This Friday Radiohead are re-releasing their iconic album OK Computer as OKNOTOK 1997-2017, a 20th anniversary issue of the record, which Steven Hyden recently argued is the best of the last twenty years (!). Today, the band shared a new video for one of the new, previously unreleased tracks that will be included on the album, “Man Of War,” and sometimes referred to as “Big Boots.”
The song was written circa The Bends era, but they never got around to recording it until now. In the clip, the world alternates from an idyllic and peaceful daylight scenario to flashes of a dark and ominous night, that leave our poor protagonist confused and a little paranoid. It works as a commentary about how a world that once seemed safe and secure can pretty easily swap over to one that feels foreign and familiar — a statement that’s certainly in line with the rest of the band’s social and political commentary, without being heavy-handed.
At one point, another passerby drops a phone and the man picks it up, and tries to chase them down to return it. After he fails to catch them, he looks down at the phone and sees pictures of himself, before the whole thing disappears. Spooky! Watch it above.
