Always outnumbered. Generally overdresssed.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Lionel 'meta' Richie



There's something deeply weird going on here in terms of the normal music video convention of people not being aware of popstars around them singing and blind people not being aware of Lionel Richie mooning around creepily everywhere they go, despite the fact that he's singing the whole time, the one thing that would allow a blind person to really zero in on his location.

Along with the smell of sour milk.

Also, that dance teacher is taking the piss, vis-a-vis gropy physical contact with a blind student. But then that was the eighties for you, any disability was a seen as an open invitation to frotage in those days.

Sometimes I would argue with The Art Director about whether it was important for ideas to totally make sense within the terms of their own internal logic. But there's a lot to be said for just butching it out, sometimes the audacity of what you force people to accept is the creative leap. Personally I think, with the twist at the end, this is a big idea video.

I've always loved the Robert Johnson lyric:

The blue light was my blues/And the red light was my mind

It's not really a simile, it's just telling you how it is.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stolen, with a nice twist, by the Rolling Stones for Love in Vain: "The blue light was my baby / The red light was my mind". E

Anonymous said...

So did you argue with your AD for or against internal logic sense? Did 'Hello' change your mind?

william said...

I tended to argue for logical sense, which I saw as part of my role in the form:matter copywriter:art director dynamic, and also because I like arguing.

Having not worked with her for four months, I'm prepared to admit that The Art Director may occasionally have been right, particularly with Lionel here adding his not inconsiderable weight to the issue.