"Boy, Boy, Boy" video

[holden]

It's up in the members section of UWLive. Directed by Simon Taylor.

What do you think?

My feeling is...some beautiful images, but a lot of waiting for very little payoff. If ever there was an UW song that can almost be deciphered literally, this is one, and to me, the images have nothing to do with the song's sentiment, other than there's a boy.

And your thoughts?

[dubman]

the less it has to do with the song, the better.
it almost makes it tolerable actually, the faux-cool sway of that song brought up some really tired, mid-90s vibes that i was really hating in addition to not liking the music, so this at least helpes to change that a bit.

the video itself is really likeable though. it might be too beautifully shot for the subject, but thats probably the goal of it too.

at least the twist is good enough to keep me from spoiling it, i'll just say i've done this enough times and to have it be seen like this is really humorous.
the more i think about it, the more it's a pretty fantastic video to me, it allows this abstract observation of people while being a proper video with a semi-clever twist going for it. needless to say it's very beautiful, and it actually helps to put a really crappy song in a much better light.

[negative1]

i'm sorry, the video didn't really help.
the song was weak on its own, and
this video didn't really do much either..
(compared to the 'crocodile' one)..

later
-1

[joethelion]

ok - maybe it's because I wasn't paying complete attention to the video when I watched it...

but I didn't see ANY twist in the video at all...

I dunno... maybe it's just b/c I really really really didn't picture Boy Boy Boy as the second single (or really even as a 'potential single')

now like... "holding the moth" "beautiful burnout" maybe like a live ep for 'glam bucket' ... hell - even "Ring Road" to me makes more sense as a single than "boy boy boy"

[dubman]

it's not a twist so much of a "oh"

this is about a million times better than crocodile

[gaborez]

i like the song. it's great - but it's not the sound of underworld that i like the most. it's not an underworld song in my definition of what an underworld song sounds like. it's not the underworld sound that made me an underworld fan.

the video is good but not groundbreaking. it's art. it's a video. but it's not a video i want to watch over and over.

but it's deffo underworld so i'm :)

[crazysugarboy]

Methinks underworld should be like led zepp and not release singles at all. For starters, how can you sum up the the underworld experience in a 3 and a half minute single? However, having said that, I like the song "Boy boy boy" and I like the vid - it appears to reflect the insane craving for adoration/stardom, no matter how minor.

[The359]

OK, I've watched the video twice now and I think someone's going to have to explain this to me. I'm not really seeing a twist, or I'm seeing one but don't think it's that much of a twist? I don't know.

The song works well, and the video is lovely, but I don't really think the lyrics work well with the images, from my interpretation at least.

[cacophony]

i thought the visuals were really appealing. the slomo and the color composition and lighting were all very pleasing to the eye. i thought it deviated appropriately from their typical visual style, which was suitable considering how much the song itself deviates from their musical style.

but my poll options were sort of "ultimate video stylee!" or "gag me a thousand times." which left me with "hmm, lukewarm" as the only option i could choose.

i feel less lukewarm and more approving, but i certainly wouldn't rank it among favorite underworld videos.

[cacophony]

OK, I've watched the video twice now and I think someone's going to have to explain this to me. I'm not really seeing a twist, or I'm seeing one but don't think it's that much of a twist? I don't know.

The song works well, and the video is lovely, but I don't really think the lyrics work well with the images, from my interpretation at least.

the twist is that the accolades are all in the kid's head. it's not a massive twist, and i certainly wouldn't call it a surprise. but it's a twist nonetheless.


and regarding the comments that have remarked on the appropriateness of the visuals per the lyrics, i don't know that that's a requirement of all music videos. in fact, i would say it's rarely a requirement for most music videos. it's not a rock opera, the lyrics don't have to be acted out word for word. i would have been disappointed if all the visuals did was show a boy wrapping his arms 'round a skinny thing.

[qirex]

Saw it, never need to watch it again. Kind of boring.

[dubman]

looks like he was just running to catch the bus.
have you ever done that? it's like a major struggle to catch a vehicle that gets resolved in 20 seconds. either you catch it or you dont, and then everything is back to normal...

[txjaxx]

For some reason, none of the streaming QT works on my PC. I have the latest version - anyone else have solutions?

[crank]

i love the feel of it
it's what I would have put on a video.
really. i love the plastic lighting simon has done here. really nice.

why does a video have to have a twist or a point?

[The359]

Well see, this is what I didn't get. He runs through the crowd and stops and turns around at the bus stop. But at the end of the video when you see the bus pulling away, you actually see someone run from the right of the screen to the left, which I assume is the boy. So I don't quite see how he missed the bus if he had time to stop and turn around.

To me at least, it almost seemed as if the boy felt as if he was letting down all those who congratulated him. I know the lyrics don't necessarily have to match, but the line "I like to hurt myself like this sometimes" right when he turns around makes me think it might have been intentional.

I don't know, this one is perplexing...

[gillenium]

Wow... that sucked! I mean, I'm one of the few who like the song and I went in with an open mind and everything.... but there's nothing in the world that can convince me that this was a good video. I hope they drop Simon Taylor QUICKLY! His videos are so boring.

[dubman]

I hope they drop Simon Taylor QUICKLY!

classy.

[cacophony]

Well see, this is what I didn't get. He runs through the crowd and stops and turns around at the bus stop. But at the end of the video when you see the bus pulling away, you actually see someone run from the right of the screen to the left, which I assume is the boy. So I don't quite see how he missed the bus if he had time to stop and turn around.

To me at least, it almost seemed as if the boy felt as if he was letting down all those who congratulated him. I know the lyrics don't necessarily have to match, but the line "I like to hurt myself like this sometimes" right when he turns around makes me think it might have been intentional.

I don't know, this one is perplexing...

i didn't get the feeling the kid was running to catch the bus or that he'd missed it. i got the feeling that he was just goofing off, being a kid, imaginging people crowding him and cheering him on like a champion footballer. a kid caught up in a moment of sheer silly fantasy. then at the end he turns and looks and of course it's an empty road. just him and the rain and his imagination.

i don't think it was supposed to be plot-driven or deep.

[mmm skyscraper]

I wish I could see it on DVD. Crocodile made a lot more sense on a bigger screen.

[m.g.]

i didn't get the feeling the kid was running to catch the bus or that he'd missed it. i got the feeling that he was just goofing off, being a kid, imaginging people crowding him and cheering him on like a champion footballer. a kid caught up in a moment of sheer silly fantasy. then at the end he turns and looks and of course it's an empty road. just him and the rain and his imagination.

i don't think it was supposed to be plot-driven or deep. Exactly as I think & I just love this video. VoilÃ*.

[dubman]

crocodile sucked
this is good.

music-wise it's opposite
but then again switching the videos wouldn't work either.

:(

[bryantm3]

i think it would've been more effective if at the end when the synths come in, it showed the boy turning around and looking back down an empty street, as if it were all in his imagination.

that being said, it's on par with the rest of underworld's music videos, meaning none of them live up to the music, and most of them are pointless.

[the mongoose]

Quicktime won't work for me unless I download and play in VLC so anyone got a link by any chance?;)

Love the song, and I think it's very accessable to the casual listener (vs. us uberfans) b/c it's the one track on the album that when I play it, my techno hating friends don't badger me to "turn that shit off now" or "can't we listen to the radio or something?!?".:p

[King of Snake]

not sure if that's actually a good thing though Mongoose :)

The video...well it has some pretty lighting and slomo images, and a lot of ugly people... and I kinda fast-forwarded trough most of it because it was so boring.

[gormster]

Video didn't really go anywhere. A nice departure from the normal Tomato mess but it could've been done better.

I think this is actually pretty obvious as the second single; I love Holding the Moth (which will forever be Globe to me) but it's not exactly accessible. And Beautiful Burnout isn't radio material; it's great music and it's accessible, but it's not attention grabbing. The beat is what's going to get people to listen.

(off topic: Has anyone noticed that the track titles on OwB have far more to do with their songs than previous albums? Beautiful Burnout, Holding the Moth and Boy Boy Boy are all actually named for their main lyrics.)

[BeautifulBurnout]

Quicktime won't work for me unless I download and play in VLC so anyone got a link by any chance?;)



Same here, for some reason, with all the vids on UWlive. I have tried dwl'g the latest version of quicktime, tried it on firefox and IE. I give up.

No, I'm NOT buying a Mac! :p

[King of Snake]

(off topic: Has anyone noticed that the track titles on OwB have far more to do with their songs than previous albums? Beautiful Burnout, Holding the Moth and Boy Boy Boy are all actually named for their main lyrics.)
well BF had a lot of tracks with names referring to the lyrics as well: King of Snake, Moaner, Bruce Lee, Winjer, Push (Upstairs), Something Like a Mama...
What about Mmmm...Skyscraper I Love You, Dark & Long, Spoonman, River of Bass...
STITI doesn't seem to have any titles-lyrics connections though (except there a spoken word sample that says confusion the waitress). AHDO doesn't seem to have any either. I guess it skips an album every time :)

[Blueski]

The video is good. I'm not complaining, I enjoyed it.

Still.

Not. Great.

[Dirty0900]

Always liked the song, dont understand why people dont. The lyrics are pretty dark with the chants of "I like to hurt myself", so its an adventuros choice for a 2nd single, sure the PC correcting parade will have a go at Underworld for being some sort of emo self harming nu wave fad band;)

Video is really nice, love the way its shot and is a lot harder then setting up a camera, pressing record and then slowing the footage down in Avid or something similar. It has a movie style feel to it to me, so i do quite like it. Videos dont really need to have full of action going on and a whole storyline. Hell, look at Jumbo, what was going on there? That was really odd. Even the one for KOS was a little odd with the work out part, but still a little funny. If Underworld were all about making videos, then i'd start to worry.

I hope if theres a third release from the record its Holding The Moth or possibly even Ring Road. Ring Road could easily have the whole story of Karls lyrics being painted to us and Holding The Moth could have no end of ideas attached to it.

[kowalski__]

bad casting.

[irishboy]

love the song, not the video i expected but i think that's a good thing. one satisfied punter here :D

[toilet trained]

i think the song is pretty amazing...i think in terms of single quality, why not...sure its a bit crazy, the structure is hard to pin down...but would be brilliant to hear on rage (oz music vid programme) late night

as for the video...3 minutes of a boy running through a group of people gets a bit boring...like the end 'twist'...but im finding it hard to actually focus on the entire video at all

[BeautifulBurnout]

I had to choose "lukewarm" even though it is more than that, but not "wow, this is how a vid should be done". I am certainly not disappointed with it but it is not the best video I have ever seen in my life either. Nicely done though. A very creative take given what I am assuming is a limited budget compared to some bands. Interprets the essence of the story in the lyrics withoutdoing a word for word film of it. I like it.

And I love the song - I liked it when I first heard it, and it grows on me with each listen.

[holden]

i watched it again, and though maybe "hate" is a little harsh, it's probably my least favorite UW video ever. Though "crocodile" is a single camera shot, the superimposed layers of karl and Rick moving about are very cool, very dynamic, and added on top, the colorful lightshow recalls vid for "Pearls Girl" and "Dark train".

Maybe it's the fact that Larry Mullen Jr. was involved with the percussion, and the kinda late 80's-early 90's feel of the tune, but i can't help seeing the cover of U2's "Boy" along with this running kid.

I agree that the idea of high-fiving on the way to catching the train is "cute", but it doesn't sustain through the whole video. You're left with a disappointed "oh" rather than what could have been a truly cool pay-off to end a rather drab video.

[dubman]

i watched it again, and though maybe "hate" is a little harsh, it's probably my least favorite UW video ever.

cough, dinoadventure3d, cough

[mondokat]

I had some troubles with quicktime, but after I logged in, I viewed the source and copied and pasted this:

http://www.underworldlive.com/members-only-content/boy-boy-boy/mainColumnParagraphs/0/asset/boyboyboy_ref.mov

into the address bar and it worked. Not sure what the deal is on the main page, though.

[mondokat]

ok, and now I've seen the video for the first time (and since I don't have OWB yet, I've heard the song for the first time as well). My opinion is that the video is a little slow. If it was about 15-30 seconds shorter, it'd be great, but it drags in the middle a bit. The song is pretty good too, but I think suffers the same problem. It has a nice ramp up about 1/3 of the way in, but then never really goes anywhere with it. Maybe that's the point, though...

[cacophony]

Maybe it's the fact that Larry Mullen Jr. was involved with the percussion, and the kinda late 80's-early 90's feel of the tune, but i can't help seeing the cover of U2's "Boy" along with this running kid.

haha very good point. kid even had a similar haircut, although i might be reaching with that.

[holden]

cough, dinoadventure3d, cough

Agreed, that's not the best, either, but at least it has some energy and interesting visuals befitting the track.

In my book, the UW vids (best to worst) go like this:

Rez
Cowgirl
Dark Train
Spikee
Push Upstairs
Pearls Girl
Spoonman
Most 'Ospitable
Born Slippy.NUXX
King of Snake
Moaner
Two Months Off
Crocodile
Jumbo
Dinosaur Adventure 3D
Banstyle
Oich Oich
Boy,Boy,Boy

But, to each their own.

[the mongoose]

Thanks Mondokat....but it's sort of like thanking you for a turd.:D;)

Yuck....terrible vid for a great song. Better than the "Good Morning Cockerel" one I suppose.:rolleyes:

What happened to the awesome tomato computer graphic stuff.....was V2 footing the bill or something b/c since the EE dvd I've seen nothing AT ALL that compares. Hula Hooping fat fucks, wet Karl dancing in a puddle, and boys running in slo-mo is terrible stuff.....needless to say if that is what Footwear Repairs 2 was comprised of I'd never go out of my way to buy it.......the Jumbo vid was the last great one I suppose.:(

[negative1]

the Jumbo vid was the last great one I suppose.:(

jumbo was good?

try 'push upstairs'..

later
-1

[galama]

I thought that there would be a twist near the end where Boy Boy Boy will get sick of all the tapping on his shoulder. I was scanning for change of emotions in his face and noticed there is not pattern...or should i say, a story. There is a boy and a crowd, and that is the only things that relate the video to the track. The rain was kind of funny to follow because it wasn't pouring, it wasn't raining...it was just sprinkling, adding motion in the general picture.
In the end, it's not a mediocre video at all. I am still on the fence about this new direction in UW videos....all of them are just one scene, one setting, no motion(if you exclude overlapping contoures in Crocodile)...very minimalistic.