The Black Seeds “Sort It Out”

2004-black-seeds-sort-it-outThe Black Seeds get motivational with “Sort It Out”, only the chorus’ euphemistic “get up off your backside” sounds more like the nagging of a mum to her lazy 15-year-old. Come on, the lawn’s not going to mow itself.

We see the band performing in a white studio space, with the upside-down stripes of the German flag and/or the mixed-up stripes of the Waikato flag running horizontally along the walls. We also meet a lazy-arse dude who’s slobbing around his house, watching the Black Seeds on his telly.

There’s some sort of magical connection between the two as whatever Mr Lazy does affects the band. If he has a cig, the band are engulfed in smoke. When he scrapes his leftovers into the rubbish, the band are covered in food scraps. He’s inspired by the message of the lyrics, but at a very messy cost to the band.

It’s a classic “torture” the band” video. The problem with the genre is that it can be a rather gross experience watching a whole lot of crap flying around. When the band end up performing up to their knees in filthy water, it’s difficult to feel inspired by the lyrics.

I feel like there was a really good idea at the core of this video – a Dorian Gray-like transformation – but the opportunity to have some clever fun with the idea was missed at the expense of cheap gross-out lolz.

Best bit: the full wineglass on the coffee table, the sign of a man who’s given up.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… putting in some overtime.

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