Radiohead's sophomore album, The Bends, was released March 13, 1995, 30 years ago Thursday. Not only did it bring Radiohead more critical acclaim following the success of their breakout single, "Creep," The Bends spawned one of rock's greatest mysteries with the video for the single "Just."
In the clip, a man lies down on a sidewalk, causing another man to trip over him. When the second man asks the first why he's lying down, he refuses to say. Eventually a crowd gathers around, demanding to know why the man refuses to move. Under much duress, he finally reveals the answer, which causes everyone around him to similarly fall down and lie motionless.
While most of the video's story is told through subtitles, they disappear when the man gives his reason, leaving only a brief shot of his mouth moving. Despite the efforts of lip-reading rock enthusiasts, the answer remains a mystery.
"I feel like he's saying, 'Don't be us. Go live,'" Shinedown frontman Brent Smith told ABC Audio of his "Just" video theory. "'Don't be paralyzed by fear of society, by the world. It's inevitable. So go live your life.'"
Nothing But Thieves' Conor Mason has a similar guess — "'It all is as it should be, leave it as it is' ... something around those lines," he mused — while Tyson Ritter of The All-American Rejects, who worked with "Just" director Jamie Thraves on the band's "Sweat" video, has a darker idea.
"I always thought that what he said was the worst thing that those people could've possibly heard," Ritter said. "Like, 'No one loves you' or 'You don't matter.'"
Of course, it's possible that we're all, ahem, just overthinking this.
"He could've potentially been giving you ingredients to a brownie recipe," Smith said. "Who knows?"