Isn’t Life Under the Sun Just A Crazy Dream?

When I first heard Solange’s cover of “Stillness is the Move,” I immediately, for whatever reason, jumped in my mind to the following commercial treatment.  I imagine it playing in movie theaters as part of the previews.

We open in a tightly-packed recording studio–perhaps a camera tracking in through the door, with the words “Dirty Projectors” clearly visible on the nameplate (because that’s how recording studios are)–with Dave Longstreth and his harem of female vocalists running through the song (which is playing on the soundtrack in its fully-mastered form, obviously).

Then, in some feat of camera/editing trickery, the camera starts floating backwards, perhaps through the sound-padded wall, into the adjoining recording studio.  The first thing we see isn’t a person, but a necklace reading “Solange.”  Then, panning around the room, we see a few other session musicians sitting around, nodding and trying to make sense of what they’re hearing.  Then, one of them suddenly plucks out that guitar line, Solange smiles, puts on her studio monitors, and steps up to her mic to start singing the same song.

We hold on this for a few seconds, and then a hard cut back to Longstreth in the adjoining studio.  He can hear Solange, and he likes her take on the song.  He smiles, and–looking down while shaking his head in begrudging admiration–picks up a brand-new glass bottle full of delicious Coca-Cola.  As he leans back and takes a refreshing, lengthy chug, we go to split-screen.

On the left side, Erykah Badu is suddenly present, and pulls a 2-liter bottle from inside her headwrap.  She hands it to Solange, who takes a healthy series of gulps, straight from the bottle, as her band settles into a groove.  The Coca-Cola logo comes full-screen as the shot shifts to an overhead split-screen of both studios, with the bands playing and the two leaders continuing to slug down the beverage.  A llama is visible on the right.  On the left, Questlove’s afro can be seen nodding to the beat.

Filed under: Coca-Cola  Dirty Projectors  Erykah Badu  Solange  Stillness is the Move