Showing posts with label music video review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music video review. Show all posts

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Cremant Ding Dong - "Es muss nicht immer alles wachsen" (2020)

It’s rare that I come across a new song where the individual elements of the music, lyrics, and video all blow me away. Cremant Ding Dong only have four songs to their credit so far, but they’ve already found their stride. Their new single “Es muss nicht immer alles wachsen” is their best yet.

First, the music: it’s solid synthpop with loads of great sounds and angular guitar bits. It’s upbeat and energetic with a well-constructed arrangement. Even better are the lyrics. The whole thing is a humorous takedown of capitalist arguments in an era of big business obliviousness to human suffering. The title and chorus translates to “not everything has to always grow”, and the rest of the lyrics describe things that don’t really need to grow forever (businesses, markets, power, toe nails, capital) as well as a few things that should keep growing (flowers, children, hair, love, trust). It’s clever, playful, and insightful all at once.

And then there’s the video! It’s pure joy. The most notable feature is an adorable cat, but it’s also full of whimsical visual effects and colors. The band is present, but focus more on grooving and playing around than on showing off their individual looks or expensive equipment. A synthesizer makes a brief appearance, and a few shots appear to be from a performance on a stage (such a foreign concept!), but the emphasis is more on movement and color.

The single is available on Bandcamp here and the video can be seen here. The rest of the band’s songs are in a similar style and are also quite good, in particular “Testergebnis”, a song about waiting for Coronavirus test results.


Score: A+

P.S. Thanks to Lutz for the tip!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Guest Review at Film Walrus: The Faint - "Agenda Suicide" Video

I know I've been quite inactive over the past few months, which is quite a shame. Schoolwork has been heavy, but I only have three weeks left in the semester, at which point I'll have a more relaxed summer to return to writing reviews (even though I'll be in Germany for most of it).

In the meantime, my brother offered me the opportunity to review a music video for his animated shorts series on his film review blog. I reviewed The Faint's "Agenda Suicide" video (from 2002). Here's the link:

http://filmwalrus.blogspot.com/2008/04/poor-little-animated-shorts-guest.html

Thanks again to the Film Walrus for the opportunity.