Gondry & The Chemical Brothers' "Star Guitar"

Before I explain anything about this video, you should just watch it. Keep your mind wide open and try to figure out what you’re looking at. The only hint you get is that this is a work by Michel Gondry. So it’d be best if you try and think outside the box as you try to get it. You probably recognize this name, but to refresh your memory he’s the French dreamer/director who created Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Be Kind Rewind (2008). Please try and watch the whole video and don’t look ahead at my post.

Okay so tell me what you saw. You’re on a train, looking out a window right? Yes, that’s all true, but that’s only the denotation of the video. The connotation is a beautiful and in depth study on the evolution of the song. Still confused? Now watch this. Once again try to watch the whole video and don’t read ahead.

I first saw this film when my good friend, a British exchange student with enough euphonic knowledge to humble my pretentious high school music persona in a way I’ve never experienced before, gave me a little music video lesson via YouTube. I consider this music video to be the best thing she showed me.

I didn’t understand what I was looking at until I watched the second “making of” video, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t comprehend. To finally spell things out in a connotative manner: Gondry mapped out the entire song into the landscape seen out the window of the train. Re-watch the video again, and you’ll realize that every water tower, tree, building and smoke stack are in visual accord with an element of the song. They follow the rhythm and build in size just like the sound does. It really calls attention to the rhythms and dynamics of the structure of the song in a beautiful and subtle CGI environment. He used footage he took himself on vacation going from Nimes to Valence. My favorite part is how the lyrics align with the people walking at the train station.

This is what makes great art/movies--the ability to make something aesthetically pleasing and have a moral motif at every level. One can find meaning at the deepest degree, or simply enjoy the moving images at a more insubstantial level. I urge you to explore more of Gondry’s work. His music videos and feature films are all incredible and I find him to be one of the most original thinkers of the era. If his style of video intrigued you, be sure to check out the one Gondry made for Daft Punk’s “Around the World.” Instead of having the landscape match the music, dancers emulate the rhythms and sound elements.

The synchronized dancing and women in sparkly swim caps is evocative to old Bugsby Berkeley numbers.

He also has a new feature starring Audrey Tautou and Romain Duris coming out this year. It’s called Mood Indigo (2013).

 One time he and the Icelandic pixie, Björk, made spin art by playing piano.

In my opinion, Gondry is the closest person to translating sound into visuals. He is truly a prophet of his craft.