I've Got A Life
Ooh! Oooh! You can see the new Eurythmics video at http://www.arjanwrites.com/, scroll down to see I've Got A Life. (Thanks to Mr Arjan for putting this up for us, I hope this is sufficient credit).
Reactions: The Intro's strange and doesn't do much for the song? I'm divided on the slow and strange intro, but then again it makes the anthem seem a little less throwaway. It presents a strong contrast, but is it a good one? Not sure.
The disco ball's Very Cool. Retro and Modern all at once. It's a cute, fun image. The dancers in the foreground: They have NEVER had this many fat people in a Eurythmics video before. Wow. At least a couple look like the Village People had bastard children with Divine. Note that the videos in the background on the TVs show ONLY clips from the Ultimate Collection; i.e. the videos that are on Greatest Hits don't appear. So no Beethoven or Don't Ask Me Why.
What's with her hair, dammit? It is some kind of damn bowl cut. It needs to be pointier. It looks fine on one of my students because he's a 14 year old boy, but even he has come colour variation in his hair and is sort of pink as well, not so white. It is not at all attractive, which is what Eurythmics are supposed to be about. And Dave would do better to look AT the audience or AT the keyboard or AT something; with his oversize sunglasses he seems to be attempting a Stevie Wonder/Ray Charles impression.
They're playful without being witty in this song and video, which is ok but unfortunate. They are missing the manic glee that characterised some of their funnier videos, like "There Must Be an Angel," which was campy, or "King and Queen of America" which was meant, I suppose, to be somewhat biting but was also silly- the parts that were speeded up kept it from being dreary and overly serious. They're missing the wit that characterised Annie's "Little Bird" which had all the characters dressed up in costume. It's not a deeply meaningful video, unfortunately, but it is fun.
Verdict: B+ for the video, B- for the song. No, it's not the BEST thing they've ever done. But it's not the worst, either, or even mediocre. Overall it proves that Eurythmics is more than the sum of its parts; Dave and Annie make much better music together than either one do individually. Much as I love her music, he really puts her voice with something musically more complex than what she usually comes up with on her own- note, for example, the thumping, buzzing electronica beat in the last third? of the song. I think that, as is occasionally the case with Eurythmics, the video adds a lot to what might otherwise be a mundane throwaway song. The song on its own is like they took "I Will Survive" and re-interpreted it. If Sony/BMG promote it adequately, it could be a massive hit, a la "Believe", or "I Will Survive," one even to make people say Sweet Dreams What? But I don't see it happening; from what I understand, it's not coming out as a single in several countries and In the U.S. they are releasing it only to Adult Contemporary stations which do not EVER play ANY new music. This is really a shame because there aren't that many hits on top 40 stations, and this could certainly be one. I would really like to see this sold as an enhanced single, as in an audio track, a remix, the video, and then maybe a short interview. That would be better than purchasing the entire Ultimate Collection DVD just to get this video and Was It Just Another Love Affair? and FEWER videos than Greatest Hits.
Reactions: The Intro's strange and doesn't do much for the song? I'm divided on the slow and strange intro, but then again it makes the anthem seem a little less throwaway. It presents a strong contrast, but is it a good one? Not sure.
The disco ball's Very Cool. Retro and Modern all at once. It's a cute, fun image. The dancers in the foreground: They have NEVER had this many fat people in a Eurythmics video before. Wow. At least a couple look like the Village People had bastard children with Divine. Note that the videos in the background on the TVs show ONLY clips from the Ultimate Collection; i.e. the videos that are on Greatest Hits don't appear. So no Beethoven or Don't Ask Me Why.
What's with her hair, dammit? It is some kind of damn bowl cut. It needs to be pointier. It looks fine on one of my students because he's a 14 year old boy, but even he has come colour variation in his hair and is sort of pink as well, not so white. It is not at all attractive, which is what Eurythmics are supposed to be about. And Dave would do better to look AT the audience or AT the keyboard or AT something; with his oversize sunglasses he seems to be attempting a Stevie Wonder/Ray Charles impression.
They're playful without being witty in this song and video, which is ok but unfortunate. They are missing the manic glee that characterised some of their funnier videos, like "There Must Be an Angel," which was campy, or "King and Queen of America" which was meant, I suppose, to be somewhat biting but was also silly- the parts that were speeded up kept it from being dreary and overly serious. They're missing the wit that characterised Annie's "Little Bird" which had all the characters dressed up in costume. It's not a deeply meaningful video, unfortunately, but it is fun.
Verdict: B+ for the video, B- for the song. No, it's not the BEST thing they've ever done. But it's not the worst, either, or even mediocre. Overall it proves that Eurythmics is more than the sum of its parts; Dave and Annie make much better music together than either one do individually. Much as I love her music, he really puts her voice with something musically more complex than what she usually comes up with on her own- note, for example, the thumping, buzzing electronica beat in the last third? of the song. I think that, as is occasionally the case with Eurythmics, the video adds a lot to what might otherwise be a mundane throwaway song. The song on its own is like they took "I Will Survive" and re-interpreted it. If Sony/BMG promote it adequately, it could be a massive hit, a la "Believe", or "I Will Survive," one even to make people say Sweet Dreams What? But I don't see it happening; from what I understand, it's not coming out as a single in several countries and In the U.S. they are releasing it only to Adult Contemporary stations which do not EVER play ANY new music. This is really a shame because there aren't that many hits on top 40 stations, and this could certainly be one. I would really like to see this sold as an enhanced single, as in an audio track, a remix, the video, and then maybe a short interview. That would be better than purchasing the entire Ultimate Collection DVD just to get this video and Was It Just Another Love Affair? and FEWER videos than Greatest Hits.
posted by SavageATL at 11:31 AM
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