The secret ingredient to anything special is authenticity. You ever notice that you’re happiest when you are true to yourself? The same can be said for music and music videos. Take a look at “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses for example. The song was written by Axl Rose about his future wife and girlfriend at the time Erin Everly. The accompanying video shared some great moments with the band, their girlfriends, their crew, and Izzy’s dog. Or if that’s not modern enough for you, look at “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The song was written about Liars’ frontman Angus Andrew and the video is particularly special due to the very real feelings of Karen O breaking down while shooting (Andrew was late to the video shoot). The Cold War Kids are following a similar pattern with their video for “The Audience” from their recently released EP, Behave Yourself.
“The Audience” was shot with band and girlfriends in tow near the Pacific Ocean. The video has a great texture to it, with some warm colors, quick cuts, and shaky pans to daily scenes. The men are fixated on their interests; the women seem just a tad annoyed or dismissive but fear not for these couples. Things shift so subtly towards the end as the gazed is focused on the women, and the men figure out what’s really important. The song is vintage Cold War Kids with some nice keys, some stomping drums, and some earnest vocals focused on the trials and tribulations of choosing the wrong thing when the right thing was there all along. In the end, all you need is a little love, the right priorities, and a bit of stability.
