Bombay Bicycle Club “Feel
Bombay Bicycle Club’s latest single from So Long, See You Tomorrow is “Feel”. The video is colorful and vibrant as we get a Bollywood feel at an Indian wedding. Of course, this isn’t a story about the happy couple. It’s actually about two people who meet at the wedding. My mother believes most people who get married meet each other at weddings, and while she has no evidence to back this up, I do know that there are people who are excited for weddings because it gives them the opportunity to go on the prowl. What we have in this story is a guy who acts like a jerk. It works, but only because the girl acts like a jerk, too. Pretty soon they’re both trying to keep up with the other. In the end, we can never tell if this will be a love story that lasts or just a one night fairy tail, but the video is worth the watch.
Sam Smith “Stay With Me”
Sam Smith will release The Lonely Hour on May 26th. His latest single from the album is “Stay With Me”. The song is about the human need for intimacy. Lyrically it opens up with Sam admitting that he’s not good at one night stands, but that he also needs love because he is just a man. The video opens with Sam waking up and getting dressed. He goes out to walk, alone, in the middle of the road. There are other shots of Sam sitting in is room alone pondering things like why is he emotional when it’s not a good look? The point is that he’s lonely, as we all get, but he doesn’t want to give up the feeling of someone being close. But here is the self-powering mechanism. He wants intimacy but fuels that desire with empty one night stands that leave him feeling lonely. The song has a gospel feel to it, so its not wonder that the video transitions to Sam singing with a choir around him, as though he’s one to church to try to fill that emptiness.
Jhameel “Lion’s Den”
For his latest single “Lion’s Den”, Jhameel has donned his Lost Boys look once again. The song is about struggling with who you were and who you are trying to be. Jhameel is alone except for a husky, and fire. He finds himself at a table filled with food, but seems to go heavily for the drink. The thing I like most about Jhameel is that his voice can stand on its own. So it’s no surprise that this video doesn’t need much in terms of action or scenery. We get Jhameel being real with us, taking it down a notch just to have some intimacy. We see Jhameel struggling with who he is rather than fighting for someone else, or having a good time.
The Julie Ruin “Just My Kind”
The latest video for The Julie Ruin “Just My Kind” sees the band break up, sort of. While the bassist is on a rooftop, the keyboardist is in a river, the drummer in a field, the guitarist in a cemetery, and Kathleen Hannah playing on the beach. We see the act out of their natural element of playing on stage seemingly not enjoying their surroundings. Though, if I were standing in a river I might not enjoy myself either. The drummer and Kathleen are really the two who seem to be in the best of places. That field is mighty sunny, and the water looks kinda tropical, so I’m sure Kathleen is warm. I’m looking forward to a summer that will melt me, literally, into a puddle.
Shakira “Empire”
In her latest video “Empire” Shakira is a runaway bride. She makes it to church but drops her bouquet and heads for some beatufil mountains, forget the hills. She transitions from white wedding dress to off white ballerina costume, to a black dress. The setting shifts from a church set for a wedding, to a ruined empty buidling littered with rubble. I guess the story here is that empires come down. In a way, starting one is like marrying someone you shouldn’t. You have to be committed to it, but it’s not committed to you.
