Old Favourites: Holly Throsby – “Things Between People”
“And he thinks there’s something missing, that there’s something wrong with him…”
I’m going to be catching Seeker Lover Keeper at several of their upcoming shows, and I’m very excited to be doing so. I thought just before I did that I might pay a bit of tribute to the individual ladies that make up the group – so you’ll see a Sarah Blasko favourite tomorrow and a Sally Seltmann vid on Thursday. For now, though, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the gorgeous Holly Throsby and what is actually one of my all-time favourite videos.
Released in 2004, Things Between People is a very, very simple video. It starts as a tiny white dot in the centre of your screen, before zooming into a street, heading all the way to the end and then reversing the process, occasionally cutting or restarting. Literally, that’s it. So why does it work? It’s utterly fascinating, for one. You can’t look away even though you know exactly where the video is headed. I also love the dynamic shifts that come with changing the colours, bringing it in after the first ninety seconds or so of black and white. It goes from cold to hazy to blissful and warm, and all it takes is a quick change of the colouring. It’s simple and beautiful, much like the song itself, and it’s a video that has stuck in my mind for years. There’s just something about it that I find totally unforgettable.
Watch This Now: Bon Iver – “Calgary”
“There’s a fire going out, there’s really nothing to the south…”
We’re a day late here at Y,WGAV!, on account of a massive weekend of live music. Be gentle and forgiving – and let’s get straight into it. First up, we’ve got a great new clip from Justin Vernon – better known to the world around him as Bon Iver. He’s back from exile and hanging out with Kanye West to deliver his gorgeously haunting sophomore, Bon Iver, Bon Iver (yes, that is the title) – and this is our first taste of the album from a visual perspective.
There are a lot of conflicted themes and strange visual metaphors woven throughout this video, and I’m aware it’s going to be pretty open to interpretation for a lot of people. Whatever your feelings on its message, it’s hard to deny the beauty of the video – it flows smoothly and is gorgeously shot through a series of very different locations. It’s an outstanding visual companion to the song, which itself gets more and more serene every time I hear it. This is a strange video, certainly, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. I see a story of complicated love that is striving to something greater, but is held back by circumstance of the world around them. What do you see?
Yes, We've Got a Video! 