TOXIC Album Art: RED
[scan by mamaruki@namelessliberty]
RED
When you read the lyrics for RED, the image of this song is that of a sad but rather romantic, beautiful love song. The speaker of the lyrics is in love with someone who is not their soul mate but still wishes to stay with them, even though the other wishes to leave. The title refers to the concept of red thread, believed to connect destined lovers, and which the speaker of the the lyrics cannot see between them.
However, looking at this booklet illustration provided for the song, the overall impression becomes very different, ne? A man, with what looks like a sadistic smile on his face, is keeping a woman prisoner by this eponymous red thread, a supposedly romantic concept turned into horror. (Presumably the man is the speaker in the lyrics, since he is the one "holding on" and the woman the one unwilling to stay in the relationship.) Whereas the words convey a sense of resigned despair, the image turns the sentiment into an obsessive wish to possess and control. He may very well think himself a victim in his own head, but the girl, whose thoughts are clearly in the foreground here (only her face is shown as whole), sees it very differently. She's being kept a prisoner, either by physical abuse or emotional extortion, the latter being more likely, as the red thread is essentially
a metaphor and not to be taken literally.
An important aspect here are the respective states of clothing of the two characters. The woman is naked under her binds, the man fully clothed and covered except for the hands and the lower part of his face. He is dressed in a baseball cap and what looks like a running outfit, like someone enjoying a leisurely sport. And maybe that is indeed what he thinks he's doing. (You know, I for the longest time thought the smudge on the paper between their heads was the shadow of an aeroplane... but I guess it's actually part of a kanji. Makes more sense. It actually rather looks like the character for 'woman'.)
It has to be said, the way the woman is bound in that thread is clearly purposefully titillating. Her intimate parts are barely covered and her breasts bound so tight they bulge at the top. I suppose the implication is that the man gains some sort of sexual pleasure from keeping her hostage. In any event, this is a mightily kinky, rough use of a traditionally romantic metaphor for one true love. The romance actually seems to be somewhat mocked here; if you look closely, you see that the end of the thread in the man's hands has a small heart. Her heart.
You know, the bondage element was there in the PV for RED, too, with the similarly bound girl. But it was less sexualized: the girl had a dress underneath, we only got glimpses of her between shots of the band members, and even then the focus was mostly on her (covered) face. (Side note: isn't it actually rather curious how often womens' faces are covered in Gaze PVs/artwork..? Major exceptions are PVs for Leech and Pledge, which I both associate with vaguely feminist undertones.)
As to the background, it appears to be a letter, written in smudgy ink, on tattered brown paper. I wish I knew what it says; they don't appear to be the lyrics of RED, at least. The overall impression is messy, but the characters themselves are drawn carefully, in beautiful handwriting. The smudges may have come from tears; there is a trace of one on the girls' cheek. So, an attempt at a goodbye letter..?