The first release from the legendary Depeche Mode since the loss of founding member Andy Fletcher. Longtime visual collaborator Anton Corbijn keeps their stylish and moody vibes fully intact, with the added resonance of what must be a nod to Ingmar Bergman's classic chess scene from The Seventh Seal.
If you're gonna go big, you might as well let it go to your head.
The new Arcade Fire video has a mirror ball and a mirror man, giant head shells that the band wears, and a magical mystery mission. It's directed by Anton Corbijn, and the song is produced by James Murphy with backing vocals by David Bowie. Not a bad triumverate (and that's in addition to the Google Chrome interactive video they released earlier today).
“I’m working on a really great song at the moment: Arcade Fire’s new single. The song is called ‘Reflektor,’ and you’ll be able to see it Monday evening. I can’t say much more than that, because it’s all a surprise."
The vaults were scoured for the upcoming In Utero box set and one of the rarities unearthed was this director's cut of Anton Corbijn's "Heart Shaped Box" video. Now that we're in an age of no-holds-barred videos, the images of the crucified emaciated Santa and dangling fetuses don't carry the same "holy crap" weight they did in 1993. But, what's most revealing to me here is seeing Nirvana, and especially Kurt Cobain, on a human scale, goofing around on some video sets.
First off, we have Anton Corbijn's version, which is the one I most associate with the song. Shot on-location at and around Berlin's Samsa Studio where U2 recorded Achtung Baby and is probably best remembered as the video where U2 is dressed in drag (which overshadowed the fact that Bono's dad has a cameo in it, and made the band think that it wasn't appropriate since all single sales proceed were going to AIDS charities).
