This post clearly references a previous topic I covered regarding artistry specifically in relation to Kanye West. Kanye has released a video for his new single WELCOME TO HEARTBREAK. The video is meant to be shown as such and the pixelated bleeding is intentional.
Now there are various things that need to be addressed regarding this video. Firstly, the song is brilliant and the video complements the lyrics "& my head keeps spinning, can't stop having these visions." Kanye and Kid Cudi embrace the Gnarls Barkley 'CRAZY' abstract style yet it seems that perhaps Kanye is trying a bit too hard. I am aware that this goes against my philosophy of working against convention and it certaintly is shown in this video. Nevertheless, the pixelation detracts from the concept of the video and often it's unclear what is happening thus making most of the video fairly incomprehensible. Maybe I need more time with it or perhaps my expectations are high, but I think much of the artistry that is embraced by the album and the song is lost through the excessiveness in this video.
A lot depends on what you expect from a music video - I quite like it, but that's because I take the noob's view of not wanting a video to tell me a story or teach me anything deep. This video is visually appealing (colourwise), and I am able to see Kanye's Heartbreak in it.
ReplyDeleteLooking at it from the other side, I guess you could argue that the distortion represents King Jr. being unable to clearly explain his emotions yet...aka everything is still a jumble in his mind.
Part of it is showmanship, I'm sure, aka he is trying a bit hard. But for some reason that doesn't really bother me, though I can see how you could find that annoying.
Good post!
"though I can see how you could find that annoying." Not you, in particular. Just "one".
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