I like this song because photography has always been my thing so when I hear “Take a picture,” that’s the same thought that I usually have in my head.
When I first saw this video, I thought that all the things that happened in it were things that the singer wished he could take a picture of. Plus, because the band was called Filter, I really did think that this entire song was about someone who loved taking pictures. Later I found out that the song was actually about getting drunk and needing someone to take a picture so you would be able to remember what you did in the morning. I like my version better.
I went to the same high school as Jessica Simpson!
Of course, I didn’t go there at the same time that Jessica did. Jessica was long gone by the time I started the 9th grade. As well, I actually graduated while Jessica dropped out so she could become a super-rich celebrity instead. That said, I did take a few classes that were taught by Jessica’s former teachers, who all agreed that Jessica was a sweet person. To be honest, most of my classmates made a big deal about being kind of cynical about going to the same high school as Jessica Simpson. You’re never more jaded than you are between the ages of 13 and 18. Myself, I’ve always liked Jessica Simpson because we’re both from Texas and we both occasionally play dumb for the laughs.
Anyway, this song was written when Jessica was going through a very public divorce from Nick Lachey. It’s an empowerment song that also happens to be really depressing, which is really the best type of song there is. There’s something to be said for a good depressing song and a good depressing video.
This video was filmed at the Inn, which is a bar in Long Island. The video features Britney performing with her then-backing band. It also features a speaker that appears to be on the verge of exploding and a motorcycle. To be honest, if I was performing this song, I would probably want a motorcycle on stage with me too. This is a song that just makes you want to ride a motorcycle.
(Seriously, I’ve always had like a major weakness for motorcycles. It’s not so much that I like to ride them as much as I just like to lean up against them.)
I can remember that, when this cover was first released, a lot of people complained that it wasn’t as good as the previous versions and Britney also got a lot of criticism for saying that she had been inspired by Pat Benatar’s cover when the cover was actually performed by Joan Jett. Myself, I like Britney’s cover. It’s fun to dance too and Britney always seemed like she was happy when she was performing it. So, the haters can just shut up as far as I’m concerned.
Don’t worry, everyone. We’ve got another few trillion years to go before the universe ends. We’ll all be dead by the time the sun goes supernova but hopefully, this site and all of my film reviews will still be here to provide future readers with some sort of solace before they’re vaporized into nothingness.
Before anyone makes the obvious assumption, allow me to assure you that I did not pick this song as a way to comment on whether or not people should be sheltering in place. I just like the song and I like the atmospheric music video.
Watching this video reminds me of this time when I woke up at 3 in the morning and discovered that a huge fog had rolled into town. Even though it was probably totally foolish of me, I threw on a robe and then I went outside and walked around in the fog for a while. It was the thickest fog I had ever seen, too. It was ominous and frightening but kind of beautiful too. I felt like I was walking through someone else’s dream. This video brings back that memory.
Earlier this week, I watched The Sopranos on Prime. I started with the very first episode and then I watched all the way up until that famous black out at the end of the final episode. It took me about 6 days to watch the whole series. In case you were curious why I haven’t posted many film reviews over the past few days, it’s because my mind has been preoccupied with the New Jersey mafia.
Needless to say, I’ve now got the Sopranos theme song — Woke Up This Morning — stuck in my head and it only seems appropriate to select it for today’s music video of the day. Now, I should point out that Alabama 3 did not write Woke Up This Morning for the show. (And the version in this video is, needless to say, a bit different from the version that most people know from the opening credits of The Sopranos.) In fact, Woke Up This Morning is not about the mafia at all.
Instead, the song was based on the true story of a woman who, after years of being abused by her husband, finally killed him. She stabbed him to death but “got yourself a knife” doesn’t have quite the same impact as “got yourself a gun.” The song was a minor hit when originally released. It became a much bigger hit once it was featured on The Sorpanos, though its doubtful that Tony Sopranos and his misogynistic crew would have approved of the song’s actual theme.
Originally, David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos, wanted to start every episode with a different song but he was overruled by HBO, who felt that viewers would be confused unless they heard the same song at the start of each episode. However, Chase did end each show with a different song.
I’ve always liked Garbage as a band. Only Happy When It Rains seems like a song that could have been written about me and, of course, Shirley Manson and I are both members of the 2% of the population who were blessed with red hair. Having red hair means that …. well, basically it means that we’re better than everyone else in the world and that’s just the way it goes.
Magnetized appears on Garbage’s 6th studio album, Strange Little Birds. I like this video because it’s creepy and dream-like and I’ve always wanted to have a mad scientist laboratory to hang out in. Not that I would actually want to do anything in the laboratory because that’s not really my thing. I’d just like to have it there as a conversation starter.
When I watch this video without the music, my immediate assumption is that it’s about someone who joined a cult and who has just discovered that the leader of the cult is either from outer space or from the future. The video just has that sort of threatening, science fiction feel to it. That said, the song is actually about someone looking back on a breakup that was apparently a long time coming but which she still might not have been emotionally prepared for.
This video reminds me that I need to get a haircut. It also reminds me that a lot of cults like to dress in all white. I’m not sure why but it really does seem to be the popular look for people who are communing with spirits or waiting for aliens.
Through the Shattered Lens 