Saturday 12 November 2011

-Music Videos on my Mind- Jus†ice’s “Stress”


The Americans are in love with French dance music right now. David Guetta is so popular in the US that he could properly run for Republican Vice President, and Daft Punk can have a major American library named after them if they so wish.

It's a shame that type of veneration isn't extended to French electro-pop duo Jusice, a band that is pretty popular in these parts but neglected elsewhere.

Then again, who can blame the Americans for eschewing Jusice when they put out music videos like Stress, a 6-minute clip that got banned by nearly every broadcaster on account of its violence and poor taste. A God-fearing puritanical province like America probably would have quaked with fear if it ever got an eye-full and ear-load of Stress.

Set in Paris' socially deprived banlieues, Stress has been accused of everything from stereotypical racism to abject realism. It presents a group of delinquent youths―some black, others Muslims―who go around Paris groping women, smashing things in, beating people up, terrorising pensioners and wrecking cars.

Directed by Romain-Gavras, Stress is the type of clip that typifies a post-MTV music video industry. At a time when music video channels are sticking to reality television fare, Stress is the kind of work that transcends ordinary methods of broadcasting. It was, and remains, a viral sensation; a word-of-mouse classic that exists to get attention.

4 comments:

  1. Oh I don't know if we'd quake with fear. More like self-righteous indignation. Then in our puffed moral outrage, we'd call Sean Hannity to him rage against the decrepit morals of the Great Liberal Media. Then Jon Stewart would do a hilarious commentary.

    It's a very intriguing clip. I rather enjoy violence and poor taste, myself.

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  2. Justice is that low in the US? I had no idea. I thought they were just a few notches below Daft Punk.. Eh. Another reason I'm glad I don't live there.

    And yes. The video for stress stunned me the first time, my jaw dropped. The song fit so well, the whole thing was just done so right. Great stuff.

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  3. I'm out of the loop. I heard of Daft Punk, but not David Guetta.

    What a jarring video.

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  4. Daft Punk is definitely popular, but I've never heard of Guetta.

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