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"No Surprises" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the third and final single from their third studio album OK Computer (1997) on 12 January 1998. The song was accompanied by a music video that featured a single shot of lead singer Thom Yorke's head singing karaoke lyrics of the song displayed inside a helmet that briefly fills up with water. The single peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
Radiohead wrote "No Surprises" while touring with R.E.M. in 1995. It was the first song recorded on the first day of sessions for OK Computer. "That childlike guitar sound set the mood for the whole album", said Thom Yorke. "We were going for that Pet Sounds vibe."
The version on the album is the first take recorded. "We did endless versions afterwards and they were all just covers of the first version", Yorke recalled. "So we gave up and went back to ."
The music video for "No Surprises" was directed by Grant Gee. The video consists solely of a single close-up shot of Thom Yorke's head inside an astronaut-style dome helmet. The lyrics are shown throughout the entire song slowly scrolling upwards but mirrored, as they are being reflected off of the dome. After the first verse, the helmet begins to fill with water. Yorke continues singing as he attempts to lift his head above the rising water. Once the bubble completely fills, Yorke is motionless for over a minute, after which the water is released and he resumes singing. For Yorke's safety, the video was filmed at high speed and played back in slow-motion.
Yorke, in the music video (left) and filming the music video (right)
One of the scenes in Gee's documentary about Radiohead, Meeting People Is Easy, cuts from the British news channel Sky News showing and (unfavourably) discussing the video to several takes of its filming. The song speeds up during filming when his face is fully submerged, until he pulls the rubber bottom out to release the water and members of the film crew help him out. Despite the safety measures, Yorke is shown getting more visibly uncomfortable and agitated with each take.
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