Michel Gondry's Irish videos
Mar
3
Written by:
Monday, March 03, 2008
Congratulations to Nialler9 on winning (retaining, we should say) the Music category at the Irish Blog Awards in Dublin last Saturday night. We know some music fans here in Paris who have no Irish connections but who have found his blog and are loyal fans. Chapeau!
[Your Paris correspondent was very happy to have made the final shortlist. Of course, we'd have preferred to have won... but thanks to the judges for their kindness and our readers for your support. If you've just joined us, your curiosity aroused by seeing our link on the list of nominees - bienvenue!]
Nialler recently posted some videos by French director Michel Gondry (right), in the news at the moment for his new movie 'Be Kind Rewind'. Gondry is probably one of the most influential, innovative and celebrated music video directors ever, making the medium a real art form. He has made a quirky yet successful jump into cinema, with idiosyncratic films like 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind' and 'The Science Of Sleep' earning excellent reviews.
Gondry's most famous music videos include his work for Bjork's 'Human Behaviour', Massive Attack's 'Protection' (an amazing song and video) and The White Stripes' 'The Hardest Button To Button'.
But did you know that Gondry has directed videos for three Irish acts?
The first was his debut non-French clip: for 'How The West Was Won' by Belfast band Energy Orchard. We couldn't find any footage of it, but we recall that it features the band playing in front of a screen showing old cowboy movies. It was clever in its way but hardly anything special.
The second was for 'This Is It (Your Soul)' by The Hothouse Flowers. A black-and-white affair, it's a streetscene reflected in a concave mirror. Yes, it's terrible.
More memorable is this video for Sinead O'Connor's ferocious 'Fire On Babylon':