October 2012

A mediative clip that starts mysterious but then falls into focus as we realize that The Weeknd — aka Abel Tesfaye, who also directed —  is fully aware that his refrain of "I got you" is never true for that long. --> watch "Rolling Stone"

The Weeknd"Rolling Stone" (Universal Republic)Abel Tesfaye, director | Chris Cunningham, producer 

A music video might seem like a silly medium to present something important. Most clips in the Internet age have the lifespan of a mayfly, draped in a superficial sheen meant to serve some underlying commercial purpose. But, maybe that's why there's an unexpected power in this music video treatise for marriage equality. It doesn't preach, it doesn't fill in all the answers. It just presents a story from childhood to old age, lingering just long enough at each milestone so you'll ideally think about how you and your loved one would like to be treated in those circumstances. And maybe a music video is the right vehicle for this kind of statement. Yeah, they're ephemeral, but I have a feeling the same will be true for all those laws aimed at restricting equal rights. --> watch "Same Love"

I remember those Director's Series DVDs — the ones compliling the work of A-List directors like Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Mark Romanek and others — and wondering when/if we would see ones for some of the deserving female directors out there, like Sophie Muller and Floria Sigismondi. Alas, the series never made it beyond a second installment...

An article over at Slate.com's XX Factor section this morning, written by Alyssa Rosenberg about women in music video, has me pinging back to that speculative exercise...

The clothes make the man in this Menomena that plays with the idea of clothing as nothing more than human "Plumage." The two band members approach each other for a postmodern duel as their outfits drastically change with nearly each step. --> watch "Plumage" 

Menomena "Plumage" (Barsuk)Trevor McMahan, director | Andrew Gisch, producer | Rabbit Content, production co | David Rodriguez, DP | Kelly Brickner, editor | Keith Wager, Nina Lamanna, stylists