Ryan McNeil
Where does it go?
In a way, writing about what I just watched feels a tad “off book”. I mean, what we have here, while looking very much like a music video is actually just a live performance at an awards show. It’s no secret that I love music deeply (more on that tomorrow), but it’s never compelled me to dedicate an entire post to it.
However, the Arcade Fire clip I’ve embedded below feels like so much…more.
Two months ago, I sat in the audience as Spike Jonze meekly spoke about his incredible career and his upcoming project HER. At that event, there was a wonderful montage of Spike’s work that played before the man himself took the stage. I dearly wish that it was available online somewhere, because as much as so many of us see him as a delightful genius, we take for granted sometimes just how many amazing pieces of imagery he has given us in almost twenty years.
And yet, after watching this clip just once, I already wish that pieces of it could be part of that montage.
On paper it shouldn’t work; It’s almost too quirky, featuring an indie darling, dancing about to a band most people (myself included) can’t shut up about.
And yet, there is so much joy. We arrive at an undetermined moment of sadness, and watch one woman let loose with trepidation, fear, and jubilance all at once. The music behind her builds and builds, making us want to dance right beside her. What’s more, it’s a clip that is smart enough to centre on an actress who is making a habit of making us want to dance right next to her. Right when the whole experiment seems to be at its breaking point – Greta walks past the band and is surrounded by a few dozen dancing children.
Like so much of Spike Jonze’s work, it is an amazing piece of imagery. It had no right to be as engaging as it is, nor any need. And yet it is. It is cinematic in every sense, right down to the way it works with one long continuous take followed by another long continuous take. In a world where “MTV Editing” is somehow still a term that is thrown around, Jonze shows just what “MTV Editing” can be.
It’s live performance, it;s short film, and it;s a music video all rolled into one…and it could only come from the imagination of Spike Jonze.
Oddly enough, despite listening to Arcade Fire’s new album about a dozen times since it’s release one week ago, I never found myself latching on to “Afterlife”.
Until now.
Thanks Spike.
It’s perfect. I am like high on Frances Ha and Greta Gerwig AND Arcade Fire right now and then this comes along. I kind of want to learn the dance moves.
As for Spike Jonze, I would have never gotten into the band if it wasn’t for his The Suburbs video. So yeah, thanks Spike, for getting me into the band and for being an awesome visionary 🙂
Sounds like it’s sort of a perfect storm of joy for you.
It’s funny, because I’ve often thought that the music video is dead as an art form since so few artists are interested in doing much with them anymore. But then something like this comes along…
I think I’m going to have to load all of Spike’s music videos on to my phone soon.
As an admitted hipster dufus who fervently adores both Arcade Fire and Greta Gerwig, I feel like this collaboration is the glorious pinnacle of hipsterism run amok. Which I mean as a huge compliment.
And I actually latched onto “Afterlife” right away. That song WORKS for me, with or without Greta (but Greta really does make it that much more lovely).
Funny – after a week of listening, I latched more towards “Normal People” and “We Exist”.
Is it weird that my growing love for Gerwig makes me want to rewatch and rethink my position on the ARTHUR remake?
Arthur is still bad.
Dig up my review, I seem to remember thinking it was “okay” at least.