“The Escapist” was the first single released from The Streets’ fourth album “Everything Is Borrowed”, from 2008.

At that point in time, Mike Skinner hadn’t been heard from for about a year and a bit, so when that opening shot of the video came on MTV2 one day and the words “The Streets – The Escapist” appeared onscreen I was pleasantly surprised. What would the wordsmith from Birmingham pull out this time?

Well, what came next were five and a half minutes of wonder. This was like no other Streets track I’d heard before. This was something much more introspective and reflective. I’m very sure I watched the video without moving or blinking once. It isn’t even that interesting, it’s just Mike walking through France until he reaches a beach. But the music and lyrics were really something to admire and absorb. Makes you wanna think about life, how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of it all and how you just want to escape from it all sometimes.

Or maybe that’s just me.