11.04.14: The Last VJ’s Top 5 Music Videos of the Week
Welcome to The Last VJ, music fans! Maybe it’s all the leftovers from Halloween, but this week is just messed up. Every single video you’ll see in today’s round-up is disturbing for one reason or another, so this time only click on through if you’re in a brave mood. Let’s play!
Ariel Pink, “Picture Me Gone”
Ariel Pink once again partners with director Grant Singer to put out music video gold, though “Picture Me Gone” is several shades more disturbing than their last effort, “Put Your Number in My Phone”. Both songs follow Pink’s strange obsession with the way our lives are now bordered by technology, but in “Picture Me Gone” the focus is more on the way we use selfies and social media to project a character to the world that may not be a very accurate representation.
Singer turns that idea up considerably, following a trio of people desperately seeking sexual connection as they wander around Los Angeles in featureless latex masks modeled after Pink’s own face. It’s a nose dive right into the uncanny valley, and pricks at the more disturbed areas of your erogenous zones better than anything since Dario Argento’s Jenifer. It’s a hard watch, but worth it.
I.N.C., “No Turning Back”
There’s probably nothing truly creepier than a cult when you come right down to it. All you really have to do to really make a bit of horror in the world is have a bunch of normal people slowly lose their mind to the will of one extremely persuasive and damaged lunatic. That’s the subject of “No Turning Back”.
Michael Rodrick from 24 stars as the leader of the household, owning every second of running time passionately preaching to his disciples while brandishing pig fetuses and machetes. This is intercut with footage of him bleaching murdered corpses in a bathtub and a young girl leading a boy into the fold. The cinematography is as amazing as it is gruesome, and really digs deep to unnerve and frighten. The only real complaint against it is that the video is overly long and as a result fairly repetitive.
tamtam, “Gender Game”
To quote the tagline that opens this video, “Despite brutal restrictions on women’s rights, over the past decade, less than 4% of international development aid has been allocated to gender equality.” If you’ve never heard of tamtam then know she’s a world treasure of a singer with a voice on loan from God himself. Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, “Gender Game” is her call to arms to women across the world to express themselves. The video accomplishes this handily with the lyrics being mouthed by women of all ages and ethnicities. It’s a simple, but important creation that needs to be heard more.
Saskwatch, “Born to Break Your Heart”
Saskwatch is back in the top five this week with a chilling new video that is bloody and oh so catchy. Jesse Smith directs singer Nkechi Anele as she glamorously vamps her way through the murder of the rest of the band. It’s a slow burn, but watching the before and after of her pixie-like sexuality and cheek is quite jarring. One minute she’s perched on the edge of a bathtub with a glass of wine and an impish smile, and the next literally everything is splattered in gore. It works for the same reason Audrey Tautou made such a great maniac in He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not. There’s something sinister about an innocent veneer. Smith captures that with Anele in every shot.
Deerhoof, “Mirror Monster”
Rounding off this weird week, Deerhoof and director Todd Chandler have invented what is basically a snuff film genre for cars. The entire video is nothing but a heavy loader systematically stabbing, crushing, and ripping apart cars with simple, methodical power. It’s weird how eerie it actually is to watch, especially with only the sounds of Deerhoof’s soft music to cover the crunch and grind of metal. Out of all the disturbing things I’ve picked for this week, I think this is honestly the one I would be most worried about it I saw it in someone’s browser history. It just feels like you’re watching something very wrong than what is actually on the screen.
Jef has a new story, a tale mad robot nurses and a man of miracles called “Sleepers, Wake!” available now. You can also connect with him on Facebook.
