I Was A Teenage Anarchist by Against Me!
So simple.
So so simple but so incredibly beautiful. And I just don’t know why.
Is it the slow motion? Is it the perfect tracking shot along the Venice sidewalk? Is it the inexplicable fact that we are, for some reason, on the boy’s side (I mean, he’s the one running from the cops. Surely that means he has done something wrong, doesn’t it?)? Is it the smile of accomplishment we get from the main character after he’s caught, that is so devilish and simultaneously, so endearing, that makes you feel better knowing that he achieved whatever his goal was?
I don’t know. I honestly do not know why I find this video so stunning and heartfelt and sincere, but I do and I can’t stop watching it.
3 main elements of the clip get me on side here. 1. The pacing fits so perfectly with the tempo of the song. I have previously lamented the continuous shot but here, I have no complaints. That combined with the slow motion effect draws you in and won’t let you go until the story ends. 2. Is the costuming. I’ve never been to Venice Beach but from everything I’ve ever seen of it before, there are usually more people walking around in bikinis and more old hippies selling hemp hats. Here, 90% of the onlookers seems to be unexplainably cool in popular hipster way - I think that’s a great way to target your audience/fans. It’s almost unnoticeable as, unless you’re really looking for it, who would notice the abundance of skinny jeans and AA hoodies? But, without noticing it, you relate more to those people dressed like you, who are on “your side.” It’s why we’re rooting for the kid dressed like 2010’s Sid Vicious rather than the douche cop wearing sunglasses. And 3. is that mystery force. The intrinsic beauty and goodness this clip holds, even though to look at it’s surface and at it’s subjects, you wouldn’t see it.
