Grizzly Bear: "Two Weeks," Two Videos

God, I miss music videos.

More specifically, I miss the time when MTV actually meant Music Television. Sure, they pretty much "killed the radio star," helped usher in increasingly obnoxious fads and more often than not you would find yourself making fun of the videos (which in itself was a fun passtime with friends), but every so often there was a video that reached iconic status and became ingrained in our culture in ways that just can't happen anymore. It was once a medium that launched the careers of some of our most unique and creative filmmakers (ie. Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze), but now it's hardly noticeable amid the cacophony of Youtube hits and misses.

But, alas, time marches on, things fall apart, etc., so now we have to just take what we can get, which, judging from these two videos alone, can still be pretty amazing.

This first video for Grizzly Bear's recent single, "Two Weeks," is the official video for this song, which means that its main purpose is to reflect the attitude of the band and, in a way, introduce them to newcomers. I think it does a pretty good job in both departments.

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks from Suspicious Sounds on Vimeo.

If you already know Grizzly Bear, you know that they're kind of like the modern indie rock version of The Beach Boys. Their vocal harmonies and the general dream-like nature to a lot of their songs make it hard to avoid the comparison. If you don't already know them, this video sums them up pretty well as the twisted choirboys they are. The subtle enlargement and shrinking of their facial features is a particularly nice/disturbing touch. And the exploding head thing that occurs right along with the crescendo near the end of the song is just as effective.

Now, here's another video for the same song, this time made by an extremely talented fan. With no access to the band members, this guy made the video solely to serve the music. It's a real treat.

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.

There are times throughout the video when the imagery seems to be directly related to the lyrics - like early on, when we see the cars on the highway and we hear "a routine malaise" - but for the most part, the images relate to the song in the most abstract sense. It's all about the feeling, first, and interpretation, second. I really like how the birds wing flap to the beat and, later, when we emerge from the tunnel to a bright, wide open environment, right along with that same crescendo that had the guys' heads exploding in the first video. All in all, very well crafted, and, at the same time, representative of the band's indie nature, aesthetically.