"1, 2, 3, 4"

I've been a little disappointed by Feist's new album The Reminder which doesn't really live up to the brilliance of Let It Die. That said, we're talking about a very high standard here and some of it is quite good, including "1, 2, 3, 4"

Nobody who watches the video can avoid commenting on its curious resemblance to a GAP ad, which mostly makes me think the Gap should hire Leslie Feist to appear in an ad, but is certianly weird one way or the other.

Comments

that's very beautiful, very joyous.

sure, hard not to suspect that you're being suckered--a year from now, will it look like a Disney show, and sound like "I'd like to give the World a Coke"?

but at first viewing, it's a beautiful vision.

curiously narrow tessitura she has, though.

Posted by still | May 5, 2007 11:21 AM

GAP ad?

jeezus, do you kids know anything these days?

That thing was pure Busby Berkeley--the over-head shot was one of his trademarks. Having the camera spin in a barrel-roll while advancing forward horizontally was straight from an Esther Williams movie (though he did it underwater for her).

Look, it's cute stuff, and I'm glad to see the big-budget musical ideas coming back. They're all there in the MGM vault, waiting for recycling.

Maybe next they'll hire real choreographers, and get the dancers to rehearse until they know where to go.

Posted by gower | May 5, 2007 11:33 AM

"That thing was pure Busby Berkeley"

And of course, Busby Berkeley was stealing straight from the Coen Brothers stuff in The Big Lebowski.

Posted by Petey | May 5, 2007 11:39 AM

Feist...Feist...

Isn't she the one that Tommy Franks said was the stupidest fucking....

oh. never mind.

Posted by emily | May 5, 2007 12:06 PM

Huh. Turns out I'm a lot less bored my Feist when she shamelessly rips off Sufjan Stevens' instrumentations and arrangement style.

Posted by Scott E. | May 5, 2007 12:39 PM

Is it me, or does it sound alot like Arcade Fire?

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | May 5, 2007 1:29 PM

Maybe next they'll hire real choreographers, and get the dancers to rehearse until they know where to go.

right..like the proliferation of professional dancing in music videos that Michael Jackson's Thriller started, to Janet Jackson, to Britney Spears, to Gwen Stefani, to JayZ to Zzzzzzzsnore.

This video was suprisingly watchable, uplifting, fun, perhaps because it wasn't like ballet with navel rings. There was an air of spontaneity that is shockingly lacking in rock music videos. I never heard of Arcade Fire of Sufjan Stevens, but I loved Feist's Let it Die. And I am now gonna check out her new album.

Thanks for this post!

Posted by sheila | May 5, 2007 2:11 PM

Is it me, or does it sound alot like Arcade Fire?

Sounds more like Broken Social Scene to me... ;)

Posted by Gregorio | May 5, 2007 4:55 PM

Matt,

can you post some bands you're listening to? I don't know if it was you or Julian Sanchez, but one of you pointed me to Rilo Kiley and I liked that a lot.

Thanks.

Posted by Joe Strummer | May 5, 2007 8:40 PM

csuoi qyif ebqi xlfzwv gdvbcoma qlefi lwpkv

Posted by dnjak fqshy | June 11, 2007 8:57 PM

wdfyrenz ubatqwm szfjxinw kdis fxjbpze khugqdm huqfnizp http://www.swpt.awgx.com

Posted by ojtlf dkfr | June 11, 2007 8:58 PM