Vid: Cuz I Can (Iron Man)
Song: Cuz I Can
Artist: Pink
Fandom: Iron Man
Details: 3:16 minutes, 58.4 MB, avi
Summary: "I don't play your rules, I make my own." Tony Stark, one man disaster.
Download: MegaUpload | MediaFire
Streaming: BAM Vid Vault | YouTube (where playback is worse than usual, I'm afraid)
This was originally supposed to go out yesterday to coincide with More Joy Day, but various real life busyness delayed it until now. Fly away, little superhero vid, be freeeeee!
Vid in a nutshell: "I'm not the hero type, clearly." Lyrics and additional notes under the cut.
Oh, Tony Stark. This boy has fascinated me since I started reading comics in my pre-teens. Most likely it boiled down to his persona dichotomy: the self-sacrificing, hella awesome superhero vs. the egotistical, alcoholic, roguish asshole, and how they went hand in hand. At his core he's a fiercely good man who cares about humanity and saves the world by darting around in a homemade suit, and he's working himself into the schematics of a better man. But Tony is still a train wreck, broken and vengeful and reckless, and the suit, the machine, if he's not careful, could eat him alive, which the film portrayed that to a T. Hooray for origin stories and the opportunity to shamelessly dissect what shapes characters!
I thought the song was fiendishly appropriate, and aside from the lyrics being literally spoken as if from Tony's own mouth, I was struck by the potential for irony, both humorous and painful. On the other hand, the hardest thing is that it was almost too right for the source. It's too easy to be literal to the point of absurdity, and from the beginning I knew I wanted to try and turn the lyrical meaning on its head halfway through. (One of my biggest stumbling points was hammering it into my head that 98% of the time, the prettier clip choice = not the best one to use for structural/narrative purposes, no matter how shiny it is. Kill your darlings, etc.)
During the course of making this I went through some navel-gazing growing pains of a sort, questioning my instincts and establishing and/or figuring out my individual style, as it were. This is kind of my “sophomore year” of vidding, and I think I learned a lot about myself as a vidder. Namely to trust my gut even when I'm initially reluctant to, but very little of that is actually reflected in the vid. Ah, well. Growth is always a process.
Betas! The always magnificent only_loke for holding my hand the whole way through and putting up with me, and silver_autumn for audiencing and graciously helping out with the final polishing touches. This vid wouldn't exist without both of you. Many thanks also to bytheshoreline for the best graphic a gal could ask for.
Ha, ha, ha
We're gonna rock and roll
Ra, ra
I drink more than you
I party harder than you do
And my car's faster than yours too
P I N K
P I M P
I'm back again
I know ya'll missed me
I'm so so sick
Can't handle it
Yeah I talk shit
Just deal with it
My rims are 23 inch
And they're black on black
No they're not his
Diamonds all over my teeth
You can try and try you can't beat me
So I'll cash my checks and place my bets
And hope I'll always win
Even if I don't I'm fucked because
I live a life of sin
But it's alright
I don't give a damn
I don't play your rules, I make my own
Tonight I'll do what I want
Cuz I can
(ice cream, ice cream, we all want ice cream)
You know I'm rare
You stop and stare
You think I care
I don't
You talk real loud
But you ain't saying nothing cool
I could fit your whole house in my swimming pool
My life's a fantasy
That you're not smart enough to even dream
My ice is making me freeze
You can try and try you can't beat me
So I'll cash my checks and place my bets
And hope I'll always win
Even if I don't I'm fucked because
I live a life of sin
But it's alright
I don't give a damn
I don't play your rules I make my own
Tonight I'll do what I want
Cuz I can
(ice cream, ice cream, we all want ice cream)
Break it down
It's tough times out here you know what I'm saying, mmhmm
Yeah I'm super thick
People say I'm much too chick
Come and kiss the ring
You just might learn a couple things
I'm trying to school you dog
Ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff
I'm your worst nightmare
Bring it we can take it there
(What are you scared)
So I'll cash my checks and place my bets
And hope I'll always win
Even if I don't I'm fucked because
I live a life of sin
But it's alright
I don't give a damn
I don't play your rules, I make my own
Tonight I'll do what I want
Cuz I can
(ice cream, ice cream, we all want ice cream)