Radiohead - Videotape Original Version (Live @ theater at msg 2006)

During their short summer/fall tour of smaller venues in order to road-test material from what would eventually become "In Rainbows", Radiohead played a number of new songs live. In classic RH fashion, many of these would change form by the time they got pressed to vinyl, some in more subtle fashion, and some, as in the case of this tune, quite drastically. As with some of their earlier songs, in this case, I think they had it right the first time, and this is the definitive performance of that version. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

[@Jreggory]

The thing about this about this song is that it's so good they kept it from us, they purposely minimilized it

[@Viddychuu]

I think the original one was more fitting in the context of the album, but this version of the song is much better separately.

[@teehundeart]

Viddy this is the original. The album version came later

[@Lellos_]

@@teehundeart yes, but what he is saying is that the album version works better to the album as a whole, and this version works better independently.

[@vishavkishore]

This one is cool man. But I just dig how music starts dying when he says this is my way of saying goodbye in the album's version . I see this song as a message after suicide so fits like that. This has the anguish but that one talks about the peace of ending it all

[@mywhychromosome]

I know what you mean, my dude. It has been said that given the heavy themes (comparable, in a way, to "Motion Picture Soundtrack", no?), this original arrangement was a bit too upbeat and 'arena'-y to suit them. I can understand that, but I actually thought the contrast there strengthened the overall feeling, managing that difficult-to-pull-off 'bittersweet' as opposed to just flat-out dark, or uplifting, or etc. Especially given how much they avoid that 'reach for the back row' epic-ness these days, seeing this live at the time, I thought it'd be a nice change of pace, a little burst of outright emotion amongst largely claustrophobic tracks. But I can also see how it'd 'stick out' so to speak

[@gerarios6987]

The album version is the first one I ever heard, I think is better than the other versions because it feels way more relaxed and smooth, I think this is better than the Bonnaroo version though.

[@mywhychromosome]

Glad you agree about this versus Bonnaroo! : ) As far as liking the album version the best, I would imagine that, as you said, the one you hear first has a lot to do with what you connect with and thus what you prefer. It's not ALWAYS the case, but I think that is probably why a lot of times, ESPECIALLY with bands like Radiohead who often debut songs live on tour, work them out, and then end up changing them by the time they record them, people who heard the tour versions versus people who didn't end up having radically different opinions. Even seeming classics like "Electioneering" from Ok Computer, I've read a lot of articles by journalist who saw them on tour around 1996, and they often mention how crushed they were when the recording didn't do justice to this live favourite. And I LOVE the studio version of "Electioneering"!

[@Lkease]

Thank you for uploading this masterpiece

[@mywhychromosome]

You're very welcome!! I still feel like not enough people even know about this version, so I grabbed the file off my older computer and put it up here as soon as I could. I also have the rest of this set on there, which was excellent as wel. If you want any of that lemme know

[@whisper3978]

Still like the Bonnaroo version better (particularly the weird loops at the end), but if you were here for this, I imagine that is why you prefer this one.

[@mywhychromosome]

+whisper3978 I dig that part too, I just find in this version the whole band is tighter, but particularly the opening guitar loops are much more prominent and the mounting drum build is a lot more prominent in this...also Thom's vocal, during a lot of the performances "the most perfect day lyric", he kinda half-asses it. Still both great performances though, glad people know about this version period

[@CHarr1991]

+mywhychromosome i totally see what you are saying about the tighter sound here...like the theater at MSG sonics too. I do disagree about the vocals..I love the way Thom kinda slurs the words lives..gives me that drunken desperation tone...just preference I guess. I love the way he emotes on the word "most"....Are you a fan of Bloom live?

[@mywhychromosome]

C. Harr Yeah! His vocals are a little different every time, with the slurs and varied notes in there...makes every performance special, so we all have our favorites. As far as "Bloom"...I really need to check out more of the "King of Limbs" stuff live, because that was the first Radiohead album since I discovered them via "The Bends" where I actually reacted with a kind of "eh...". Every prior album, even though I had my favorites, had tracks that knocked me outta my shoes. But I caught a good portion of them doing...I think it was "From The Basement"?? But it was King of Limbs tracks being done live, and seeing them play "The Daily Mail", which is essentially a KOL b-side, really moved me, along with some of the other tracks. So I need to go back and check out those other songs...I'm a bit ashamed, as a huge RH fan, to say I'm not all that familiar : \

[@CHarr1991]

+mywhychromosome check out Bloom live on Colbert. Insane.

[@surroundgatari]

you need to just keep listening, one listen you will ndrstnd its genious for no reason, happened to me

[@surroundgatari]

The drums are much punchier here than on the Bonnaroo version, it's more visceral, which I think makes it better. This is like the exact opposite of the album version but both are great, like two sides of a coin. Bonnaroo is inbetween them, the side of the coin, and who cares about the side of a coin? It's just lumps and bumps n shit

[@surroundgatari]

i'm only being half serious btw, Bonnaroo version is really good too

[@mywhychromosome]

Lol, I know this is an old post, but I love the way you put this. The point of this arrangement is that its dynamic and thumping and yeah, 'epic', like an updated 'ye-olde Radiohead'. Some other versions like Bonnaroo are like them "on the way" to turning the volume down, folding the song in on itself, but not quite ready to sign-on-the-dotted-line yet. If I'm gonna have a 'every instrument in the band slowly enters and then kicks my ass' song, I want my ASS KICKED

[@christopherfortune9497]

Wow, the album version is amazing, this might be better.

[@mywhychromosome]

Okay guys, so I dunno if anyone's still browsing over to my obscure 'lil video upload (let alone checking the comments, haha), but just in case...what are your guys' thoughts on "A Moon Shaped Pool"? Through a semi-ridiculous series of events, I actually only heard it for the first time today (excluding "Burn the Witch", which I watched the video at least once a day for weeks after it came out, then realized the song hit me better without visual accompaniment, and then I started minimizing the video lol). ANYWAY, though...first impressions are that while to an extent they are still stuck in the "mid-tempo minimalist" swamp they have been mired in for many years now, and that they DEFINITELY need to use a new producer, Godrich is just too familiar and too comfortable for the results to spark now...with all that said, songwriting wise, the record contains the first RH songs that have really STIRRED something within me in about 10 years now, that reach that place buried all the way down, that you didn't even know was there until you felt the music pluck it like a guitar string, the way the best Radiohead songs do. The bursts of strong melody are used very sparingly, but when they do hit, it swept me off my feet a few times. I need to keep banging away at it to see what my real feelings are gonna be, but I'm feeling very optimistic at the moment. P.S. : On a downer note, after all these years, it does seem that they did the same thing to "True Love Waits" on record as they did to "Videotape" : /

[@enneff]

mywhychromosome the album is fantastic IMO and I'm loving their sound on it. Decks Dark is a particular fave; a lovely broody tune, gorgeous instrumentation and great lyrics.

[@tijuana_tony]

mywhychromosome I didn't even know radiohead made Moon shaped pool till one day I thought about radiohead found the album on spotify it was like a treat. I burned myself out on radiohead and I'm always looking for new music so years past till I heard them. I was blown away how good it was and it was exactly what I needed at the time and it's becoming my favorite album.

[@mywhychromosome]

+Andrew Gerrand "Decks" was one of the ones that jumped out at me first listen, along with "Desert Island", and "True Love Waits" (although the last one not in a good way haha). A sneaky song. +Tony Lobato I'm glad to hear other RH fans are having this album kind of creep up on them, and that when it does, its getting under their skin like the others. I listened to the record several times early on, decided there were a few standouts and I wasn't really sure how I felt about the rest. Lately I've been going back to it, and it really is...hm...not sure how to say it, but an album that 'demands your attention'. Not songs you hear from the backseat of a car and go "What is THIS? Turn it up!", more like a photo album you flip through alone

[@ezequielcruz1826]

Maybe it just depends on what kind of RH songs you're more into. For example, I'm a lover of much more mellow and subtle RH songs, like Scatterbrain, Reckoner, Codex and other songs like that, and that's why I fell in love with this album immediately. For example, in my opinion (and I remark, my opinion cause I know a lot will disagree with this), the first acoustic version of true love waits sounded way too flat for me, like, it was just a good song that I'd listen to only when it popped out randomly. Now, with the AMSP version, it has become one of my favorites, and I'm in love with the message given with it, the subtle and somber sound its got, and the vocals which sound more sweet and low. Also, after listening to this version, I finally understood the acoustic one and started listening to it more frequently, and I know like it. Other songs that I really love from AMSP that were stripped down are identikit and ful stop. I had the luck to listen to identikit live back on the TKOL tour, and I was not a big fan of the drum beat and guitar work of Ed, but the middle of it was sounding gorgeous, it was really nice. Now with this AMSP version, it has become also a big favorite, and it was actually the first song from the album that I really loved, I'd listen to it at least 10 times per day. I really loved how the drums now sounded more jazzy and the back atmosphere sounds made the song sound darker, and also how the guitar solo was more thrown in. With Ful Stop I won't elaborate as long, I'll just say that it also sounds more tight and sophisticated and less raw than the TKOL versions, which I like. Other song that totally sticks out to me is Present tense, cause it reminds me of the IR era, like, it totally could pass as an outtake from those sessions, but it still holds the darker and somber sound of AMSP and I love that. Also, who couldn't love a nice attempt of the band at a bossa nova. And I couldn't leave Glass eyes and Decks Dark without an special mention. Both are magnificent. If I had to choose my faves from the album, those would be, in order of apparition: Daydreaming, Decks Dark, Ful Stop, Glass Eyes, Identikit, The Numbers, Present Tense and True Love Waits. Overall, I'd like to say thay the album plays cohesive, and even when at first, tho I was still liking it, it kind felt like it was just a bunch of outstanding b-sides thrown and fitted for a release, now they do feel like a real progressive (in the means that they go along with each other) array of songs, I mean, they do feel like composing an album. If I had to rank it, it'd be my fourth favorite RH album, behind In Rainbows, Hail to the Theft and Amnesiac (1st to 3rd respectively).

[@ezequielcruz1826]

And on Videotape, I think it my favorite version is the Scotch mist one, followed by these live versions of 2006, and then the basement one. I love the album version, but I only listen to it when I listen to the whole In Rainbows (not that rarely, actually too often). If I want to listen to Videotape alone, I prefer a live rendition

[@yan16.9]

where did you get it?