I’m wrapping up the week with my three favorite videos of the batch I looked at for the blog.
First up is ‘The Greeks’ by Is Tropical, another band I’d never heard of before this week. Even the normally trusty Wikipedia has failed me in this case, identifying Is Tropical as simply “an electronic band from England.”
The song is pretty good, tapping once again into the 80s vibe that is so popular once again.
But the video is a subversive masterpiece. The concept is simple — depicting the war play of children with fake guns but adding sound effects and animation as if the carnage were real.
The result is disturbingly, but comically, violent. If this was live-action simulated blood and guts rather than cartoon effects, this clip would earn a hard R from the ratings board. And yet, the actions of these kids are entirely consistent with role-playing games children have carried out forever.
Is every kid a secret sociopath? Or are their imaginations a perfectly healthy place for these visions to find a home?
You’ll only get it if you give it away
You only get what you give away, so throw your hate away
The Greeks have got him
With their tales of lust and myths of grief
Lights from the big wheel
Casts shadows that dance around the fair
Time for consulting, whilst carouselling
The quiet before the storm
Now he’s in trouble, we’ve all had trouble
But learned to keep it shut
You only get what you give away
You’ll only get it if you give it away
You only get what you give away, so throw your hate away
The Greeks have got him
Now he’s solemn and beat up pretty bad
Just like his brother
He will wear leather to thicken up his skin
He can’t see colours, or hear like others
And has fallen into sin
Now it’s all laughed at, the stage is past that
And filled with you and me
You only get what you give away
You’ll only get it if you give it away
You only get what you give away, so throw your hate away
Meet Me In Montauk 
I think parts of the video reflect interesting social commentary, while others seem to be only for gratuitous/comical purposes (drug deal scene, slashing throat, C4). Still, a compelling concept video overall. Don’t think much of the song, although it was easy to pay less attention to its electronic redundancy when you are immersed in the video.