Music Videos #4: In which the new opium of the masses makes an appearance.
1) Mountain Goats, 'Woke Up New'
Director: Rian Johnson
From the 2006 album Get Lonely
www.youtube.com/watch
I can tell you now that this video is likely to fuck with your head. I have no idea if it's done in one take, and I haven't been able to find out for sure - if I could get conclusive proof it'd turn up next week in 'videos that are even more impressive when you know the trick', instead of here. But I digress; onto the video itself. Directed by Rian Johnson, the director of the excellent Brick, it's a stunning trip through television after television, and an endless display of video loops and synchronised actions. Something like this asks a lot of questions about what's actually happening, and yet we're unable to tell. Admittedly, the song is a bit heavy on the heartstrings (although YouTube is now cluttered with heartbroken young men consoling themselves about how this song can heal them) and at one point John Darnielle has some incredibly scary Weird Al-style look in his eyes, but that all comes second place to what a stunning visual festival the video is.
2) Fastball, 'Fire Escape'
Director: Francis Lawrence
From the 1999 album All the Pain Money Can Buy
www.youtube.com/watch
Considering that one of the first things we see, after the girl that really likes Fastball, is the band performing the song on a television, this video plays around with everything that we expect to happen - right up until the end, another subtle dig at the way everything happens on television. This is especially notable in that the only time we actually see Fastball performing the song is on the screen. They turn up, though, and it's related to the eerily convenient news report that we hear. More than anything for me, though, I'm left with question after question, not all of them relevant: Why would you tell certain things to your friend online? Why not turn Caps Lock off when you do that? Why is this not met with outrage? Where do you get printed pillowcases like that? And, most confusingly, how do you even get Fastball around to your house when you're clearly this obsessed? Why have they allowed themselves to get within 100 yards of you?
3) The Matches, 'Salty Eyes'
Director: Michael Coleman
From the 2007 album Decomposer
www.youtube.com/watch
There was bound to be some mayhem in this list, especially as people always rebel against the pacifier, but who knew it would look so pretty? That's partly a result of the way the camera sweeps so slowly through the set while the band members struggle to keep up; tripping over the horrendous amount of cables required to make this idea work, and hurling electronics at each other. It's a higher-tech version of 'Subterranean Homesick Blues, and it works. So. Well. Surprisingly, there's only one apparent injury, and it's self-inflicted - watch out for one musician swearing as his television (marked 'Drag') makes sudden contact with his foot. The video's a pleasure to watch, and somehow suits the tone of the song: laid-back but with a Victorian feel to it. If there was a making-of then we could see just how painfully chaotic it is at normal speed, but there's another list for that, and it'll be up next Monday.
EDIT: There is a making-of. It is awesome. www.youtube.com/watch
Director: Rian Johnson
From the 2006 album Get Lonely
www.youtube.com/watch
I can tell you now that this video is likely to fuck with your head. I have no idea if it's done in one take, and I haven't been able to find out for sure - if I could get conclusive proof it'd turn up next week in 'videos that are even more impressive when you know the trick', instead of here. But I digress; onto the video itself. Directed by Rian Johnson, the director of the excellent Brick, it's a stunning trip through television after television, and an endless display of video loops and synchronised actions. Something like this asks a lot of questions about what's actually happening, and yet we're unable to tell. Admittedly, the song is a bit heavy on the heartstrings (although YouTube is now cluttered with heartbroken young men consoling themselves about how this song can heal them) and at one point John Darnielle has some incredibly scary Weird Al-style look in his eyes, but that all comes second place to what a stunning visual festival the video is.
2) Fastball, 'Fire Escape'
Director: Francis Lawrence
From the 1999 album All the Pain Money Can Buy
www.youtube.com/watch
Considering that one of the first things we see, after the girl that really likes Fastball, is the band performing the song on a television, this video plays around with everything that we expect to happen - right up until the end, another subtle dig at the way everything happens on television. This is especially notable in that the only time we actually see Fastball performing the song is on the screen. They turn up, though, and it's related to the eerily convenient news report that we hear. More than anything for me, though, I'm left with question after question, not all of them relevant: Why would you tell certain things to your friend online? Why not turn Caps Lock off when you do that? Why is this not met with outrage? Where do you get printed pillowcases like that? And, most confusingly, how do you even get Fastball around to your house when you're clearly this obsessed? Why have they allowed themselves to get within 100 yards of you?
3) The Matches, 'Salty Eyes'
Director: Michael Coleman
From the 2007 album Decomposer
www.youtube.com/watch
There was bound to be some mayhem in this list, especially as people always rebel against the pacifier, but who knew it would look so pretty? That's partly a result of the way the camera sweeps so slowly through the set while the band members struggle to keep up; tripping over the horrendous amount of cables required to make this idea work, and hurling electronics at each other. It's a higher-tech version of 'Subterranean Homesick Blues, and it works. So. Well. Surprisingly, there's only one apparent injury, and it's self-inflicted - watch out for one musician swearing as his television (marked 'Drag') makes sudden contact with his foot. The video's a pleasure to watch, and somehow suits the tone of the song: laid-back but with a Victorian feel to it. If there was a making-of then we could see just how painfully chaotic it is at normal speed, but there's another list for that, and it'll be up next Monday.
EDIT: There is a making-of. It is awesome. www.youtube.com/watch