Drift Ep. 4, Part 3 - Hundred Weight Hammer

[negative1]

no thanks,

not everything works.

later
-1

[deepfriedbeans]

Kinda catchy, but it's not really for me.

[purlieu]

Oh I really enjoyed that. The vocals were all utterly ludicrous, but in a very entertaining way. Love the synths. Very atypical, I totally get why a lot of people aren't digging, and I'd be very surprised if it made it to the album, but a nice surprising four minutes that I liked a lot.

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

Originally Posted by holden

This had a mid-90's Soul Coughing vibe for me. Slacker jazz, they called it. I used to like some of Soul Coughing's funky bass and hip hop beats and samples and beat poetry (e.g. Circles, Screenwriters Blues, Blame, etc.).

now that you mention it, yeah, I totally hear it. Soul Coughing were one of my favorite bands growing up. I wonder what inspired them to make this track.

[dubman]

Originally Posted by holden

Ok, not to be overly critical, but here goes:
Simon Taylor has more artistic talent and credentials than all of us.
But those masks? The video? This is something i could have/did create in art school in 7th grade.
I excuse a lot of Tomato videos as "high art concept" (see "Diamond Jigsaw" and "Louisiana"), but this is ...not so great.
It's a cardboard masquerade that we've all done at childhood birthday parties (down to the crappy creases and glue you can detect in the video)...only difference is, they're getting paid and accompanying a mediocre track with mediocre visuals. The black and white trick isn;t fooling anyone either.

Grump old man rant over. Nah, still upset. It's not fresh and new or ironic. It's just "art, don't question it or you don't get it". Oh, i went to art school, so i sort of get it.

Responsible replies are welcome

Isn’t this a lot of Tomato’s MO though?
You do something kind of raw and unfussed, and fingers crossed that its simplicity clicks with it in a decidedly un-techno and un-expected way. Not to be That Fan about it, but that’s how I understand what “dirty” has historically meant in Underworld’s context. Sometimes it's just not going to work. This whole track is a miss for me, might as well with the video too.
Time for some cheek though: if you went to art school then how is being able to channel 7th grade projects as an adult a bad thing

[potatobroth]

Soul Coughing yes. Immediately think Gorillaz too.

and I loathe Boy Boy Boy. But... i dont hate this. Which I'm shocked by. I thought I would, but i didnt.

[joethelion]

I think it's great! (but then I also really liked 'Bruce Lee' and 'Ring Road'... hated 'Boy Boy Boy' though)

It has a looseness that was absent from 'Trim'

Definitely hear a Gorillaz vibe, especially with the pitched up "I wish I wish" backing vocals, and a bit of a Soul Coughing feel as well...

As far as the video - I think it's more of a situation where it's something well made, presented as if it was 'simple craft.' Like, I mean - those masks are harder to make than you'd think, and the lighting of the video is great, especially if it wasn't in a proper studio.

[khouri]

Originally Posted by holden

Ok, not to be overly critical, but here goes:
Simon Taylor has more artistic talent and credentials than all of us.
But those masks? The video? This is something i could have/did create in art school in 7th grade.
I excuse a lot of Tomato videos as "high art concept" (see "Diamond Jigsaw" and "Louisiana"), but this is ...not so great.
It's a cardboard masquerade that we've all done at childhood birthday parties (down to the crappy creases and glue you can detect in the video)...only difference is, they're getting paid and accompanying a mediocre track with mediocre visuals. The black and white trick isn;t fooling anyone either.

Grump old man rant over. Nah, still upset. It's not fresh and new or ironic. It's just "art, don't question it or you don't get it". Oh, i went to art school, so i sort of get it.

Responsible replies are welcome

The video's not my jam either, but I'm sympathetic because I think Simon's jamming and improvising as much as Underworld are. It's pretty remarkable that there's a new video for every piece of new music. But not all of them are going to be good.

There is precedent for this kind of thing, of course. I think of the King of Snake video that was just a guy in a cheap costume walking around; or that guy dressed in black dancing around a white studio. Underworld has frequently been adverse to "polished" videos. Like, Underworld is my favorite band but I can't name one music video among my favorite music videos.

[joethelion]

Originally Posted by khouri

.

There is precedent for this kind of thing, of course. I think of the King of Snake video that was just a guy in a cheap costume walking around; or that guy dressed in black dancing around a white studio. Underworld has frequently been adverse to "polished" videos. Like, Underworld is my favorite band but I can't name one music video among my favorite music videos.

I was going to mention that KOS video too...

And aren't there versions of KOS & NUXX where it's just that guy dressed in black dancing around a white studio? I might be misremembering, b/c there also was an early 'sound reactive application' with him in it (so think early iTunes 'visualizer', but like he'd move certain body parts depending on the sound)

...and well - the entire visual campaign around AHDO was pretty 'simple' as well (close ups of clay, a balloon, and an avocado)

I also agree in regards to the idea that Simon's jamming and improvising as much as Underworld are... and it's surprising to see how well they've been so far. A video a week (more or less) is fucking hard - especially if you're not just replicating whatever the previous thing was

[holden]

Originally Posted by dubman

Isn’t this a lot of Tomato’s MO though?
You do something kind of raw and unfussed, and fingers crossed that its simplicity clicks with it in a decidedly un-techno and un-expected way. Not to be That Fan about it, but that’s how I understand what “dirty” has historically meant in Underworld’s context. Sometimes it's just not going to work. This whole track is a miss for me, might as well with the video too.
Time for some cheek though: if you went to art school then how is being able to channel 7th grade projects as an adult a bad thing

You raise good points, and I know my critical post was snarky and perhaps unfair to the spirit of what UW and Taylor are doing throughout the Drift endeavor. I just love so much a well-crafted video, and we've had plenty from Tomato over the years, even in Drift. This film just struck me as thrown together down to poor craft of the masks, questionable edits ( watch the background actors), and attempted added import by being in b&w.
Just not my cup of tea.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with appropriating or reinvention or nostalgia in art. Though, usually say, add something new or run the risk of people claiming you're low on new ideas.

Total kudos for the creation of new visuals to go with Drift tracks. Dexter's Chalk, Custard Speedtalk, Listen to their No, Universe of... Have all been great! I'm perhaps overreacting to the video's lofi feel as an outshoot of not enjoying this week's track.