Music Videos as Tributes to Films: Wes Anderson Edition

(Fig. 1) The Decemberists – “16 Military Wives”

(Fig. 2) Vampire Weekend – “Oxford Comma”

(Fig. 3) Jose Vanders – “Mother Theresa Can’t Dive”

I recently stumbled across the song “Mother Theresa Can’t Dive” by Jose Vanders. It’s a cute little indie-pop song with a cute little indie-pop video, which happens to be a very obvious ripoff of Wes Anderson’s 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. There is some truth to the clichéd relationship between Anderson’s work and the independent music community–his style has undeniably influenced other prominent music videos of the past few years, albeit in different ways.

With its private school setting, the Decemberists’ “16 Military Wives” is visibly informed by Rushmore. (Colin Meloy’s plastic-framed glasses don’t hurt either, shared with Max Fischer’s distinctive look.) However, the crested blazers and Model U.N. are merely used as a jumping-off point for an original story about international relations, and the strict Anderson aesthetic is not thoroughly adhered to. In the subtitles used to describe the action, Anderson’s standard font Futura is noticeably absent, although it is a crucial component in his trademark look.

While Futura titles are used to distinguish “chapters” in Vampire Weekend’s “Oxford Comma” video, it is a technique that Anderson would be expected to use, rather than something he actually has done. (Rushmore is divided into acts of a play; The Royal Tenenbaums literally shows chapters of a book; time is denoted in The Life Aquatic with documentary footage.) However, the combination of the recognizable font with the literary influence still serves as an effective visual link. There are other subtle references to his style, such as the uniformed background characters and the lack of modern technology, but “Oxford Comma” shares more with Wes Anderson’s American Express commercial than any of his films, with its use of a single tracking shot.

“16 Military Wives” and “Oxford Comma” were clearly realized with Wes Anderson in mind, but that aesthetic was used as a starting point to flesh out original content. “Mother Theresa Can’t Dive” takes directly from the Anderson playbook, following The Life Aquatic‘s blue/yellow/red color palette with a pedantry almost worthy of the source of its inspiration. Red knit caps abound, and the video is an intern’s Glock away from being a perfect match. Sure, I love The Life Aquatic, but if I wanted to watch The Life Aquatic, I’d watch The Life Aquatic. Granted, Anderson’s own style is largely an amalgam of influences drawn from 60s directors, but he also clearly has a unique vision, rather than purely borrowing. While we are the product of that which we consume, it seems a bit lazy to regurgitate something whole like this.

Top Eight Thursday: 10 June 2010 – Goal! England

1. Free Energy – “Bang Pop”
2. We Are Scientists – “Goal! England”
3. Das Racist – “Shorty Said (Gordon Voidwell Remix)”
4. The Hood Internet – “Rude Baptism (Rihanna vs. Crystal Castles)”
5. Vampire Weekend – “Jonathan Low”
6. Sleigh Bells – “Infinity Guitars”
7. Das Racist – “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”
8. M.I.A. – “XXXO”

Listen here.

This has been a weird week, apparently. If you’re shopping around for a summer jam, “Bang Pop” is an effortlessly catchy contender. I listened to “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” a couple of times when it became a meme, but never really gave much thought to Das Racist until I saw a couple of Tumblr posts about “Shorty Said” and decided to try listening to more of their work. In an odd, patchy way, I’ve slowly been getting into more hip hop this year.

We Are Scientists consistently prove themselves to be some of the funniest guys in music. In celebration of the World Cup and forthcoming album Barbara, they’ve recorded a football anthem that is available free here.

Top 20 singles of the first half of 2010, based on play counts

1.  Vampire Weekend – “Holiday”
2.  Vampire Weekend – “Giving Up The Gun”
3.  Local Natives – “World News”
4.  Sleigh Bells – “Tell ‘Em”
5.  LCD Soundsystem – “Drunk Girls”
6.  Surfer Blood – “Swim”
7.  Local Natives – “Airplanes”
8.  Kate Nash – “Do-Wah-Doo”
9.  Jay-Z – “On To The Next One”
10.  Lady Gaga – “Telephone (ft. Beyoncé)”
11.  Los Campesinos! – “Romance Is Boring”
12.  Marina & the Diamonds – “Hollywood”
13.  Sondre Lerche – “If Only”
14.  Avi Buffalo – “What’s In It For?”
15.  Yeasayer – “O.N.E.”
16.  MGMT – “Flash Delirium”
17.  Two Door Cinema Club – “Something Good Can Work”
18.  We Are Scientists – “Nice Guys”
19.  We Are Scientists – “Rules Don’t Stop”
20.  Beach House – “Norway”

Honorable Mentions:
Cults – “Go Outside”
M.I.A. – “XXXO”
Phoenix – “Lasso”

This is based solely on play counts, or else I’ll get entirely too indecisive. Obviously, this gives an advantage to songs released earlier in the year, but “World News” and “Telephone” are on drastically different levels and I don’t have the mental fortitude to compare them at the moment. I cheated a little and used both US and UK release dates, considering that those are the regions that dominate my music collection.