Review of the new TH video WBMW
Obituary on TH’s new video Lass uns Laufen…
… which never existed in the first place
Okay, so I haven’t been around too much lately. Haven’t written anything, haven’t been interested much in the happenings, but as the dutiful fangirl I am, I still kept following everything TH related that was to be followed. I couldn’t help realise it had become a sort of routine, though, without the usual spark of passion. That spark had always been Bill whose beauty and uniqueness inspired my writing and fuelled my curiosity - but that Bill, as far as I can see, is gone. There’s this strange stick-figure planted in his place that I can’t much relate to anymore, because it’s so artificial, so fake that it makes me cringe.
What used to make TH so amazing in the past is all gone, because they don’t even make an effort anymore to make the image seem like at least partially real. Bill used to be my muse, because when I saw him, under the layers a make-up and other stage-paraphernalia I knew I could catch a glimpse of the real person and that person fascinated me like no one had ever done. When this person used to say something I was prone to believe him, even if the rational part of my brain accepted that stars generally had to gloss over facts and distort reality and conceal things from the public. Still, there used to be a sort of balance between the bullshitting and the genuine sharing and that was something I could accept.
Now all that is left is the bullshit, mixed with a kind of persistent amateurism in their dealings with the media and fans and the whole world in general that is baffling and, simply, sad. There’s this huge crew behind them, professionals who are supposed to have a concept about this band (should the boys not already have it), and they screw up at every turn. What is going on here? I don’t have a degree in PR or management, but even I can recognise a blunder when I see it. And here is the next epic fail for you right away: the new music video for WBMW.
One likes to think (hope dies last) that one has scraped rock bottom and the only way from here is up. But this is TH for you and there’s always lower. If it was plain old disappointment I’m feeling right now, having seen the new allegedly ’sensational’ video, I could get over it relatively quickly. I’m seriously pissed, however, and that does not go away so quickly. It sticks and makes your palm itch. Why? Because as always, you can see what could have been instead of what was eventually delivered. And seeing people waste a huge potential is infuriating.
Lass uns Laufen is one of the best songs on this album. It’s the most beautiful too. It’s a world-class song, written by a world-class composer. It’s magical and takes you in another realm entirely. It’s one of my favourite TH songs. You could say it’s almost ridiculous how catchy the tune is, but who cares when it’s so beautiful. One can’t get tired of it. World behind my wall is okay, I guess, I never listen to it, because I only listen to four songs in English (the Dogs, the My Chemical Romance rip-off, the Depesh Mode rip-off and the Queen rip-off), simply because for me the German lyrics fit the melody better and there’s this message behind them that I can appreciate.
As for WBMW, every since the EMAs, I have developed this theory that the English lyrics had been written with the specific intention for the song to be performed on this very night, (they had to expect to be invited to perform!) with the wall-references fitting the occasion so perfectly and I don’t like the idea of such pre-meditatedness. Anyhow, the English version had always been second rate in my eyes as most English versions of TH songs are and not necessarily because they are worse but because for me TH is a German band and I keep hanging on to the idea that they should sing in German, since that’s what makes them special. Also, in most cases the English lyrics are dumbed down or the message turned inside out, which makes both versions lose credibilty. There should be a kind of integrity between music and lyrics that should make it impossible for people to tamper with them once it's created. If a song can be stripped of its message at the snap of your fingers and given another how genuine is that song ?
But whatever. I accepted well beforehand that the song played on radios all over the world would be WBMW and there was nothing I could do about it. What I could not be prepared for, however, was the crap I was served last night in the form of the music video for WBMW.
As I said, the problem is not exactly that it’s crap. Crap happens sometimes. The problem is the gold that shines through the thick layers of shit piled on it, the what-could-have-been aftertaste the video leaves in your mouth. And there’s also the what-should-have been, and that’s when you really lose it. This video should have been an epic one, TH’s most grandiose music video so far. That’s what it should have been, because that’s what the song Lass uns Laufen deserves. I used to have images in my mind about rainy days and gloomy rooms and boys walking next to railway lines towards the breaking dawn and ich lass mich von den Wolken mitziehen and der Wind waeckt mich auf ich merk dass ich lauf and gib mir einen Sinn bitte bring mich dahin. But then again, it was not a video for Lass uns Laufen, but for WBMW and it was my own stupid fault to get myself so worked up and excited about it.
What eventually came to be is a monster. A kind of Frankenstein of a video, sewn together pieces that don’t fit at all, the ragged thread keeping them together is the single line of ’see the world behing my wall’ which is supposed to explain the glimpses we catch of TH’s backstage life. See, I’m all for backstange glimpses. ADS is my absolute fav TH video and maybe my all time fav TH song. It works perfectly with the backstage images and the on stage shots. I was hoping for another video in a similar fashion after the tour had kicked off or was coming to an end soon - in the form of Komm, which would have been the perfect choice for a concert video. Also, I absolutlely loved what they did at the EMAs - strictly stage-wise and concept-wise of course… - with the fire and burning down the instruments, so I was looking forward to something in this vein and judging by the single photo of the set it seemed I would get what I wanted.
What I got is actually the worst video TH has ever made.
It was to be expected that after the super-expensive Automatic video and the lousy sales figures accompanying it and the album it was going to be something simple and cheap. Hell, if I was a boss at the label, I wouldn’t have risked investing too much in this project either. But we have seen simple videos made from little money which turned out to be amazing or at least decent. It’s only a matter of a good director, a good camera-man and some creativity. Yeah, the song would have deserved grandeur, but since money was tight they had to make do with what they had. As it turned out, they neither had a good director, nor a good camera-man. On the other hand they definitely had absolutely zero creativity on their side.
Had they stuck with the flame-concept it may have turned out quite all right - although judging from the dead boring shots of the first 30 seconds or so, I’m starting to doubt that too. Is there no one out there who can cut a video footage at least in a half-way decent manner? Seriously, who are these losers TH is working with? Already in Automatic the cut-job was so pathetic that it screwed up the whole video. But hey, let’s not blame it on the poor nameless guy. Let’s blame it on a management who is clearly unable to make a decision even in such a simple thing as the concept of a music video. Honestly, Jost, was it your idea? No bread and breakfast for you for a whole week. Or did the boys really give it a go? - for example our fabled decision-maker Bill, who doesn’t let a single detail slip through his fingers. Well, this one has slipped through big time, Billy, sorry to say.
I feel like crying.
Have we finally reached rock bottom? Please tell me there is no lower. I’m already hanging on by a thread here and I’m not sure I could take another blow of disillusionment after this one. But a tour is coming up with concerts that they claim are not your simple average concerts, but ’shows’ and I already have my doubts about that too. The problem is TH simply can’t do grandeur. Something always pulls them down into tacky or the trying-too-hard-category. If they could do grandeur, they could rise among the biggest stars, but it’s either the people who are coordinating their moves who are lacking in vision and scope to pull it off, or the boys just don’t have it in them.
But then why do I feel the seeds of grandeur had been planted once and it started to grow into quite a decent little plant and now it’s simply withered away?
Lass uns laufen, indeed. And fast.