I wish I was special

So Radiohead decide not to renew their contract with EMI and instead decide to release their latest album, In Rainbows, firstly as a download from their website, then as a physical release on XL Records (The vinyl is fucking sweet I have to say). So, somewhat predictably, EMI are cashing in. First off, they reissued all the EMI era CDs just in time for last christmas, but with neither bonus tracks, nor prior consultation with the band (Both of which would have been a nice touch). In the very near future, EMI are gonna re-release these same albums on vinyl (please make it tasty 180gm, please). In between these re-issues, EMI decided to do a best of, in both CD and DVD formats. The CD is not essential if yr a fan already, tho will be handy for those who didn't buy the albums or just need to plug a few gaps. What excited me most when these were announced was the DVD, which features all the videos from their EMI era singles. A few years back, Radiohead released a DVD called 7 TV Commercials, which only had the videos from The Bends and OK Computer, so having videos from before and after the period covered on that DVD was very appealing.
The early videos, while not suffering from the over familiarity of the Bends/OK Computer era vids, are fairly basic affairs. That said, Stop Whispering is a hilariously over wrought effort, the over-riding impression you get is "this is a band who wants to be massive." Non-album single "Pop Is Dead" features singer Thom Yorke being carried around in a glass coffin, tho both the video and the song suffer from not being very good.
Things start to pick up somewhat when you reach the Bends and OK Computer videos, the videos getting more adventurous. Good to see that the original "High and Dry" video was included, as it was barely shown once the US version was made.
Post OK Computer, the band went on a bit of a media anti-blitz, hence no videos for Kid A. EMI could've included the "blip-verts" but chose not to, which is a slight disappointment. The other disappointment is the lack of extras, no commentaries or anything like that. You could blame EMI, but looking at previous Radiohead DVDs, and you tend to find that "extras" cupboards are bare, so this not a new thing.
Things are restored from Amnesiac onwards, tho the videos tend to be interesting ideas for videos rather than actually being any good. That said, there are exceptions. Knives Out is a wonderful Gondry directed vid, while There There from 2003 album Hail To The Thief has an enchanting children's story book gone oh so wrong. Also worthy of a mention is the video for Push Pulk / Spinning Plates, which is basically porn fro animation nerds.
Some great videos here, but overall a somewhat disappointing release.

www.radiohead.com