Radiohead
Street Spirit (Fade Out)

« I didn't write that song » (Thom Yorke)

"Street Spirit" is one of those songs that, after the first listen, leaves something inside you. Incredibly melancholic, so melodic.

This song has no father. Even Yorke (leader of Radiohead) has always denied having written it, at least "consciously." The song is in the key of A minor, its main theme consisting of the continuous arpeggio of that chord; the song is sad: to some, it may seem depressing and haunting, to others, it is appealing because it provokes something indescribable that arises from continuous and frequent listening (as in my case). Yorke's voice is cold, dark, icy: it's a "northern" voice, English, quite peculiar. The song has a dream-like quality, both in melody and lyrics. The latter, after a first read, seems almost entirely nonsensical. "Immerse your soul in love" is the phrase that closes the song and also the album from which it is taken, The Bends, from 1995.

The music video, directed by Jonathan Glazer, was shot entirely in black and white at night, in a caravan park. The narrative theme of the song does not reflect the episodes of the video, everything is confused. Some scenes are shot with the evocative technique of slow motion, and some characters remind of the video for Madonna's song "Frozen," from 1998. This song is so dark and psychedelic that it would be fitting as a background during the reading of the third canto of the Divine Comedy, when Dante crosses the infernal gate and hears the cries of the damned, who weep and moan for the pain caused by their endless torments. I recommend those who don't know this wonderful song to listen to it; it's beautiful. Congratulations to Thom Yorke.

"Rows of houses, all bearing down on me
I can feel their blue hands touching me
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out

This machine will, will not communicate
These thoughts and the strain I am under
Be a world child, form a circle
Before we all go under
And fade out again and fade out again

Cracked eggs, dead birds
Scream as they fight for life
I can feel death, can see its beady eyes
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out again

Immerse your soul in love
Immerse your soul in love"