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Radiohead Collaborate With Banksy On New Video - Apparently
John Doran , September 20th, 2009 15:53

Is this new video real? John Doran is more concerned with why people like BANKSY in the first place than whether he's worked with the 'Head or not

Interrupting our enjoyment of Tilburg, Holland's neo-folk, Afrobeat, doom metal, pig innard, Italo house festival Incubate, come more rumblings from the Radiohead camp.

It seems that a film director has taken the liberty of making a video to go with a new Thom Yorke song — described by his nibs as a "bass monster" — out of footage of graffiti by famous building decorator BANKSY.

The song has recently been made available via the official Radiohead website but it will also get a physical release as the B-side to new Radiohead 12" 'FeelingPulledApartByHorses' which is coming out on October 6.

At time of publication it has not be ascertained whether or not the speed of the film is a clever ploy to distract people from the sheer vacuity at the core of BANKSY's art. It is entirely possible that the sheer rapidity of visual information contained within might be enough to stop people from actually thinking about the fact that a stencil of a little girl letting go of a heart shaped balloon is actually this year's equivalent of the monochromatic Athena poster of a muscular black man holding a white baby, or one of a female tennis player scratching her bare arse cheek.

Here is what some PR firm have to say about it: "Media artist and experimental filmmaker Raymond Salvatore Harmon has joined together two of Britain's most recognizable icons — graffiti artist Banksy and Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead.

"The video for Thom Yorke's The Hollow Earth, which was released on September 22nd via the Radiohead website, utilizes a blindingly fast montage of Banksy imagery superimposed over various time lapse shots of London city life.

"The song appears as the flip side to the 12' single FeelingPulledApartbyHorses — which the Radiohead site claims will be availabel [sic] as a free download on Oct 6th.

"In the meantime Harmon's video has caused quiet a stir, it's [sic] epilepsy inducing pace fits comfortably with the tempo of The Hollow Earth, which Yorke quotes as being "a bass menace that was born out of the Eraser period but needed a little more time."

"Harmon's use of Banksy's often controversial imagery borders on the subliminal, though various bits of Banksy stencils jump out at the viewer — namely iconic references to Mickey Mouse, Ronald McDonald and Banksy's own Rat imagery."

We will leave you to figure out how something can border on the subliminal. But dodgy graff art aside we'd like to continue giving Radiohead thunderous applause for taking care of their own shit and continuing not to be our generation's Pink Floyd.