I’ve been trying to figure out how to articulate what I see when I watch this video and it hasn’t been easy. Particularly because there weren’t really words the first few times I watched it, mostly just feelings. Excitement, wonder, appreciation, etc… primarily focused at the person who had taken the time to make it. If nothing else it is an amazing construction of different imagery timed impeccably to music. But there was more for me and I haven’t been able to explain it.
So here’s a shot.
Long ago popular culture reached such a critical mass that it began feeding on itself. I initially noticed it when sitcoms would refer to other sitcoms currently on the air as if to assert their status in reality by saying “See we’re like you, we watch that show tooâ€. Actually, I’m sure pop culture referencing itself has been going on forever. I just don’t have any good references right now and I’m not willing to do the research. Let’s assume it’s true, or you’re welcome to post evidence to the contrary.
Today with advanced tools available for cheap to anyone and the perfection digital copies this has evolved to involve different media. There are tons of examples of music being remixed, sampled, cut and rebuilt into something that stands on its own as something new. From Hip-Hop to Dangermouse’s Grey Album (Jay-Z’s Black Album plus the Beatles White Album) to Girl Talk who takes pieces of upwards of 100 individual songs to make a single new one.
When I saw this video I saw the continuation of that trend into video. This being the best execution of a video mashup I’ve seen, but there was something more. There was a feeling with it. I’ve watched it a few more times trying to put it into words, trying to find a frame of reference to explain it with. I may have tried too hard to find one and just fabricated my own, but whatever, that’s what I like about music without words. I get to take it wherever I want, not where the lyrics tell me to go.
When you watch this you’ll see literally thousands of separate images mostly from action movies, horror movies, sci-fi movies etc… Explosions, natural disasters, zombies, vampires, etc… in rapid succession, timed impeccably to the glitchy, erratic, yet compelling beat. What you won’t see is a narrative. I thought I saw one at first but no. It’s a dance. If you look at this as what it is – a music video – and you expand your definition of dance to include all movement (car, plane, explosion, human, animal, etc…) – it can then be seen as a choreographed dance set to serve the music and not the other way around.
Full screen and LOUD is preferable…
Lastly you have to give credit to the guy who made it (unemployed at the time and not in the business of making videos). He’s made a name for himself in an industry he wanted to get into by creating something and putting it out there. Which led to a request by the band (The Glitch Mob) for him to make a trailer for the new Tron movie set to one of their tracks. Which was picked up by the producers of the movie.
