Mar 292009
Trust me, it has nothing to do with the music. I immediately had this thought while watching it with the sound turned down. I barely turned the sound up about 30 seconds into it, and that part of the clip made no impression on me one way or another. I don’t recall ever seeing a performance – lip-synched or not – that so uniformly bugged me in this way. Can you identify what bugged me so?
the exploitation of outmoded 70’s technology?
the fact that no one looks at the camera/audience at all?
the fact that the Deal sisters are so almost hot it kinda kills ya?
All bug-worthy things, shawnkilroy, but not what I’m looking for. Thanks.
It’s that cheap matte background effect. I half-expected them to do a spastic zoom overlay like some kind of “Spillin’ Wine” video.
I’ve only watched about :38 seconds of it without the sound, and it seems stupid how far away they are from the camera, and that they’re not moving. with the music playing, my sense of sight might not feel so deprived.
The business attire?
No, but seriously, the huge, 800-pound pile of shit steaming in the middle of the breakfast table is the fact that these chicks simply DO NOT ROCK. There’s no porn-facing, no pigeon-bobbing, no rooster strutting, no power-chord bashing, no Keef Krouching, no finger wagging, no jump-splitting, no mic-wrassling, no stick twirling. The only band member with half an excuse for playing with this kind of *decorum* is the bass player. All bass players have the right to just stand there; it says so in the rulebook.
That, and the song is dead boring.
always have to get the vivid shit-imagery in there dontcha HVB?
Sat and HVB have hit close enough. Specifically, what’s with an entire band and not one standing member with her feet spread apart further than the base of the mic stand – and only the bassist has her feet spread that far. What Sat said about the lack of motion combined with the distant camera angle plays right into this problem. I’m totally willing to overlook the music itself and the business suit, which is so bad it’s kind of funny. Someone in this band needs to assume an appropriate rock stance. I mean, if they’re going to keep their ankles so close together at least bend at the knees and preen a bit. It’s been a good 10-15 years since the making of that video, right? I’d love to know what knee and back problems those women are suffering today as a result of that poor rock posture.
Mod, think about what you’re asking — for women to spread their legs apart.
The boredom. Nobody on that stage really cared that they were making a video. As Mod says – nobody is rocking.
mod, that’s twice that i’ve gotten it right. i’m not sure how comfortable i am with my ability to think like you, especially where our disagreements regarding the byrds and the mc5 are concerned….
did my vinyl contact help?
You’re bugged thinking, Wow, one guy and 4 chicks in that band. He must have got a lot of tail! What did I do wrong? Where’s Renee’s number?
Knee and back problems? When I saw the Pixies reunion in 2004 or so, Kim always had the mic higher up than her head and pointed down at her. It was as though she had to sing up into the mic.
Maybe it was just an illusion and she’s shorter now than back when this video was made. Her lack of rock posturing has caused her spine to get shorter.
And.. also.. Kim hasn’t looked this good lately. She looked like a worn out hag on the Pixies tour.
BigSteve, I considered whether my request was appropriate. In the greater plight of rocking, it was.
Chick, I believe her name was Rainy, not Renee, although we would have been right to add a Renee as well when we had the chance.
mickavory, I like it!
Hmm, I’m gonna have to quibble with the criticism then. Given the state of this form of “rocking” at the time, a.k.a. grunge, disaffection was paramount. Capital-R Rocking in the earlymid-90s was the domain of dandy retro acts like Redd Kross.
I never really “got” the big “deal” about this lot, though I DO like the tunes Kim sings more than the ones Frank, or Francis, or Black Francis sings. As far as the vid. goes; meh!
eh, you’re right.
but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.
although about a month ago, i advocated for gen. x when it comes to its unenviable place in popular discourse, i was never a huge fan of this particular brand of self-conscious gen x refusal to get into it.
arch gen x’ers nirvana found a way to rock without aping classic rock poses. so did lots of other bands from that period.