Foals “Give It All”
The Violent Femmes once had a song where Gordon Gano crooned “Breakin’ up, it’s easy to do.” Not to argue with such a successful musician, but it’s actually not. Foals’ latest video for “Give It All” displays that. The man in the video is tormenting himself over his lost love. We see scenes where the two of them are doing quite well together. Then we see scenes where the man is now alone and looking for her. The dancing couple turns into the drunk man spinning himself around while his shirt is unbuttoned and his hair a mess. Relationships were described, apparently, by the Greeks like this. At one time humans had two heads, four arms, and four legs. The gods seeing this as a threat separated people to what you see now. This is what leaves us searching for another half. It’s an interesting metaphor, but it does offer a symbolic reason for why he feel so lonely on our own, especially after breaking up. Because, you know, it’s actually hard to do.
Powers “Hot”
Power’s video for “Hot” recalls that iconic scene from Pulp Fiction where John Travolta and Uma Thurman dance for a trophy. Throw in a hoola hoop for good measure, and call me impressed. Crista Ru girates her hips to keep that hoop moving for the entirety of the video, and I’m pretty sure it’s a one take deal. Though, how many takes it required I can’t be sure of. Also, her coordination to sing and hoola hoop at the same time, while not necessarily making her a super hero, is probably something that most people cannot do. I mean, she keeps this thing going through the fade out. They shut the lights off, and she’s still capable.
Will Butler “Anna”
This video first appeared last Thursday. I didn’t get a chance to see it until after I had already published that week’s Video Rewind. So, I figure if I’m honest I should be able to slip this one into this week’s Video Rewind. Now, some of you may already know, but this is a second video made for Will Butler’s “Anna”. The video features Emma Stone as the titular Anna. She’s on a cruise ship, and from what I can see in the video, she’s the only woman. The rest of the boat is filled with only the male crew. In a way, it’s like she’s teasing the sailors because she’s bored and she can. It reminds me of Madonna’s video for “Material Girl” only without the diamonds. Let’s face it, this might just be Anna’s personal cruise ship. That’s got to be worth a lot of money. In reality, I could see this being something of a Wes Anderson musical, if he decided to go that route. Anyways, have yourself a good time watching Emma Stone as Anna being treated like a queen, sort of.
ZHU featuring AlunaGeorge “Automatic”
I love when tropes are turned atop their heads. Though I am not sure if this video exactly does that, it’s intersting how it plays with your preprogramed mind. ZHU’s “Automatic” featuring AlunaGeorge is aptly titled for it’s video. There are scenes of a woman walking in heels with her purse and a coat on. She’s moving through dark and deserted sections of a city on her own, constantly looking around to see if anyone is following. At times she even speeds up her gait. There is also a man that is shown walking on his own through the city, except for the brief moment he passes another man who hands him a paper. We are shown the man and the woman on their own, never sure if they are even meant to interact until they do. What happens is brilliant in a way. Once the two appear on screen together, it’s the woman charging behind the man to choke him with the chain that serves as a strap for her purse. Once he’s dead, she removes the paper he was handed and makes for the getaway car. All that looking around earlier was to make sure she wasn’t being followed or seen. The moments where she speeds up were nothing more than attempts to not let her target get away.
