Nervous Heartbeat: a homemade pop video

[imomus]

Back in February I offered you the first taste of the forthcoming Momus album Ocky Milk in the form of Frilly Military: a homemade pop video. Today I'm delighted to offer you another -- my own video for the song "Nervous Heartbeat". Click the picture to watch it on YouTube.



The song's lyrics are based on Japanese onomatopoeia, the colourful Japanese phrases which express something like an emotion by copying its "sound" -- even if it doesn't technically have one. (What's the sound of a painful condition? Zuki zuki. A glittering spakle? Why, pika pika of course!). You could see the song as an ultra-emotional way of learning a language.

The video shows a sequence of people I happened to meet in New York in April. I asked them to look sad, but the atmosphere of the song is perhaps best described as sensual, full of mono no aware (the "sigh-ness" of things) and natsukashii, nostalgia, or the longing for that which has never been. Nostalgia for an absent person, perhaps, or one you haven't met yet.

Speaking of love and couples, the article you helped me with last week, The Kinsey of Clicking, is now up on Wired News. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Comments

[wingedwhale.livejournal.com]

懐かしがりや

[antonskarp.livejournal.com]

It just dawned on me that pikachu is called pika because of the sound of electricity (pika pika) and the sound of mice. (chu chu)

[reggie-c-king.livejournal.com]

A decent effort altogether, Nick, but I wonder from whence were those lovely strings untimely ripped?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

A pirate never reveals his samples, sir! 'Tis an old superstition; to utter their names might bring the Chinese session musicians of 1952 back from their peaceful rest, demanding Hell Bank Notes.

[222b.livejournal.com]

I like it. Can't wait for the album.

I give it 5oive

[(Anonymous)]

Best track i've heard from you in a looongg time. Timelordish in places. Is it reperesentitive of the album? I do hope so.

Re: I give it 5oive

[imomus.livejournal.com]

It's representative of the album's torchy, Enka feel, yes. Everything on this record is warm and sentimental. Other tracks get more "absurdist torch", like "Pleasantness", based entirely on extracts from Google-translated Japanese blogs; crooned grammatical errors and oddities. I tried to catch an atmosphere both experimental and warm, familiar and strange.

[reggie-c-king.livejournal.com]

I trust it is only in the UK that performance rights last only fifty years before passing into the public domain. Until Sir Cliff has his way.

[intergalactim.livejournal.com]

i like it,
will there be a downloadable version?

the clouds (?) moving across their faces is somehow very New York!
re-reading your plan for recording Ocky Milk the other day, made me think of the Mashroom Haircat album you worked on. "experimental and warm, familiar and strange" describes that one perfectly for me too.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Actually one track on the Mashcat album was re-recorded for Ocky, "Dialtone". So that's a good connection to make!

[(Anonymous)]

I like it. Good song (return to form, if I may say patronisingly), nice video. You should post a link to videos.antville.org .

der.

[happyat2pm.livejournal.com]

at first, the strings sound like they are from the christmas song " i saw mommy kissing santa claus"

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Thanks, have done.

[a-tagide.livejournal.com]

natsukashii is maybe the same feeling as "saudade" (portuguese)

I Am Not Superstitious!!

[zzberlin.livejournal.com]

<< A pirate never reveals his samples, sir! 'Tis an old superstition; to utter their names might bring the Chinese session musicians of 1952 back from their peaceful rest, demanding Hell Bank Notes. >>

To Hell with superstitions, Psshaw!

The best artists reveal their influences openly because they appreciate connecting with their audience in that way. As in, "hey, I heard that bit too in Led Zeppelin!"

Then this insight and connection inspires further creativity on the part of the original listener. S/he wants to make something different from yours. And s/he becomes inspired and does so. Then you have something utterly new, that you created, in a way.

Viral art is the only way to change the world. MOMUS, you stand in its way by guarding your thought processes so closely.

Or maybe you were teasing and I'm being waay too serious.

[(Anonymous)]

beautifull video.
i really like the other people.maybe if you would just used you.or trees or something it would have been pathetic.but you made it beautifull and the whole emotion expresion real.
like it.
the open id thing doesn't work
so the url identifing me is:http://felipov.this.ro
funny to have an url identifing you

[markii187.livejournal.com]

Wonderful piece.. I love the Japanese obsession with creating a sound for every emotion/feeling/visual possible.. You captured that brilliantly and expressively. Well done!

Awesome video too - the trees! mm~ very natsukashii..

[cheapsurrealist.livejournal.com]

Beutiful song.

loved the searchlights on the trees.

was somewhat dissapointed at first when one shot revealed that they actually were searchlights.

but then I came to like that shot.

seems like a "searching" video

Great Work.

[inwards.livejournal.com]

I took a visit to Berlin this weekend and had Frilly Military in my head the whole time because of the "puffing on a spliff on Alexanderplatz" line.. but it was at least fairly pleasant to have in my head ;)

[(Anonymous)]

Great music. Great video.

Reminds me of Kazumasa Hashimoto's (http://home.att.ne.jp/star/bd/) song: "gllia"

niko niko

[cityramica.livejournal.com]

brian's shirt looks nice.

i'd say more but i'm being attacked by zombies.

apologies.

[thetemplekeeper.livejournal.com]

Very enjoyable, and I'm not even drunk.

Thank you!

[hans-lucas.livejournal.com]

I try not to listen to songs before I can hear it in context of the whole album, but I broke my own rule here. I am glad I did. I was able to draw some of my own personal experiences to the video as well.

Thank you for sharing.

[penguinkeggard.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the article, bravo!

[designsbykarl.livejournal.com]

great video and nice song