July 20, 2004
Mass Destruction - Dance Pop Goes Activist
filed under: Idle ChatterEvery once in a while you run into something so cool that it gives you an ice cream headache of coolness. The purity and force of the coolness is to regular coolness as crack is to regular cocaine. The high will probably be shorter, but it's quite a rush.
The video for Mass Destruction by Faithless caused me just such a suspended moment of breathless admiration.
First of all, MC Maxi Jazz has the best onscreen presence of, let's say, anyone ever. Second, the beat is infectious and is a live track on actual instruments - refreshing for dance music. Third, the video is impeccably built. Fourth, and probably most importantly, the lyrics are politically meaningful in a pop catchy way without being annoying (and god bless the Beastie Boys but some of the lyrics on To The 5 Boroughs are just poor).
Go check out the video here for Quicktime, or here for Real Player.
Not all the lyrics hold up out of context, but one refrain at the end stands to serve as theme of the summer of 2004:
We need to find courage, overcome Inaction is a weapon of mass destruction Inaction is a weapon of mass destruction Inaction is a weapon of mass destructionPosted by rjt at July 20, 2004 04:31 PM