Although this clever Perfume Genius video stars a hardcore gay porn star Arpad Miklos (safe link, btw), it's about as tender a music video as you could imagine, even if the visuals do add a whiff of parody to lyrics that are mired in sad self-loathing.
The bigger story and the more controversial element is that Matador Records was all set to run some pre-roll trailers on YouTube with clips from the video, but was denied for "promoting mature sexual themes" and being "not family safe."
The video has no nudity. There's no direct sexual references. There's nothing really inappropriate about it. And, an important point is that web advertising is targeted: Unless the plan was to run the ad as pre-roll before Jerry Falwell clips (which would be genius, but a total waste of money), it's unlikely that the ad would be seen by people who get the willies from watching one man dote on another. So, go figure...
PS: The pre-roll ad I saw when I watched the video again today was promoting a Bridgestone Super Bowl campaign entitled "Performance Balls and Puck" and claims that they are "the rulers of rubber." I was offended.
--> watch "Hood"
Perfume Genius
"Hood" (Matador)
Winston H. Case, director/editor | Greg Finch, Nils Bernstein, producers | Palo Duro, production co | William Colby, DP | Stephen McNally, post/vfx | Michael Garber, colorist
