Music Discussion: Teenage Wildlife
Or, the video in which AJ McLean decides to take the wildlife concept literally. Yes, we are going to talk about the hot fuzzy mess that was AJ's first solo music video. Here's a refresher to start off with.
From the beginning it looks like an awesome video, the dark colors, edgy setting, AJ out for a night on the town with friends. He looks so spiffy in his matching jacket and fedora, and he's got the nose ring (♥) and the dance beat starts up. Then things get weird.
First sign that this is not going to be the average club video is AJ whipping out a picture of a chipmunk, with a heart around it. To be totally honest, first time I saw this video, I face-palmed. I expected something, different, maybe, probably something borderline disturbing, because it is AJ. But this really isn't edgy or dirty at all; his love interest is a cute little chipmunk. And I know he's doing this totally tongue-in-cheek, but seriously man...furries? The full extent of the weirdness is revealed when they walk into the club, and it's filled with gyrating animals--I'm sorry, gyrating people in giant animal costumes. I love how the rest of his friends look confused at this point, while AJ looks excited. I bet AJ does this to his friends a lot. Actually I feel like there's a really good fic idea in there somewhere.
Between clips of the cat on the stripper pole (I guess this is a furry strip club...I can't decide if the cuddly-looking animals make it adorable and kind of innocent-looking, or that much more disturbing) we see AJ's chipmunk love interest. I have to wonder who would sign up to do that. Well, I can imagine plenty of people would sign up to play his love interest, and then their reaction when oh, by the way you're actually going to be dressed like a chipmunk. After the bathroom scene, I had to call this video disturbing. So AJ walks into the bathroom and there's a zebra standing there. Ok, fine. (Insert bathroom jokes here.) Then AJ has to pointedly stare at it and from his expression the zebra is clearly packing. It's like, it's not enough to have a music video with dancing furries, but he has to make it crass too.
The one redeeming thing about this video is the awesome dancing, thank you Wade Robson. As AJ is serenading the chipmunk (whose head is about four times the size of AJ's, and could probably eat him in two gulps if it was a real giant chipmunk. I always thought AJ was afraid of clowns, but apparently he's cool with giant animals) the lion challenges him to a dance-off. And we have a wild-west type stare down, where AJ looks so freaking gorgeous, and the lion is about to eat him alive. But instead of eating him, it breaks into a dance routine. And a really awesome dance routine at that. I think if I could just cut out AJ's dance then it would be the most awesome music video ever, because that is crazy good. (And I'm sorry, does anyone else think the guy in the white shirt looks like Justin? lol)
At some points I was questioning whether this video was really about furries, or if it was meant to be like a fantasy/dream kind of thing, where he's literally playing off the "wildlife" theme. Like, the NYc club scene of the jungle or something. The lights and the giant blue bubbles in the odd club background give it a dream-like quality, I think; plus all of the animals are *completely* animal, and really don't look human at all. (Also, why is the cat the only one with nipples? Or lingerie? Am I the only one that's confused by this?) That and the lyrics suggest that it's more metaphoric, about escaping and living a wild fantasy--a feeling I can totally get on board with. It is a little odd that AJ's fantasies include well-endowed zebras, but then again I feel like I shouldn't be surprised by anything that comes out of him now.
I guess to sum up my feelings, this is a pretty awesome song, and I felt like it could have had a really awesome music video. But AJ's got to be different. lol He gets major points for creativity over Nick, anyway. Did you find the furries cute, or disturbing, or are they actually supposed to be animals and not furries? Either way, I think AJ has invented a new genre, crack!video. Because that is seriously what this feels like. lol I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more dancing in his next video and less fur.
Click to viewFrom the beginning it looks like an awesome video, the dark colors, edgy setting, AJ out for a night on the town with friends. He looks so spiffy in his matching jacket and fedora, and he's got the nose ring (♥) and the dance beat starts up. Then things get weird.
First sign that this is not going to be the average club video is AJ whipping out a picture of a chipmunk, with a heart around it. To be totally honest, first time I saw this video, I face-palmed. I expected something, different, maybe, probably something borderline disturbing, because it is AJ. But this really isn't edgy or dirty at all; his love interest is a cute little chipmunk. And I know he's doing this totally tongue-in-cheek, but seriously man...furries? The full extent of the weirdness is revealed when they walk into the club, and it's filled with gyrating animals--I'm sorry, gyrating people in giant animal costumes. I love how the rest of his friends look confused at this point, while AJ looks excited. I bet AJ does this to his friends a lot. Actually I feel like there's a really good fic idea in there somewhere.
Between clips of the cat on the stripper pole (I guess this is a furry strip club...I can't decide if the cuddly-looking animals make it adorable and kind of innocent-looking, or that much more disturbing) we see AJ's chipmunk love interest. I have to wonder who would sign up to do that. Well, I can imagine plenty of people would sign up to play his love interest, and then their reaction when oh, by the way you're actually going to be dressed like a chipmunk. After the bathroom scene, I had to call this video disturbing. So AJ walks into the bathroom and there's a zebra standing there. Ok, fine. (Insert bathroom jokes here.) Then AJ has to pointedly stare at it and from his expression the zebra is clearly packing. It's like, it's not enough to have a music video with dancing furries, but he has to make it crass too.
The one redeeming thing about this video is the awesome dancing, thank you Wade Robson. As AJ is serenading the chipmunk (whose head is about four times the size of AJ's, and could probably eat him in two gulps if it was a real giant chipmunk. I always thought AJ was afraid of clowns, but apparently he's cool with giant animals) the lion challenges him to a dance-off. And we have a wild-west type stare down, where AJ looks so freaking gorgeous, and the lion is about to eat him alive. But instead of eating him, it breaks into a dance routine. And a really awesome dance routine at that. I think if I could just cut out AJ's dance then it would be the most awesome music video ever, because that is crazy good. (And I'm sorry, does anyone else think the guy in the white shirt looks like Justin? lol)
At some points I was questioning whether this video was really about furries, or if it was meant to be like a fantasy/dream kind of thing, where he's literally playing off the "wildlife" theme. Like, the NYc club scene of the jungle or something. The lights and the giant blue bubbles in the odd club background give it a dream-like quality, I think; plus all of the animals are *completely* animal, and really don't look human at all. (Also, why is the cat the only one with nipples? Or lingerie? Am I the only one that's confused by this?) That and the lyrics suggest that it's more metaphoric, about escaping and living a wild fantasy--a feeling I can totally get on board with. It is a little odd that AJ's fantasies include well-endowed zebras, but then again I feel like I shouldn't be surprised by anything that comes out of him now.
I guess to sum up my feelings, this is a pretty awesome song, and I felt like it could have had a really awesome music video. But AJ's got to be different. lol He gets major points for creativity over Nick, anyway. Did you find the furries cute, or disturbing, or are they actually supposed to be animals and not furries? Either way, I think AJ has invented a new genre, crack!video. Because that is seriously what this feels like. lol I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more dancing in his next video and less fur.