Rabbit in Your Headlights

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“Rabbit in Your Headlights”
Single by Unkle featuring Thom Yorke
from the album Psyence Fiction
Released 1998
Format CD, 7" vinyl
Genre Electronic
Length 6:18
Label Mo' Wax
Writer(s) Thom Yorke, Josh Davis
Producer UNKLE
Unkle featuring Thom Yorke singles chronology
"Last Orgy 3"
(1998)		 "Rabbit in Your Headlights"
(1998)

"Rabbit in Your Headlights" is a song by British electronic duo Unkle, featuring Radiohead's Thom Yorke on guest vocals. It is the first single from the duo's 1998 album Psyence Fiction.

Contents

[edit] Music video

Denis Lavant in the "Rabbit in your headlights" video
Denis Lavant in the "Rabbit in your headlights" video
This shot earned the video its recognition.
This shot earned the video its recognition.

The song's music video, directed by Jonathan Glazer, premiered in November 1998. The critically acclaimed video won the MVPA's Best International Video of the Year Award in 1999. In 2006, Stylus Magazine ranked it number one on their list of the Top 100 Music Videos of All Time. It is anthologised on the DVD Directors Label, Vol. 5: The Work of Director Jonathan Glazer.

The video uses a technique which Glazer would later use for the "A Song for the Lovers" video, being shot in real-time and allowing the diegetic sounds produced by objects and characters to be audible above the music. It differs from that video in that the music itself is non-diegetic.

[edit] Plot

It stars Denis Lavant as a middle-aged man wearing a heavy parka and walking along the middle of the road in a busy car tunnel. He appears to be out of his mind, mumbling and shouting incoherences, only occasionally including intelligible words such as "Cristo" and "shimmer!" Some of the cars honk at him and swerve out of his way. All of a sudden a car hits him from the side, and he is left on the ground. The car continues its course without stopping or slowing down. After a while, the man stands up and starts walking again as if nothing had happened. Then another car hits him; this time the hit occurs straight on and sends him flying a couple of feet. A passing motorist watches with contempt as the man rolls in the street. The man gets up again. A car swerves by and slows down alongside the man. The driver and passengers, played by British actor Craig Kelly as the driver and Unkle's James Lavelle and Richard File as passengers, try to talk to him, asking where is he going. The man pays no attention and continues walking and talking to himself. The driver soon tires of this and drives away while one of the passengers calls out, "Nice coat!" Another car hits the man, and he gets up almost instantly. The madness which this man is apparently suffering from gets more acute as he grabs his face and moves erratically. More accidents occur, some cars honk, some cars swerve out of the way — but none stop.

The man removes his parka and throws it on the ground. He is wearing nothing underneath, and we see his chest covered with bruises and cuts. Then, as the song's beat stops, leaving just a piano playing, the man stops as well. He smiles and opens his arms in a crucifix-like position. A MK2 Cavalier is coming his way and makes no intention of stopping. The car hits the man, but this time he stands unmoved, and the car destroys itself on impact.

[edit] Discussion

Many fans of this video have had their own interpretations of what it is trying to portray. Some say the video is a euphemism for suicide. Others believe the tunnel represents life and man's journey through it. Still others believe the man's parka represents his conscience, weighing him down, and when he sheds the parka, he sheds his burden. The video has also been described as a reference to Jesus Christ. Some also say it is a reference to the movie Jacob's Ladder as the song contains a dialogue sample from it.

One theory is that "The nonsensical ramblings show a man in transition, confusion, a state of delerium - a man undergoing enlightenment. Audible surroundings underline the abuse he is receiving, the inescapable aggression and oppression of life. His resolve demonstrates a bravery; he stands up to the hierarchical shit of the world, and realises that we, as living creatures, are stronger than the machines we create - we can reach a sublime state, a nirvana - and thus, in Jesus-like pose, he becomes all powerful. And while his final pose has a religious element to it, it is more to do with spiritual realisation in the non-religious sense - a much more personal response to the world. His arms are lower than a crucifix pose, below his waist - demonstrating more power. His clenched fists and closed eyes also show ultimate power in the mind and body. The loss of his hooded jacket again shows a discarding of human influence and of the need to hide from the elements - he is free, omniscient, omnipotent, alive."

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Rabbit in Your Headlights" – 6:18
  2. "Rabbit in Your Headlights (Instrumental)" – 6:00
  3. "Rabbit in Your Headlights (Underdog Mix)" – 4:46
  4. "Rabbit in Your Headlights (Underdog Instrumental)" – 4:31
  5. "Rabbit in Your Headlights (3D Mix - Reverse Light)" – 7:32
  6. "Rabbit in Your Headlights (3D Mix - Reverse Light Instrumental)" – 7:32
  7. "Rabbit in Your Headlights (Suburban Hell Remix)" – 6:07

[edit] External links