HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Devlin Smith, Contributing Editor
2006.01
Last week I caught the new "Original of the Species" video on AOL. The new version comes about a month after the first Catherine Owens-directed video was released.
Version one concentrated on the growth and development of a computer-generated little girl with members of the band thrown in for good measure. Version two concentrates on Bono with a nude expectant mother thrown in for whatever reason.
I'm not a fan of video two. The first video was unique and thought-provoking, taking the main theme of the song (watching kids grow up, particularly Edge's eldest daughter as she entered her 20s) and fleshing it out. With its focus on Bono and, to a lesser extent, the pregnant model, video two spins off somewhere else completely.
Probably my main issue with the video, though, is that it's four-and-a-half minutes of Bono and about four seconds of Adam, Edge and Larry. U2 is a band, a "four-legged table," and has always been. For the band to make a video that so completely favors one member over the others just feels wrong.
Sure, U2 has made videos in the past "starring" one member or another. Bono's face was the main attraction in Phil Joanou's "One" but the rest of the band got more than a decent amount of screen time. Edge took the lead in "Elevation" but with performance sequences and a U2-saves-the-world plotline playing throughout, the entire band got moments to shine. Larry was the star of "Electrical Storm" but, as with "Elevation," performance sequences brought the entire band into the video. Adam's yet to get his star turn but that has to be in the works at some point.
With the new "Original of the Species," though, there is no band. Basically, Adam, Edge and Larry got walk-on roles in their own video. After 30 years as a band, that seems incredibly sad.
Fans have already begun speculating as to why this new video is so Bono-centric. Is it to capitalize on the lead singer's ever increasing stature as an international player now that he's been named one of Time magazine's "People of the Year," amongst hordes of other honors? Maybe Bono was the only one who could make the shoot. Whatever the reasons to make this video, the decision, and the logic behind it, was flawed.
So why did U2 bother to make another video for "Original of the Species," especially one that, despite Bono's dreaminess sans shades, seems completely pointless? MTV and VH1 rarely play videos anymore and when they do, it's not U2 topping the play list. With the internet and DVDs, diehard fans seem to be the true audience for these little films. While this fan is always excited to see a new U2 video, what I really want to see is U2 in that video.
U2 didn't show up for the new "Original of the Species" video, Bono and a pregnant model did, and that disappoints me. "Original of the Species" is one of my favorite U2 songs ever and finally experiencing it live in New York City last November was one of the highlights of the Vertigo Tour for me. The first video came close to replicating my feelings for the song but the second one isn't even in the ballpark.
2006.01
Last week I caught the new "Original of the Species" video on AOL. The new version comes about a month after the first Catherine Owens-directed video was released.
Version one concentrated on the growth and development of a computer-generated little girl with members of the band thrown in for good measure. Version two concentrates on Bono with a nude expectant mother thrown in for whatever reason.
I'm not a fan of video two. The first video was unique and thought-provoking, taking the main theme of the song (watching kids grow up, particularly Edge's eldest daughter as she entered her 20s) and fleshing it out. With its focus on Bono and, to a lesser extent, the pregnant model, video two spins off somewhere else completely.
Probably my main issue with the video, though, is that it's four-and-a-half minutes of Bono and about four seconds of Adam, Edge and Larry. U2 is a band, a "four-legged table," and has always been. For the band to make a video that so completely favors one member over the others just feels wrong.
Sure, U2 has made videos in the past "starring" one member or another. Bono's face was the main attraction in Phil Joanou's "One" but the rest of the band got more than a decent amount of screen time. Edge took the lead in "Elevation" but with performance sequences and a U2-saves-the-world plotline playing throughout, the entire band got moments to shine. Larry was the star of "Electrical Storm" but, as with "Elevation," performance sequences brought the entire band into the video. Adam's yet to get his star turn but that has to be in the works at some point.
With the new "Original of the Species," though, there is no band. Basically, Adam, Edge and Larry got walk-on roles in their own video. After 30 years as a band, that seems incredibly sad.
Fans have already begun speculating as to why this new video is so Bono-centric. Is it to capitalize on the lead singer's ever increasing stature as an international player now that he's been named one of Time magazine's "People of the Year," amongst hordes of other honors? Maybe Bono was the only one who could make the shoot. Whatever the reasons to make this video, the decision, and the logic behind it, was flawed.
So why did U2 bother to make another video for "Original of the Species," especially one that, despite Bono's dreaminess sans shades, seems completely pointless? MTV and VH1 rarely play videos anymore and when they do, it's not U2 topping the play list. With the internet and DVDs, diehard fans seem to be the true audience for these little films. While this fan is always excited to see a new U2 video, what I really want to see is U2 in that video.
U2 didn't show up for the new "Original of the Species" video, Bono and a pregnant model did, and that disappoints me. "Original of the Species" is one of my favorite U2 songs ever and finally experiencing it live in New York City last November was one of the highlights of the Vertigo Tour for me. The first video came close to replicating my feelings for the song but the second one isn't even in the ballpark.
