Archive for June 2nd, 2014

02
Jun
14

Escape Monday: With Alt-J Music Videos

SomethinggoodHipsters will hate this post because seriously dude? Alt-J music videos? Dude, these were posted like, two years ago, everyone’s seen these already.

But if you haven’t seen these videos already, and you have a twisted, dark side like your Tiger pal, then these might strike a chord in you. Either that or they will put you off these tracks FOREVER.

“Breezeblocks” I found especially twisted. I always thought of the track as all upbeat and quirky, a love song about how hard it is to let go. Having watched the video and read the lyrics though, I realised I’d got the entire song completely wrong.

“She may contain the urge to run away / But hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks”. I can’t hear that line now without getting the chills.

Here’s why:

 

 

Then there’s the video for “Something Good” which is just this incredibly shot, tragic, beautiful piece of art that you could watch a thousand times and not get tired of.

In both instances, the contrast between the melodic harmonies of the music and the violent imagery in the videos adds something else to the songs, something that lingers and comes back when you’re lying in the dark, waiting for sleep to come.

 

 

There’s something about Alt-J that I keep coming back to over and over again. Something new in their music that you hear when you play it that you might have missed before.

These songs have followed me for well over a year now and I know they will follow me for many years to come and that they will come to perfectly describe a time in my life like no other band will.

That is the power of music. That is why I dig for bands like this and never stop.

-ST