Monday Morning Music Videos
Monday, December 5, 2005
The video for Wolf Parade’s “Shine a Light” (mov) is the first opportunity I’ve had to associate any visuals with the band’s music other than those created by my mind. It’s an interesting conceptual piece, nicely mirroring the gritty, cryptic elements of the music with a combination of high and low tech special effects. The cliche “too much on my mind” is a bit too obvious to describe the theme, but I can discern a loose allegory of anti-intellectualism as discrimination and the comfort that comes with the release of dreams.
I’ve never been a fan of Fiona Apple. Despite her obvious talent, her vocal sultriness and lyrical style is over-calculated to the point of being parodic. But I can’t honestly say that I don’t look forward to each new release with a bit of anticipation–if only to see if she can break out of the tightly constructed mold she’s built for herself. Well, she didn’t with Extraordinary Machine. The video for “O Sailor“(mov) repeats the same visual motif of past videos, with Apple winding her way around a set, coyly eyeing the camera as if she’s simultaneously intrigued and annoyed by its presence. Sort of the way she positions herself toward her listeners.
Finally, I gave Super Furry Animals’ latest Love Kraft a bit of tough love in last week’s top 50. I don’t regret it at this point, but I can’t promise that it won’t work its way into my graces over the next few months. Probably not, but who knows? If any song from the album will take the lead, though, it will be “Lazer Beam” (mov stream), the video (this is the “unreleased” version) for which hearkens back to those 7th grade after-school Nintendo sessions. It perfectly displays the band’s dueling personalities–agitated leftists who express themselves best through cartoons and caricatures.