Remixed

Some more indicators that we're living in the golden age of television advertising.







This is probably my current favorite commerical, for the video game Gears of War. It shows how realistic-feeling video games have become, cinematically pairing the story of a lone soldier with Gary Jules' Donnie Darko version of the Tears for Fears song Mad World. Its strangely affecting on-screen action (you have to remind yourself it's only a video game character... versus a hired actor, I guess) is matched well to the melody and lyrics.

Jules' music video has a totally different, but I also like it. Mostly shot from overhead, it features schoolkids acting out objects, coupled with pans around to Jules standing on top of the school's roof, with a panoramic view of Brooklyn. Oddly, the long NYTimes review of the video doesn't mention its location. Luckily, an entry about the video's director, Michael Gondry (who also made Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), does.

Tears for Fears' original video is interesting in its own way, with most of it consisting of a guy standing at window, emoting, over your standard 80s sythethizers. It's a much faster song here; I like Jules' version better--just goes to show how different the same thing can be with a few tweaks.





Levi's 'Walk the Line' commercial has Adem Ilhan and Megan Wyler doing a duet version of the classic Johnny Cash song. It seems appropriately slowed-down, and Wyler has an other-worldy, almost metallic voice that fits the song well. The on-screen action is a bit hokey, but the way it's shot grainy and harsh brings out the lyrics.

By comparison, this YouTube clip of Cash's original seems almost flat--part of it is just the difference between a straight performance and a layered music video/commercial. It can be hard for something shot 3 or 4 decades ago to compete with all the subtle performance-sweeteners/boosters of today; imagine how great Cash and the legends would've come across if they had all the benefits the Ilhans and Wylers of the world do.

Then again, maybe they'd never have hammered out their hard-won style in today's world.