Flicking through the TV channels yesterday evening, I came across an intriguing video on MTV2. The band was Aqualung and the song was called Strange and Beautiful. Apparently it’s been used for a recent VW Beetle advert campaign, though I haven’t heard it previously.
The video was like a moving embossed image of the singer’s head and shoulders (or occasionally his whole upper body), sometimes in sharp focus and sometimes blurred into something that more resembled a pencil sketch. Take a look at the thumbnail image on their website to get a rough idea of what I’m talking about.
The song was delicate and pretty – a little derivative maybe, but demanding attention nevertheless. The whole effect was beguiling and even a little haunting, reminiscent of that well-known English guitar band whose album I bought recently.
[Update: it's also the first track on the car CD that Meg compiled this morning, in case another opinion is helpful.]
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I’ve listened to this song quite a few times now and it seems to suffer from the “how the hell do we end this?” syndrome.
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Rather than go for a killer ending, it sort of meanders to an indistinct conclusion which leaves me feeling rather unfulfilled.
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If I were more shallow, I’d say that I prefer the 20 second version on the car advert.
Finally heard the whole thing this morning and I know exactly what you mean. It’s like, “Where did the song go?”
It doesn’t build, does it? No momentum. It’s engaging, but seems to lack purpose. Still like it, but I share your reservation.