…Pretty fly for a Rabbi: In keeping with the Arts and Culture theme of my recent posts, I decided to peruse through the various fan-made videos on Youtube of this lyric. (And yes, I sincerely believe that outlandish Youtube videos do count as culture, especially in the blogosphere.) So without further ado, here are my three favorite (in no particular order).
Number One: Making a play for consideration among the other great dualities of human history (heaven and hell, yin and yang), the EvilLairProductions video is a constant interplay between energy and lethargy. At 0:30 and 0:56, among others, viewers are exposed to violent head-banging that emblematic of a Metallica concert. But this intensity dwindles at 1:25, when the screen is graced by a trio of the most unenthusiastic video vixens in the history of music.
Number Two: Anime was probably the last type of video I would expect given my search query. I know there are a few Jews throughout Southeast Asia, where Anime originally became popular, but it still took me by surprise. However, after overcoming the initial shock, viewers should prepare for an exhilarating experience. Watch with the sound completely off, and the fast-paced animation is entertaining in its own right. Turning the sound on adds another dimension, and the footage matches the lyrics with impressive accuracy. The only downside is the lack of a rabbi, a character which apparently has not caught on in the Anime world.
Number Three: In my Understanding Television class last semester, I learned about the concept of televisuality. Apparently the creators of this music video are well versed in this production technique, which emphasizes a colorful, flashy visual style (think Miami Vice). By including backgrounds from dark blue/black to pink/yellow, they also give the video a hallucinatory feel. The effect is compounded at 0:50 and 2:10, when constant switching between screen colors adds to the overall trippiness.
