[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "The Videography of A Perfect Circle"
07.11.12
BY MIKEY MIGO
In 2000, I attended my first concert. It was a pretty big deal. I was (and am) a HUGE Nine Inch Nails fan and found myself at the Fragility Tour in Chicago. Before a starch covered Trent Reznor could take the stage a new band called “A Perfect Circle” took the stage. This was before Mer de Noms came out so there wasn’t a whole lot of reference outside of knowing about the member’s past work. All I remember is having my mind blown and the gigantic eerie shadow of a long-wigged Maynard on the wall across from me. Since then, I’ve seen literally hundreds of bands but I’ll always remember that A Perfect Circle was the first band I had the pleasure of seeing live.
The collaboration of Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan has produced a few great albums. It’s the main project that Howerdel is known for. He’s been around for a long time, but APC is clearly his baby. Maynard is most renowned for his vocal insanity in the band Tool. I’m a fan of everything he has done, but I like his work with A Perfect Circle the most. Tool is an experience. You need to almost make sure you’re in the proper atmosphere for Tool. Listening to Tool is like preparing for a night of shrooming or rolling. You could just go at it, but in most cases you need a little prep. In that respect, A Perfect Circle is more like weed. You can just light up and enjoy just about any time you want and get a high from it. Basically… I get just as much substance from APC as Tool, but it’s also more accessible.
Let’s take a look at their videos…
Track: "Judith”
Album: ”Mer de Noms”
Year: 2000
Director: David Fincher
My favorite part of this video is the breakdown where Paz Lenchantin pulls her hair back into a pony tail before getting right back to the song without missing a beat. It feels like it was something done on the fly, but it’s one of those little natural feeling things that make the video that much more engaging. I love this video. There really isn’t much going on, but the way its shot and the vibe it gives off could only be a product of David Fincher’s masterful mind. Howerdel revealed the video was originally supposed to have a storyline, but it had to be scrapped due to time issues. I’m certainly satisfied with the final result. The texture, the cuts, and everything going on makes an easy few minutes of viewing. It helps that the song is incredible. Rating: 9.0
Track: "3 Libras”
Album: ”Mer de Noms”
Year: 2001
Director: Paul Hunter
This is such a great mellow track. It feels almost like its being sung into the echos of a desolate bath tub. There is just something really distant about it. The video is very nicely done. We see candid shots of what seems like the band waiting in a hotel lobby. Their paths cross with a boy who clings to a toy boat. We then cut back and forth between the band waiting around and the boy experiencing a little life. It eventually ends up to where Maynard comes from the water. Somehow there are some half naked women being sexual too. This video is hard to describe, but it’s a pleasure to watch. Really artistic filmmaking here. Rating: 7.5
Track: "Thinking of You”
Album: ”Mer de Noms”
Year: 2002
Director: Steven Grasse
When I saw the band live, I thought this song stood out the most. Even more so than “Judith” at the time. The vocal delivery is awesome and the thudding breakdown is just awesome stuff. The Binkini Bandits are the stars of the video. It’s a detailed story about a group of hot women criminals who go around causing ruckus. They’ll show up again. The whole story with the “golden rod” is a tad on the sleazy cheese side, but it’s funny and entertaining never the less. I like the song more than the video, but I’m not hating on it at all. Rating: 6.5
Track: "Weak and Powerless”
Album: ”Thirteenth Step”
Year: 2003
Director: Brothers Strause
I don’t know why but I feel like I neglect this song and this entire album way more than I should. I love this song, but it’s not the first of APC’s work that comes to mind. The video reminds me more of a Tool video than anything. We follow the wanderings of a wild long haired woman. She crawls around as we see random vermin and crawly things. She gathers various reptiles and throws them into a pit of evil. It’s an engaging video, but I’ll forget about it sooner than most. Rating: 7.0
Track: "The Outsider”
Album: ”Thirteenth Step”
Year: 2004
Director: Steven Grasse
“Judith” and “Passive” seem to be the band’s biggest hits. I love those two songs and I’m not alone. Still, I think “The Outsider” is up there. It’s in a few of the Resident Evil soundtracks among other places. It’s one of those songs that has such a dominate melody and presence that it works perfectly for dramatic action scenes. The video got a lot of play too. The “Bikini Bandits” return! This video got more love so they probably didn’t know about the “Thinking of You” connection. Here the girls cause more chaos while looking really hot. The weird news report and action shots are cool. It reminds me of the grindhouse stuff that Tarantino and Rodriguez were going for. Good stuff. Rating: 7.5
Track: "Blue”
Album: ”Thirteenth Step”
Year: 2004
Director: Joseph Perez
Like “Weak and Powerless” this is a song that I haven’t given much love to. Of this entire video collection, it’s one song that I wouldn’t know any words to unless I heard the familiar chords. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, it means I’ve been slacking off. For the video, the band had a fan-video contest. That’s pretty cool. The video tells a story about a woman who can’t come to terms with the death of her husband. It eats at her to the point she digs him up to be with him again. There is a long portion of the video where the woman sits at a dinner table and talks to her dead husband. It’s a very well done video and is as beautiful as it is crazy. Powerful video. Rating: 8.5
Track: "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums”
Album: ”eMOTIVe”
Year: 2004
Director: Nick Paparone, Paul Thiel, Steven Grasse
This song was used for a few trailers and got out there a lot too. The marching war drums are intense. The song is compelling, but for me it’s not a song that I can listen to a lot. The drums are just too intense to listen out of the context of a full listen of the album. The video is a little strange, but it works. It’s an animation that takes you on a fun journey through the evils of corporate America. It’s a really simplistic looking video. The animation isn’t ground breaking or anything, but it’s not without its own style. The imagery is engaging and makes you want to keep staring at it and absorbing the music. This video reminds me how evil George W. Bush was. Never forget! Rating: 7.0
Track: "Imagine”
Album: ”eMOTIVe”
Year: 2004
Director: Gerald Casale
This is Maynard James Keenan covering John Lennon’s “Imagine”. Of course it’s going to be great. Maynard brings a haunting and darker tone to the song, but still does the original classic a fair amount of justice. I always felt this song came off a little dry though. It’s a compelling listen and Maynard’s voice is on full display, but it doesn’t grab my by the neck like I’d hope. The video tries, but doesn’t either. It’s a fake looking news report with a montage of random scenes of war, poverty, celebrations, George Bush, evil leaders, the pope, dolphins, and a lot more. It’s much in the same vein as “Counting Bodies”. It doesn’t shy away from its political stances. It’s well edited and all of that stuff, but nothing here makes me want to watch the video over and over again. The coolest part is the creepy astronaut baby singing along. Other than that, it’s a tad boring. Rating: 5.5
Track: "Passive”
Album: ”eMOTIVe”
Year: 2005
Director: Brothers Strause
This is one of the band’s strongest tunes for sure. On any given day you’d get the answer of “Passive” or “Judith” when asking me what my favorite A Perfect Circle song is. The melody, the break downs, the lyrics, and the tone make this one of the best rock songs released in the past ten years. The video on the other hand is on the weaker side of things. It’s a soundtrack video for the movie Constantine. I enjoyed the movie, but this song deserved its own stand-alone video. We get a lot of clips from the movie mixed in with a weird negative-heat source looking performance section. Its cool looking, but I want more. Rating: 6.5
What is YOUR favorite A Perfect Circle music video?
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