The band HER releases two new music videos as a short film
At just under 12 minutes, “You Remember Me”, the first music video movie from the band HER, really is a mini-movie. And a friggin’ awesome one at that! Not only does it serve as a platform to showcase their two songs, “Chain Reaction” and “Taking Up Space”, which serve as the greater part of the mini-movie’s soundtrack, but it gives the band an opportunity to have a lot of fun, while paying homage to a particular genre of filmmaking.
NOSTALGIC APPEAL
As a GenXer myself, I was hooked within the first few seconds as the film style of the opening credits ran like the beginning of some sort of late 70s, early 80s B-rated production, complete with low-quality sound effects and graphics that were, no doubt, intentional. The ‘film’ was dirty, overexposed, and burnt, as if they had dug up 40-year old footage from some underground, seedy basement. One could tell that this mini-movie wasn’t going to take itself too seriously and I loved that!
TARANTINO WOULD BE PROUD
Firstly, what I love most about “You Remember Me” is that it’s not just for music fans; it’s also for movie buffs. As I watched the video for the first time (and the second time, and then third), I kept thinking about Quentin Tarantino movies. Personally, I’m a big fan of his original filmmaking style. When one watches a Tarantino movie, you KNOW it’s a Tarantino movie. With that being said, “You Remember Me” was like watching a Tarantino short, all while knowing that it was NOT actually made by Tarantino, but rather by a bunch of independent creatives and musicians on a limited budget who are clearly huge fans as well. Pretty impressive, guys. Well done.
Furthermore, the nods to the great filmmaker himself were plentiful; I thoroughly enjoyed trying to find all the cinematic ‘Easter eggs’, my favorite being HER frontwoman Monique Shaffile’s character. The eye patch, the long blonde hair, and general ‘don’t F with me’ attitude nodded (or should I say ‘winked’, pun intended) heavily to the one-eyed character of Elle Driver in the Kill Bill series, played famously by Darryl Hannah. Additionally, I very much appreciated the opening definition of “chain reaction”, and title cards used to set up scenes. Very Tarantino-esque. Tarantino fans will also enjoy the use of familiar settings, the gun standoffs, overall ‘grindhouse’ feel, and about a dozen other references.
Finally, I greatly enjoyed the ironic placement of Elvis Presley’s rendition of “How Great Thou Art” as an interlude for the scenes in which the two main characters chain their victim to a tree as a part of their vengeful plan. You see… Tarantino loves Elvis, as well as placing music within scenes when it doesn’t quite make sense. Directors HER, Josh Lockhart, and Caleb Sherman pulled this off brilliantly.
BADASS SONGS
Ok, ok…. so the video is cray cray, but what about the songs themselves? Yup. Totally sick as well. HER’s glittery blend of swampy, retro, hard rock-metal is the perfect soundtrack to their mini-movie. In all honesty, I don’t think Tarantino would have been able to have found better songs to help set the stage for murder, mayhem, and motorcycles. HER does it just right.
Kicking it off is the first song: “Chain Reaction,” a rock song with swampy slide guitar. Within its first verse, Monique sings, “I’m the final fucking chapter!” . In the second song, “Taking Up Space,” which has a cool bounce to it, she sings, “You want fame / Got no shame / You’re taking up space.” It’s obvious that Monique wants us all to know there’s room for only one badass bitch at a time, and right now she’s occupying that spot. Mission accomplished, Mo. All hail the queen, y’all.
PAGING, MR. TARANTINO…?
Without ripping off Tarantino movies, the directors paid respectful homage to his films in a way that I’m confident would make him incredibly proud. It’s like they took a college film course in Tarantino-style filmmaking and blew the final exam out of the water! So, who’s got the hook-up with Mr. QT, himself? ‘Cause he needs to see this. I think Tarantino would love HER’s music video movie. Furthermore, HER’s songs would make great additions to future movie soundtracks. And have you SEEN Monique?! She gives Darryl Hannah a run for her money. Just sayin’.
Anyway, we here at Nashville Unsigned cannot wait to see what HER will come up with next. Might we request a sequel? Maybe one that pays homage to Tim Burton? That could be fun.
NASHVILLE UNSIGNED CAMEO
So, did you catch it?! Yup, that was NU founder Amber Stoneman as one of the bad ‘guys.’ It’s too bad she got her head blown off at the end. We sure liked her. But be sure to look for other NU artists making cameos in the video as well (hint hint: Phenix), SIK WIT, Photog Emily Jones, NU teammate Maria Martin and her parents from Germany, Santa owner of Santa’s Pub, Jonathan League owner of Throw Nashville and Niko owner of COBRA.
FOLLOW HER ONLINE, BUT DON’T FOLLOW HER HOME
So, now that you’re a big fan, follow HER on their official website at https://www.theinfamousher.com and on their socials: Facebook YouTube Soundcloud Instagram Vimeo iTunes
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