Video Rewind 10.09.2015

Low “Lies”

Low’s latest video for “Lies” follows an illegal Mexican immigrant. It starts off with him explaining how he feels like a ghost. He’s halfway between being Mexican and American. As a result he feels like he’s losing the sense of who he was without gaining a new sense for he wants to become. As a son of immigrants I understand this feeling. There is a tugging at your ancestor’s culture but it’s foreign to the people living here in the states. As a result you’re not 100% one or the other. It leaves me at times feeling like a ghost. But the video demonstrates the man’s attempts to live in two worlds at the same time. On the one he is heading out to the streets to look for work daily with the other Mexican men just trying to survive. On the other, he’s dating a white American woman. Trying to juggle both leaves him arguing with his companion, and soon the relationship is over. He’s left roaming on his own, feeling invisible.

Great Good Fine OK “Take It or Leave It”

I cannot emphasize enough how I truly value the connection between dance and music. Great Good Fine OK show just how the two connect well together. You don’t need to know how to sing and dance. It’s all about doing one. And though Great Good Fine OK are not a boy band, they can put together a decent dance crew. The video for “Take It or Leave It” features a group of gents dancing on the boardwalk. You know what you see in the bystanders? It’s them looking on. Several of those faces have looks that just scream they wish they were the cool guys dancing. Others are just looking on to see what’s happening, because as a society we’ve stopped celebrating things. People dancing draws our attention because we’re not quite sure what’s going on. “Take It Or Leave It” is exactly the way you should be spending your weekend.

Skylar Grey featuring X Ambassadors “Cannonball”

Skylar Grey’s video for her song “Cannonball” which feature X Ambassadors features two neat qualities. One is that it shows tow similar things from different times in human history. We have a police officer in riot gear facing off against a knight in armor. We also have a Native American performing a ritualistic dance in the same scene with a modern day hip hop dancer. The second thing the video shows is impact in slow motion. The best of these scenes are of the man and woman throwing punches at one another. You know how in animes when the characters fight their faces become distorted? That’s based on truth. Just look at the guys face as the woman clocks him in slow motion. See those ripples and how the flesh is stretched across the skull? That actually happens.

M-Dot featuring Method Man, Dominique Larue, and Katy Gunn “Shine”

M-Dot, Method Man, Dominique Larue, and Katy Gunn have come together for the song “Shine”. The video is an animated feature showing a world overrun by darkness. This comes in the form of some benevolent being who has enslaved the world in dark technology. To fight it, there is an underground organization similar to what you see in Fight Club just without the actual fight club. They’re shooting these guns that don’t use bullets but rather white discs of light. These young rebels run around with bandanas covering their faces, but they’re up against soldiers in full, futuristic gear. This video’s story isn’t over, as there will be more to come. Hopefully the good guys win.

Sam Smith “Writing’s On The Wall”

Sam Smith’s latest endeavor is to perform the main theme from the next James Bond film installment. If you saw Skyfall you know the series has begun to take a dark turn. From the previews it looks like Spectre will become even darker. Things aren’t looking good for James Bond. Scenes from the movie are cut into the video, but if you need to know what the mood of the film is look no further than the song. Smith isn’t singing an upbeat ditty. He’s lamenting about the writing being on the wall. For most of the video he’s alone surrounded by concrete structures. At one point a scene from the film pops up where James Bond is standing at a memorial with names of victims engraved on the wall and his own name sprayed in red paint at the end. The most striking scene is at the beginning, where Sam is standing in full tuxedo with a line of coffins draped in British flags behind him. As an American I’ve seen plenty of images of American soldiers coming home in caskets draped in flags. Though this may be for a movie, the image is a reminder that these types of things do actually happen. Life isn’t an Avengers film where everything is handy dandy when the fighting is done. In real life, even the winning side suffers losses.

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