moistened Mann Larent the strokes on guitar Just offbeat in Little by Little
identikit is pretty straight forward?
Little By Little is so incredible. I think it's a vastly underrated Radiohead song. Brooding and haunting as hell. And the latin/hip hop syncopation is so groovy either way.
Ive always wanted to know how plumbuses are made!
Moistened Mann you're so right. if you listen to little by little from the basement version you can clearly here the drums start off alone but then as soon as the guitar comes in your brain switches. and then when they also play identikit live they start it on the right beat but it starts an eighth ahead on the record
could you do the same with true love waits? this is great dude
I wish I had the words to articulate how this song has always moved me and you helped me realize yet another one of the MANY reasons I love and appreciate the genius of this song. Thank you.
Wow, this blew my mind for many reasons. I feel the need to share an experience I had last summer.
I was in the peak of my psychedelic exploration, and while on a particularly large dose of LSD, I put headphones on and listened to music while walking around the woods nearby my house. I was on my way home when, about 2 minutes from being at my door, videotape came on. For those of you unfamiliar with the experiences one obtains from LSD, your mind becomes extremely impressionable, and music can be an all encompassing experience, where you'll hear notes and patterns that you never would notice while sober (I should note here that I do not condone the use of illegal drugs purely for the purpose of trying to 'trip out', rather, it is a tool which, when used in the right context, can be used for the purpose of spiritual exploration and bettering oneself). When the song came on, I almost immediately stopped in my tracks, turned around, and headed back into the wilderness. I couldn't explain it at the time, but I got an intense feeling to move forwards, almost as though I was being dragged along by some unknown force. Now, I believe that this very well may have been an unconscious realization of the syncopation, where the piano seems to drag the beat along with it. I was succumb by an incredibly ominous (yet strangely comforting) feeling that solidified Videotape as my all-time favorite song.
Jacob Goodman AMAZING! thanks for sharing
When the rhythm finally clicked for me, it was like my gaze finding the sailboat in the Hidden Eye poster. Thanks.
The whole thing about musicians playing songs because we like the sound, and Thom playing syncopated songs just for us. Blows my mind, makes me love the band even more. Ultimately, I don't think it matters if you like a song. But for those of us who love certain bands it gives us a greater appreciation.
TL;DR Great Video man, would love more.
Your enthusiasm and passion in this video is so contagious
VOX brought me here...bruh one word DOPE
D O P E
Thanks for making this. I'm ND and I have always found this song very calming and comforting. I wasn't a good musician in school but I have been able to naturally feel the beat. This song kind of feels like my thoughts.
It feels like the stillness I feel in energy and action and the movement in stillness, my brain rattling in its cage and utterly calm.
It messes with my head to try to think of the piano as the beat.
tf does ND mean?
I appreciate this video! You’ve inspired me to hear it the way they intended. I’ll be downloading your mp3!
This video, the way you describe stuff, it's perfect.
I wish you lived next door to me and I wish that you had nothing better to do with your days than teach me stuff about music. Thank you for this video
Glad to see you're keeping up the excellent work, Warren! All the best.
the most amazing thing is that the vocals on the album start exactly on the 1
Yes!!
That's pretty awesome, it has actually changed the song's feel for me too. Something similar happened to me with Pyramid Song, it took me quite a while to "get" that rhythm.
Pyramid Song is very hard for me. The only way I can play it is by changing the rhythm. And even then I probably have it wrong. Cymbal rush is one of them too.
+silencilliste it's especially tricky because it combines odd/mixed meter with shuffle on top of the hidden syncopation. Either alone would make things a lot easier.
+silencilliste +WARRENMUSIC, if you haven't seen it yet, search Pyramid Song Map here on youtube, that little video made it clear for me after years of confusion.
Thanks for helping me to truly appreciate this song! There's so much more depth than I originally heard!
Huge respect from a Mauritian Radiohead fan since 1997!
keep up the great work Warren
much love from little Mauritius
After seeing you on the vox video I’m so happy I found this channel! I’m subscribing! Fabulous work man.
Glad to have you with us!!
This is a very interesting video. For me personally, I always heard it as a syncopated song. Your video and the Vox video took me on a journey of discovering how it can be perceived as non-syncopated (which was a revelation to me), and then how a person can learn to perceive its syncopation when they originally perceived it as non-syncopated. Super-interesting to shift one’s perception of reality back and forth.
Amazing. Was the first version you heard the 2006 live one, or the album, or another version?
Hi Warren, I loved watching you on that VOX video a couple of years ago, tonight i saw this for the first time and I'm so glad you mentioned little by little too..it's remarkable how the arrengement changes from the studio version to the basement version. Yesterday I recorded a Videotape drum cover and despite of being training for a long time metronome displacements it was challenging and yet maggical play that syncopated groove. Loves to you. Long life to radiohead 💛
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Warren you changed my life with this video. My appreciation for music was already taken to another level when I first discovered Radiohead. However, when I came across this video I arrived to a place with music that I never knew existed. Your analysis combined with your passion to just describe this adventure you endured, showed me that there is just so much to appreciate from one life greatest gifts. Music.
Thank you Warren!
Beautiful! Glad you ended up here. The journey continues!
@@warrenmusic Thanks again Warren, glad I ended up here too! Lots of great content on this channel!
I never comment on YT videos, but I'm compelled to tell you how much I love this. 38 minutes on the pure joy of listening.
That's high praise, thank you!
I haven't enjoyed watching a TH-cam video in a long time .
Thank you for this explanatory video .
This blew my mind! It's absolutely incredible. I appreciate your dedication a lot - your patience for the whole research. Keep going!! Greetings from Leipzig, Germany.
Thanks for this video! I was at the Bonnaroo performance. Amazing show!
This is an awesome video. Thanks for pointing out another level of the genius of Radiohead that I never saw before.
Such a well-explained video and so cool to see someone so passionate about Radiohead and music in general. Totally changes my perception of the song and yet another reason to totally love this band.
i keep coming back to this video,one of my favourites on youtube
Cleaning my brains off the walls because you just blew my mind hard
Thank you for your work putting together this video.
Totally rad af!
Thank you!!!
Amazing. There's a few other things in RH songs that make me scratch my head and go crazy... ie: "The Butcher" the track starts off with this drum pattern which is very solid and rhythmic and then the synth line comes in and suddenly you notice the drum pattern changed... i listened to it so many times and still can't tell if the drum pattern actually does change or if its just an effect and just as the synth starts you realize that you were wrong and the drum pattern was different right from the beginning. Same happens in "identikit", song starts, you get this dancey groove and then when the guitar kicks in, it's like you were perceiving the drums the wrong way.. in "little by little" after years of listening i still can't figure out the transition from 1st chorus to 2nd verse...(i've also heard someone overdubbing a drum track over studio version of Little by Little and the chorus was completely different, just like what you did here in Videotape, it was more danceable, so to speak)... another one, not RH but Thom's... "Theres no ice for my drink" that's the closest ive heard to free beat interpretation. every time i listen to it i hear the 1 somewhere different, it even changes as the song goes on, but i realize its just my perception, since the kick drum stays the same the whole song...but it really feels like you can listen to several variations from the main synth line, depending on where you place the attention... There's a few more other from RH songs that I cant remember right now as well..
Loved this video man, thanks!
+Pablo Sebastian check out Caribou's remix of "Little By Little." They also heard it "wrong." And their entire remix is based off their different perception of the vocal melody. Pretty amazing things can happen even when you receive art differently from how the artist intended or created it.
Wow... Best video of the year?Thanks for taking the time to make this Warren
You're very welcome.
Still coming back to this one from time to time despite no real knowledge of music theory or practice. Great content is great content.
I fell in love with this song because it brought me to tears with its beautiful sadness. What I perceived as piano downbeats was the toll of death's bell underlying the message of a man sighing his last farewells. "This is my way of saying goodbye."
You've now made me fall in love with it twice. Now that I can hear these chords as upbeats, the meaning does a 180. Even as the song itself is stripped from a solid beat, the rhythm of life is still there if you search hard enough. It's easy to think upon this track with the heaviness and hopelessness of death, but a literal shift of perspective and you realize the song is a celebration of life. "This has been the most perfect day I've ever seen."
This song was my everything at my lowest points. Now, it's my everything period.
There isn't a way I can express how meaningful this is to me. Thank you.
+Throw Away this is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
I feel like I'm dissolving as I watch this video, I'm melting into my soul. This is just way too deep and true, and my soul knows it, and beckons. What memory would I choose...
You completely changed Videotape for me! Thank you! Great research and reflections.
Thanks for sharing this very thorough and enlightening analysis. You've made me learn about what musical syncopation is, and better understand the genious behind that song. Great job!
+Bruno Gallichand that's awesome to hear! I have an upcoming video series on Rhythm geared towards all levels of musicians and music lovers, so stay tuned!
Great! Look forward to this.
This is unbelievable, I saw them live in Miami this year where they played Videotape. I have zero musical background and I didn't even know about the hidden syncopation in this song, but when I heard and felt this song live it was like entering into the mirror world. An entirely different song was opened up to me and I couldn't figure out why. This explained it perfectly.
YES. THAT IS AWESOME.
Great video Warren. if you turn up de volume, you can hear the metronome from the very begining of the album version, its always there. this is amazing!
I think it's interesting how all the sheet music of this song is written on 1.
This is why you come here.
I have been practicing this song on an electric piano at night and I have had the opportunity to hear the sound of the keys without the sound of the piano. I started to notice that when I stopped trying to time the downward motion of the keys and instead started to time the upward motion , and sound, of the keys my timing instantly got better. I didn't know why but now it all makes sense.
Thank you...
Now back to the piano.
Because the upward motion is the beat! Wild huh?
this blew my mind
Thank you so much for all your efford and dedication, this is invaluable
Thank you Warren, this is one of the best videos i've seen of Radiohead and even the best of modern popular music theory. Thank you, I suscribed and I will watch your music theory videos, I have difficulties specially on rhythm when I make music. Greetings from Chile.
+Pato Guzman this is wonderful to hear. I am so glad this video connected with you! Feel free to email me at warren@warrenlain.com to continue the conversation!!
this is driving me nuts. it’s like one of those ambiguous 3D cube figures that flip back and forth involuntarily and both ways are true
Absolutely. But Thom and Colin and Jonny hear it one way (off the beat). Phil heard it one way (on the beat) worked on it for two years to hear it their way. Nigel hears it both ways. We don’t know how Ed hears it but I’m pretty sure he hears it the way the rest of the band does.
WARRENMUSIC I agree! It was definitely composed off the beat, and that is how most of the band seems to be hearing and performing it. But I would also argue that the deceptive and ambiguous nature of the beat has been a central element of the composition from its inception. The band has been playing with this illusion all along, ultimately stripping the piece of any clues to a point where the ambiguity is complete. A true masterpiece.
38 minutes of my life well spent!
+silencilliste Glad to hear it!
I'm glad I'm commenting back on this channel under _this_ video. As soon as I saw the teaser for this on Instagram, I knew that I was gonna enjoy it very much.
In fact, I had to watch this in pieces, pausing a couple of times to fully absorb & understand things (so it took me a couple of hours, I'm weird like that).
I know that you have your own life *and* the WARRENMUSIC Series, but maybe consider the idea of another series about specific RH details and such. Just throwing it out there.
I also agree with the "best video ever" comments, haha. This is the stuff of life, really.
Julian
I tried to reach out to Radiohead once for a Radiohead-specific educational series. Never heard back. I think without official word + support from the band it would be difficult to throw yet another thing on the pile that is stuff I wish I could do with the limited amount of time I have.
That is very impressive on Radiohead’s part! I know nothing about the structure of music, but love listening and have loved listening to Radiohead; thank you!
Really great video. (Just found this after seeing your post of the 2017 version at The Greek.)
As a designer, this is something we would call "deceptively simple." It's the idea that there's something more than meets the eye or something more than is readily apparent. I think it's a perfect example of the goal of true artistic expression in the most immediate and accessible form: simplification. I suspect this was how Thom wrote the song from the beginning, and in its earliest form, the band simply played around what he was doing. But then, over time, the foundation of the song remained as the superfluous parts were stripped away. Only later did they likely realize that the "reveal" part of the studio version was a way to use the syncopation (that was hidden in plain sight) as another texture in the outro, while also breaking the song down to its barest part. I'll definitely be listening to the Butcher and Little By Little with fresh ears. I'd always thought LBL was written this way.
since i've heard the bonnaroo version i've been movin like collin.
i think he just recall some magic moments from bonnaro concert during the video you showed
- that's why he's smiling like a kid
Love this so much. I went through a similar process with Morning Mr. Magpie. I thought they totally blew the studio version until it hit me that I had the beat wrong. Put a standard beat behind it in Logic and finally heard how much it GROOVED!
Thanks, Warren! Really cool video, so interesting!
I haven’t heard 808 referenced since before the 2000’s. Love that. Love that you are seeing Radiohead now
This is a deadly video! Great analysis Warren!! Thanks for sharing it.
I think it's fair to say you made a lot of us fall in love and appreciate Videotape a lot more with this video. At least it did to me when I first watched this video years ago.
Humbling, thank you for sharing
Truly a gift, thank you so much
Thanks so much for this video Warren!
I remember your old videos from like 5 years back, you look great I barely recognized you man
I love how you broke it down. I guess my percussive history helped me to identify this almost immediately and have no trouble following it auditorily however i can see how it would be difficult. I think maybe syncopation is why i love listening to radiohead so much. It like, tickles my brain in a way that other music doesn't.
Arrgh, I'm so envious... I've been a Radiohead fan since I was 13 years old, and I love syncopation, but even though I've listened to Videotape countless times I never caught the true beat. Even knowing that it's syncopated didn't help me. I needed a version with the added beat to finally get it. I wish I had such good rhythmic intuition as you!
@@enielfblerta428 what a sweet comment :) i'm sure that you have many other redeeming qualities my friend. thank you for taking time to respond to my comment and i hope you have a wonderful day!
This is the hardest I've thought about something this year
Nonsense. Jesus Christ doesn't have to think hard about something. He is the originator of Hidden Syncopation.
I love the studio version, because music and lyrics engage so well with each other. The syncopation makes so much sense when you think of a tape wheeling out. Even the bass-keyboard is not always perfectly quantized on the same beat as the piano. Also the drums (with a Steve Reich like phasing and timeshift) on the left ear create this feel of tape. I remember Jonny mentioned it somewhere, but I don't find the quote.
Good observation, I agree that the bass keyboard is played by hand. If it were quantized I suspect it would sound too sterile. I also included the left ear drum loop tape-wheeling-out effect if you listen with headphones.
I remember I could never seem to stay on the beat of this song in my head, it would always seem to drift away. Like they had changed timing halfway through. Now I know why:)
i really love videotape. after in rainbows i really want this song to be my funeral song i don't know why, it's just sooo beautiful
Hey Warren great job on this! I've use many of your guitar tutorials. Now for some reason this was and is very natural to me and I understood it and connected to it (dancing like Colin) from the beginning and it's an amazing feeling to get from this rebellious syncopation. It's a nice treat. You've broken this down but there's more. I've listen to various parts on other songs with hidden backbeat rhythms and even melodies that create sort like a dual experience with two paths for the listener which it so amazing and ground breaking. I would love it if you could go further. Maybe we can start with what happens at the end of Thom's track "the eraser". Thanks!
that's amazing!!!!! this video really opened my eyes. now I like to find the I by thinking about the 'truth will mess you up' beat in Ful Stop, this being surprisingly efficient.
I love in rainbows. and when it came out there was rumour it was going to be radiohead last album as a band so when the last song came on...videotape...on my first listen...hearing the words this is my way if saying goodbye but I can't do this face to face so I'm talking to you via videotape and it blew me away.
thank God they carried on. a moon shaped pool is phenomenal.
This could be called "searching for the 1" ! By the way you have real musical insight and a way of getting ideas across that is entertaining and unpretentious.
Thanks, that means a lot!
I really loved that you aknowledge how hard it was to realize that the song was syncopated at the beginning. It makes you look humble, not a brat and honest and gives you credibility
I was just being 100% honest. This was a personal story from the beginning that became something I just felt compelled to share!
great analysis! i liked since the very version of bonaroo you just played! kinda felt dissapointed after hearing the upcoming versions because of the drum pattern changed! but still love it because of what represents, but my favourite version is the one from 2006 live, great video Warren!
Great, revealing, magical. Thanks!!!
What would this world be without Warren!? Thanks so much!
A similar thing happened to me with Little by Little from The King of Limbs. I'd always think it was played on the off-beat, until incidentally I saw YOUR video at the time, on how to play it, and you opened my eyes (or ears lol ;P) to the truth. Same thing happened with The Butcher lol.. And one more song I cant remember right now. OH yeah! Identikit album version! Right at the beginning, with the drums and funky guitar..
AND ONE MORE! BODYSNATCHERS!! Sorry, about the caps, but yeah, Bodysnatchers (possibly my FAVOURITE song ever, seriously if someone ever caught me on tape listening to it, I'd be reported to the hospital for epilepsy) starts with the guitar riff playing ON the beat, but when the drums come in, it swiftly switches to the off! It's really fucking great.
This is awesome man, nice vox feature too!!
Onceqt thanks! I'm still kind of in awe!!
Solid video, dude. I really appreciate the effort that you put into explaining the rhythm (in this case the syncopation) in Videotape. And you even solidified for me the theory behind syncopation. Many thanks.
The song itself is ghostly- and I don't use that word whimsically. The song has a strong suggestion of suicide, and it seems to be about the ghosts which are left behind on videotape even after a person has died. With that being the case, it is no wonder that the band offer us something in the song which they "know" is there, and we as the listeners are called to "believe" is there. To me it is purposeful ambiguity by the band. An artistic choice to indicate the presence of uncertainty.
It is the same conundrum as when you're reading late at night with the window open, and your door slams shut on its own. You get spooked. Did the door slam shut because of the wind coming through the open window? Or did it slam shut because of a ghost? If you believe it was a ghost, then it was a ghost. If you don't, then you don't. The uncertainty still exists.
In short, you're video points to evidence that Radiohead has engineered into the song a ghost (in the form of syncopation). And that is an artistic feat, because this is a song about ghosts.
Thanks again for your effort. I felt like I owed it to you to try and explain my thoughts, and I hope they make sense instead of making me sound like a crazy.
It was a lil out there bro, haha, but you keep doing you. Thanks for sharing!
I always knew there was something awesomely odd in videotape but never could figured out what was, Thank you so much for this, this change lifes.
David, I'm so glad you found this video... it's stuff like this that makes the effort of making these videos all worth it! Feel free to continue the conversation over at warren@warrenlain.com
This is actually a very valid technique. It's used a lot and it's a great perception exercise, but I never realised it was in videotape. I hear it so clearly now. The point is that without the drums being heard, if they played it straight, it would feel different... but because they play it syncopated, even though there is no audible beat to reference to, the song feels different.
+Carl Golli EXACTLY
Your greatest video and one of the greatest video of the last year on TH-cam.
Why don't you start a serie?
As a hard Radiohead lover and as a musician, a self taught one, this video was a godsend.
I'm asking you, please start a serie from this, it felt like Da Vinci's Code to me :)
+Matteo Marazzi check out my reply to Julian below.
I come back to this vid every so often
cant stop listening and watching your videos warren! and thank you so much for explaining radiohead to me. Im kind of obsessed with their music that even my girlfriend cant listen to radioheads music anymore ;D
sometimes i feel like a lot of people dont see the genius of radiohead as i am literally crying about that pure intensity and passion when i listen to some live performances of idioteque, national anthem or ful stop for examples. i hope youre getting my point, since i am german and my english isnt that good at all.
...and radiohead, dont u dare to split up before i have seen u live, since theyre not that often here in germany.. ;D
best wishes from berlin, and keep up your great content!
Your english is great, I understood you perfectly. Thanks for the comment!
Warren is a hero. Love his passion so much
Haha loved the CMEA pic. I loved going to those with my jazz classes in jr high and high school.
Incredible video. Thank you.
+Chris Havelhorst UNANIMOUS SUPERIOR
I got once or twice. I miss playing bass and guitar in it. Im terrible now after high school.
Such an amazing video Warren. With the recent release of Thom in the Basement and 93feet east, Videotape made me think right of the syncopation and this fantastic detective work :)
Cheers!
Really appreciate your video mate. Like your thoughtful delivery and the detail. Subscribed! I'm just picking up the guitar again having only ever strumming chords before (and pretty shonkily at that) because I really wanted to learn "Dream a little dream of me" by the Mamas and the Papas- but the finger picking version. It's relatively simple but has really opened up the instrument to me, with rhythm being a major facet of that expansion. I'm an artist and remain predictably skint much of the time but I will seriously consider purchasing your modules online. There's a fascination and respect of the form that's really encouraging to me. Top job!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment! Yeah, sometimes it can just be one thing/song, and then you're sucked in and you realize there is so much to explore. Guitar and making music in general, just an amazing thing.
I'm never going to be able to listen to this song the same way again.
Is that a good thing?
IT'S A FANTASTIC THING
you just blew my mind, thanks!
hey Warren I really like your new hair style :)
Also, thanks for this vídeo 💜 I loved to find out the secret skeleton of this song 😊