Hey Mr. VJ, I thought you said we had a deal
This is sort of an unofficial They Might Be Giants week here at the ol' LJ, because their new record is coming out on Tuesday and I am excited! I am happy to be excited about this because lately it seems like lots of my friends and family are getting sick or injured or experiencing other problems so it's nice to have something this week that involves excitement instead of worry.
In the run-up to this album release, They Might Be Giants instituted a music-video contest for their unofficial single "Can't Keep Johnny Down." This is exciting because while TMBG used to make pretty fun and distinctive videos, this task has understandably fallen by the wayside in recent years (by which I mean the past decade-plus), doubtless in part due to the decreasing interest in showcasing music videos on actual television. Music videos can't casually ascend some kind of MTV or VH1 chart anymore; they need to either become an internet sensation due to their greatness (like OK Go clips) or, you know, go old-school and be an expensive movie soundtracked with a song that is already pretty high-profile or in some cases a huge hit. TMBG videos were sort of in the alt-rock middle class; they were never really super high-concept, just inventive visual showcases for the band's sensibilities. Often sometimes dancing. Here's one of my favorites for one of my favorite songs:
In the past ten years, TMBG videos have moved over, understandably, to animation, seemingly not created with much of the band's input. It makes sense; they're no longer in the major-label business and probably don't feel like spending the face-time and money necessary to make a live-action video that in all likelihood won't earn them a whole bunch of new fans. I mention this also as an introduction to the bias I felt watching a crop of entries for the contest (actually judged by John Hodgman; judged for fun by me, below). There were a lot of really neat animated clips people prepared for "Can't Keep Johnny Down": stop-motion, flash, mixed media. But to be honest, I'm not really interested in another animated TMBG video at present. There have been plenty, and I'm sure there will continue to be plenty. As I flipped through the videos, part of my brain just disengaged with the animated entries, and I do hope the winner is live-action if only for the pleasure of having the first official live-action TMBG music video since "Doctor Worm" (note: partially animated) back in 1998.
Anyway, I thought I'd go through some of my favorite (live-action) entries and showcase the ones I liked best. I don't think I saw every entry, but I did check out probably 40 or 50. This does involve listening to the song "Can't Keep Johnny Down" a fair number of times. But it's a good song.
NUMBER SIX!
This is the closest I got to showcasing an animated video. I like the crazy goony cartoon face that floats through this video on a live-action body. It helps that the guy's body totally has John Linnell-esque movements (and, for that matter, a fairly Linnellian sweater). Ultimately, though, not enough really happens in it. I love the shots of the cartoon face as the guy is running, but it needs a little more than just the face in a variety of normal situations. Also, the fact that this guy has apparently made other TMBG videos with this weird cartoon face sort of diminishes it. But I do like the weird cartoon face.
NUMBER FIVE!
I feel like these guys have seen music videos before and know how to make one. Seems simple, but this was not a feeling I got during even close to all of the videos I watched. The backwards-running video has been done before, but this one does a pretty good job, and tells an amusing little sorta-story with an okay punchline... I guess that sounds like faint praise, but there really are some neat images in this one, and it all looks pretty professional. I could totally see this as an alt-rock video in 1995.
NUMBER FOUR!
A lot of these videos, being made by fans, have a strong degree of TMBG homage in them, which isn't always such a good thing for a music video to a lyrically specific song; sometimes I'd catch shots or references or gestures that seemed far too similar to previous legit TMBG videos, which of course is something none of their videos actually do (pay homage to themselves). This video, though, comes the closest to capturing the They Might Be Giants style of old without totally ripping it off. There are a couple of obvious reference points to past TMBG videos, which keeps this from going further for me, but there are also many touches (the men in suits lip-syncing the "down, down, down" parts; the puppet cameo; the goofy physicality) that capture the spirit of those videos with great flair.
NUMBER THREE!
The production values on this one aren't as strong as some of the lower-ranked entries, but I found the energy and some of the shot compositions, as well as its forward momentum, quite charming and funny. SO many of these videos opened on someone getting out of bed in the morning; it's a testament to this video's quality that I didn't immediately roll my eyes and shut it off when I saw that yet again. Also, a lot of the other videos went pretty literal with the song's story, something that pretty much zero TMBG videos do; this one, I feel, tells a story that is thematically appropriate to the lyrics without actually illustrating them in an over-literal fashion.
NUMBER TWO!
First: dancing! This video has dancing, and adorable dancing, in fact very un-TMBG dancing, but fifties-style dancing goes a long way for me. Like the video above, this tells a little story, not incredibly tight or anything, but it does fit with the song without feeling like the most obvious thing to picture while listening to the song. I wish a few of the shots, some of which are really nice, had been more sustained. In particular, there's a moment where the lead character is walking by in the background while extras are dancing in the foreground that I wished had been a longer take. But it's a cute, odd little video that, no offense to TMBG nerds, doesn't feel like it was made by a bunch of TMBG nerds.
Finally:
NUMBER ONE!
Let me see if I can try to explain why I like this one so much. The conceit of the video, that it's basically the fake opening credits for some kind of silly sitcom, is not particularly original; plenty of videos have gone the fake-credits or fake-show route. Even as fake credits, it's not particularly similar to those types of sequences; it's too drawn out and silly to pass as any kind of sitcom from the past ten years. And the story of the video, due to the concept, more or less does not exist. But in assembling a bunch of purposefully context-free hijinks, this video actually gets at the spirit of past TMBG videos in a roundabout and original sort of way. The goofiness and random slaps and tennis balls falling out of the microwave all could've turned up in other TMBG videos, yet this doesn't feel like a straight homage and/or rip-off. It feels fresh and, more importantly, funny: it made me laugh in the off-kilter way TMBG videos have in the past.
Also: many of the videos, being made by younger people, tend to feel, you know, like friends goofing off and trying to pay tribute to their favorite band. That's totally cool, but also expected, and of course it doesn't always (or even usually) result in a music video that stands alone. You can tell this one is a bunch of young people screwing around, but I felt like I got the silliness and energy of their friendship even knowing nothing about them. In a weird way, it made me feel nostalgic for making silly movies with my friends in high school, even though this one is a lot better-shot and better-edited and funnier than what we managed. I would totally watch this really silly show that doesn't exist.
Plus: these kids all seem to take their hits pretty well. Respect.
So that's my vote. Probably the winner will be animated.
In the run-up to this album release, They Might Be Giants instituted a music-video contest for their unofficial single "Can't Keep Johnny Down." This is exciting because while TMBG used to make pretty fun and distinctive videos, this task has understandably fallen by the wayside in recent years (by which I mean the past decade-plus), doubtless in part due to the decreasing interest in showcasing music videos on actual television. Music videos can't casually ascend some kind of MTV or VH1 chart anymore; they need to either become an internet sensation due to their greatness (like OK Go clips) or, you know, go old-school and be an expensive movie soundtracked with a song that is already pretty high-profile or in some cases a huge hit. TMBG videos were sort of in the alt-rock middle class; they were never really super high-concept, just inventive visual showcases for the band's sensibilities. Often sometimes dancing. Here's one of my favorites for one of my favorite songs:
Click to viewIn the past ten years, TMBG videos have moved over, understandably, to animation, seemingly not created with much of the band's input. It makes sense; they're no longer in the major-label business and probably don't feel like spending the face-time and money necessary to make a live-action video that in all likelihood won't earn them a whole bunch of new fans. I mention this also as an introduction to the bias I felt watching a crop of entries for the contest (actually judged by John Hodgman; judged for fun by me, below). There were a lot of really neat animated clips people prepared for "Can't Keep Johnny Down": stop-motion, flash, mixed media. But to be honest, I'm not really interested in another animated TMBG video at present. There have been plenty, and I'm sure there will continue to be plenty. As I flipped through the videos, part of my brain just disengaged with the animated entries, and I do hope the winner is live-action if only for the pleasure of having the first official live-action TMBG music video since "Doctor Worm" (note: partially animated) back in 1998.
Anyway, I thought I'd go through some of my favorite (live-action) entries and showcase the ones I liked best. I don't think I saw every entry, but I did check out probably 40 or 50. This does involve listening to the song "Can't Keep Johnny Down" a fair number of times. But it's a good song.
NUMBER SIX!
This is the closest I got to showcasing an animated video. I like the crazy goony cartoon face that floats through this video on a live-action body. It helps that the guy's body totally has John Linnell-esque movements (and, for that matter, a fairly Linnellian sweater). Ultimately, though, not enough really happens in it. I love the shots of the cartoon face as the guy is running, but it needs a little more than just the face in a variety of normal situations. Also, the fact that this guy has apparently made other TMBG videos with this weird cartoon face sort of diminishes it. But I do like the weird cartoon face.
NUMBER FIVE!
I feel like these guys have seen music videos before and know how to make one. Seems simple, but this was not a feeling I got during even close to all of the videos I watched. The backwards-running video has been done before, but this one does a pretty good job, and tells an amusing little sorta-story with an okay punchline... I guess that sounds like faint praise, but there really are some neat images in this one, and it all looks pretty professional. I could totally see this as an alt-rock video in 1995.
NUMBER FOUR!
A lot of these videos, being made by fans, have a strong degree of TMBG homage in them, which isn't always such a good thing for a music video to a lyrically specific song; sometimes I'd catch shots or references or gestures that seemed far too similar to previous legit TMBG videos, which of course is something none of their videos actually do (pay homage to themselves). This video, though, comes the closest to capturing the They Might Be Giants style of old without totally ripping it off. There are a couple of obvious reference points to past TMBG videos, which keeps this from going further for me, but there are also many touches (the men in suits lip-syncing the "down, down, down" parts; the puppet cameo; the goofy physicality) that capture the spirit of those videos with great flair.
NUMBER THREE!
The production values on this one aren't as strong as some of the lower-ranked entries, but I found the energy and some of the shot compositions, as well as its forward momentum, quite charming and funny. SO many of these videos opened on someone getting out of bed in the morning; it's a testament to this video's quality that I didn't immediately roll my eyes and shut it off when I saw that yet again. Also, a lot of the other videos went pretty literal with the song's story, something that pretty much zero TMBG videos do; this one, I feel, tells a story that is thematically appropriate to the lyrics without actually illustrating them in an over-literal fashion.
NUMBER TWO!
First: dancing! This video has dancing, and adorable dancing, in fact very un-TMBG dancing, but fifties-style dancing goes a long way for me. Like the video above, this tells a little story, not incredibly tight or anything, but it does fit with the song without feeling like the most obvious thing to picture while listening to the song. I wish a few of the shots, some of which are really nice, had been more sustained. In particular, there's a moment where the lead character is walking by in the background while extras are dancing in the foreground that I wished had been a longer take. But it's a cute, odd little video that, no offense to TMBG nerds, doesn't feel like it was made by a bunch of TMBG nerds.
Finally:
NUMBER ONE!
Let me see if I can try to explain why I like this one so much. The conceit of the video, that it's basically the fake opening credits for some kind of silly sitcom, is not particularly original; plenty of videos have gone the fake-credits or fake-show route. Even as fake credits, it's not particularly similar to those types of sequences; it's too drawn out and silly to pass as any kind of sitcom from the past ten years. And the story of the video, due to the concept, more or less does not exist. But in assembling a bunch of purposefully context-free hijinks, this video actually gets at the spirit of past TMBG videos in a roundabout and original sort of way. The goofiness and random slaps and tennis balls falling out of the microwave all could've turned up in other TMBG videos, yet this doesn't feel like a straight homage and/or rip-off. It feels fresh and, more importantly, funny: it made me laugh in the off-kilter way TMBG videos have in the past.
Also: many of the videos, being made by younger people, tend to feel, you know, like friends goofing off and trying to pay tribute to their favorite band. That's totally cool, but also expected, and of course it doesn't always (or even usually) result in a music video that stands alone. You can tell this one is a bunch of young people screwing around, but I felt like I got the silliness and energy of their friendship even knowing nothing about them. In a weird way, it made me feel nostalgic for making silly movies with my friends in high school, even though this one is a lot better-shot and better-edited and funnier than what we managed. I would totally watch this really silly show that doesn't exist.
Plus: these kids all seem to take their hits pretty well. Respect.
So that's my vote. Probably the winner will be animated.