"Arcade Fire" surprised fans with not one, but two videos for "Reflektor."
Arcade Fire have always been a band to do things slightly differently and their new videos (there’s two of them!) for the single Reflector are no exceptions to the rule. Both videos dropped on the same day, but they employ vastly different approaches towards the end goal – pointing a mirror at the so-called “internet age of music”.
Like much of the band's previous work, this video also attempts to make a statement.
While the first video, the interactive version was a rather appropriate nod to the internet, in which users/listeners are able to change and influence the experience just by waving their phone, the second, Anton Corbijn-directed version is much more artistic – if no less heavy with meaning. The video sees Win Butler and co. transformed into papier mache approximations of themselves, in what is probably a statement about the synthetic, over-produced nature of music these days. The band then get into a van, where they perform through the night, while the vehicle drives through nightmarish scenes of dark woods and a man made entirely of mirrors follows closely. At one point they stop to pick up a coffin, made from broken CDs. The death of music or are we just reading far too much into this?
Check out the Anton Corbijn version below.
In any case, Corbijn and the band have gone heavy on the symbolism for this one, so there’s really no chance of missing the point: something something, modern music just isn’t as good anymore. As far as messages go, thi one isn’t the most original, considering that musicians have been harping about more or less the same thing for decades now, but hey, at least the song is good. And if you’re not exactly a fan of Corbijn’s interpretation, there’s always the Google one. According to Wired, it lets you paint effects on the screen as the video plays. There’s probably some irony to be found there, but still – both versions are pretty cool. Reflektor is the lead single off the band’s eponymous fourth studio album, which is due for release on October 29.
Setting the bar high for their upcoming album - should we expect two videos every time?
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