I am very interested in story. I think a good story is taut, tight, and not just a bit springy. I don’t like a bunch of unnecessary scenes that don’t move the story forward. The best example of this is a movie that is usually considered in the top 10 movies that glorify Confederate soldiers, The Outlaw Josey Wales. I don’t want to get into it too much because I talked about it here, but the movie introduces a character, shows that he loves his family, and then kills that family all in less than 2 minutes. This is amazing. The movie Gladiator takes 45 minutes to do the same thing without really adding any information over what Wales shows. Every story should endeavor to be as much like The Outlaw Josey Wales and as little like Gladiator as possible.

I think story can make a big difference to works that don’t rely entirely on story like comedies or even music videos. The show Community is so great not because the jokes are better than on other shows, but because basically all of the characters go through a story arc every episode. I’ve been a big fan of Community creator Dan Harmon since before the show came out (I have to say that because I am a hipster/indie rock asshole) so I want to share this wonderful episode from Channel 101: The Musical (not actually written by, but starring, Dan Harmon).

If you aren’t familiar with Channel 101, I highly recommend it. I wrote about Yacht Rock here, which is an excellent Channel 101 show, but there are so many to see. I also really recommend Cautionary Tales of Swords. Sample quote: “Swords fucking kill Asians, too.”

Anyways, Dan Harmon knows what he is about. He doesn’t waste time with extra scenes that don’t move a character’s arc forward. I imagine that even if he had a show that was 3 hours long it would just either feature more characters or each character would go through more in an episode. He wouldn’t just waste time. Not everyone shares his passion, though. I think a lot of people making music videos fail in this regard. Music video stories are either [so big that they don’t fit in the video and are too confusing](/posts/more-like-video- obscura-am-i-right/) or they are too short and the video just floats along and ends up a little boring.

Let’s take a look at one that I think falls in the second category. It’s for a song I really like. One With the Freaks by The Notwist:

The description on YouTube is “a jellyfish does some shit.” That seems to be the attitude. Let’s take a look.

The video is about a jellyfish. It opens with him (of course , the jellyfish is a man) washing out of the ocean.

The jellyfish stands up and appears to be able to move about on land.

This is good. There is something primordial about coming out of the ocean. Clearly the jellyfish is some sort of archetypal hero.

He goes out in search of friendship and happiness. A woman he meets is not interested in connecting and rebuffs him.

He goes out in search of friendship and happiness. A man he meets is not interested in connecting and rebuffs him by hitting him with a newspaper.

Oh wait, this scene doesn’t add anything because he has already been rebuffed by the normal world. He is a freak, you see, and normal society is not interested in accepting him.

He sees a band playing on the TV and instantly senses that he would fit in with them.

He sees a poster for a The Notwist concert and for some reason assumes that the band he saw on TV was The Notwist.

The Notwist logo is just a circle, so that smiley face inside it is a sign. He will connect with the band!

He goes to where the show is.

He meets a janitor at the venue.

He explains that their policy on jellyfish is unambiguous.

By the way, doesn’t this sign remind you of the excellent Channel 101 show, The ‘Bu, Episode 2?

Specifically this sign that appears in a hospital:

Awesome.

He leaves the concert venue dejected. It’s like he doesn’t fit it anywhere. But that’s what the opening of the video is about. We already know that he doesn’t connect with people, whether they are riding skateboards or falling off of them!

He feels so alone that even his surroundings seem to turn on him.

Here a tree has a startling and frightening visage.

He feels so alone that even his surroundings seem to turn on him.

Here a trash bin slams shut as he walks past.

He feels so alone that even his surroundings seem to turn on him.

Here a mailbox grows teeth and green eyes to menace him. I think you see what is going on here. Once is enough, dudes! You only need 2 minutes for the Outlaw Josey Wales to love and lose his family! Why do we need two minutes of frightening surroundings!

It won’t stop! He waits to cross the street.

The man in the poster changes to a terrifying skeleton!

Man, it’s as if his surroundings are turning on him! Even The Notwist offer no solace.

It’s almost as if he tried to go to their concert but was turned away because of his species. Oh wait, that did happen.

He decides to run away to the desert.

Or is that scrubland? I have no idea what scrubland is, but it’s probably that.

He sees a fish’s corpse and contemplates death.

Note: Since he is a jellyfish, finding a dead fish for him is more like finding a dead human would be to me.

He sees an oasis and decides to head for it.

It is hot and dry.

Did he know that the oasis was not real? Was he consciously marching to his death?

Eventually he collapses.

We are left with the similarities and differences between his wet entrance on a sandy beach and his dry exit in a sandy desert.

I’d say this story could support a good 90 seconds of video. Most bands would fill the intervening time with shots of the band performing or something. Here we just get repetition. Dan Harmon would not be pleased! Crafting story is his art. That is why he’s the guy who created Laser Fart.

Join me tomorrow for Satorial Sursday when we look at the clothes of some jerk in a music video!

-PTD

Welcome to Twosday here on Another Flavor! Twosday is the day where we look at two music videos with something in common.

I am very enthusiastic about words and phrases. In high school I started saying “whatevs” so much that it was a real problem. I almost had to go to a special school. I try to keep my slang constantly updating, sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully. I’ve never been able to work “boss” into my vocabulary, but I was extremely successful with “radical”. I also like to make up words or adapt existing words for new purposes.

Some examples:
Hup: To hop up. For some reason it also means to take a shower.
Crate: A mispronunciation of great.
The deep: A nickname for Home Depot.
J’escuse: As in “J’escuse, I just need to get by.”

I think a lot of musicians feel that way as well. The lyrics of songs are a great way to promote new phrases and muse on their meanings. I believe this due to the videos for Bizness by Tune-Yards and Rolling in the Deep by Adele.

Let’s start with Tune-Yards and Bizness:

This song asks the question we all have on our minds, “What’s the business?” According to urban dictionary (I’m not linking to it because I just realized how offensive its name is) the business can mean a lot of things. It can mean something good, “This chili is the business!” It can mean hassling, “Stop giving me the business.” It can even refer to a business, “The business is losing money hand over fist.”

Tune-Yards wants to get to the root of this baffling conundrum. After attending the best schools money can buy…

She realized that the business cannot be explained using mere human words. Only the sheer power of interpretive dance can answer the question, “What’s the business?”

Yeah.

Okay, from an in depth analysis of the meaning of phrase we come to the invention of a phrase from whole cloth. Rolling in the Deep by Adele:

What does rolling in the deep mean? In the lyrics it sounds like a complete non sequitor:

We could have had it all. Rolling in the deep.

You’re gonna wish you never had met me. Tears are gonna fall. Rolling in the deep.

These lyrics don’t give us a lot to go on. I believe, though, that rolling in the deep means having a lot of money. I mean like a lot. Like, building a spaceship type of money. Let’s take a look.

The extremely wealthy tend to have a lot of glasses, as shown here.

They also are taken to altering their surroundings with money. Here we see Adele contemplating building a whole new, all white city.

I assume that will be her city for day time and at night she will inhabit an all black city.

There are also a lot of shots that show the downside of being extremely rich, namely the loneliness.

Doesn’t it remind you of Xanadu?

Man, rolling in the deep is depressing. That really is the business.

-PTD

This is the time of year when I get antsy. I’m tired of it being dark all the time! Right now the sun sets around 4:30 PM and that means that I go to work in the dark and return from work in the dark. I start to look out the window around 4:15 PM to determine the exact time the sun actually sets. As you can imagine, I am extremely productive at work.

Since nothing I can do will ever solve this problem (with the possible exception of not having a job) I think I need to learn to deal with the dark. I enjoy being in bed by 10 PM and waking up in time to have a couple cups of coffee before work. Some people, though, stay out late having fun and wake up the next day at 11 AM at work and fully clothed. I think I need to become like those people so, rather than lamenting the night, I can rejoice in it. It helps a bit that Chicago at night looks absolutely gorgeous:

The problem, of course, is that to get that view I need to be standing in the middle of Lake Michigan. I’m not interested in drowning.

EDM is all the rage now and it is definitely the music of the night. EDM is named after its creator, Edward David Music, and is music made electronically for dancing. Rather than relying on the traditional verse/chorus structure of pop music, EDM generally is more free flowing and builds to the point when the bass “drops”. I have no idea what that means, and no article I have ever read explains it, so I’ll just make up my own definition. I highly recommend you do the same.

From what I can tell, EDM appeals to free spirited young people who enjoy dancing and pill-based drugs. So I can enjoy this music too, I’ve decided to adopt a hip, young philosophy which is, “Wherever you are, there you go.” The core to this philosophy is to always be leaving. Wherever I am, I want to be going somewhere else. That’s what young people do, right? I feel like they always are headed to the next party. So there you go. Or there I go. Whatever.

You might think that EDM is just for people in Spain or Las Vegas where there are few laws and no clocks. That simply isn’t the case. There are even people here in Chicago making this music! One such person is Dani Deahl (she really missed an opportunity when she didn’t name herself DJ Dani Deahl) and she appears here with someone named Animale (I assume it is pronounced ani-male).

Check it out. Thunderbolt by Dani Deahl and Animale:

So this, along with my wherever you are, there you go philosophy, is the model for my new life.

Most people try to run inside when it starts to rain, but I will remain out in it just like the woman in this video.

I normally wear pants, but not anymore.

I think it is really practical to wear tiny shorts and super high boots. You get almost all of the coverage of pants, but you only need to wash the tiny shorts. I think this must result in great savings on laundry.

I will no longer be jealous of others. Here in the video we see a man in a weird cloak and a man in an enormous sombrero. These are both really practical items of clothing for the rain.

The woman does not get upset that she didn’t think to wear either of those things. She just keeps dancing.

The video also seems to have an animal (ani-male?) theme.

I’ll try to develop empathy for our ani-male brethren by donning an ani-male mask for a few hours a day.

I will also wear ani-male ears while going about my day.

I’ll also try to make sure that part of my day consists of kissing men in the rain.

When handling fire, I will also make sure to wear an ani-male hat.

The primal nature of the hat protects you from burning.

I think this video has really got me on the right track for enjoying the night. I’m especially excited about getting soaking wet and dressing in furs.

This video also does a pretty good job of making me interested in a type of music I normally ignore. It also has titles at the opening, which you know I love.

Something that didn’t really do it for me was the shocking reveal at the end. Throughout the video there have been two people in masks dancing. They begin to take off their masks.

The excitement is really mounting. Who could they be? Kanye West and Kim Kardashian? George and Barbara Bush? We, as viewers, have literally no idea. The fact that they are removing their masks must mean that they are important.

We finally get a good shot of their faces and they are…

Who? I had to do research on the internet (which I hate doing) to figure out that these people are Dani Deahl and Animale. I guess if you already know what they look like then you might be delighted by this reveal, but music videos should serve as advertisement for you as an artist. If someone already knows what you look like then you don’t really need to be advertising to them.

Whatever, it’s not a big deal. I just don’t like ending a video on a let down.

Since I’m here, I better get going, though. I’ll see you tomorrow for Twosday!

-PTD