Video of The Day: The Longcut

There’s a bunch of videos out there. Some of them are good. Some of them are a cut above. I like to think my picks for Video of The Day are a cut (or two) above.

To my immense delight, one of this week's installments of Tim's Twitter Listening Party was a celebration of The Longcut's immense 2006 long player A Call and Response, which just so happens to be one of my favorite records to come out of the Naughts.

A favorite from this Mancunian maelstrom was/is/always will be "Vitamin C." The song starts with an ethereal, Eno-esque glow, a hint of frisson crackling just under the surface as some serious tension builds within the song's pulsating, beating heart beats and palpably lovestruck lyrics (delivered with raw perfection through Stuart Ogilvie's trademark howls, plaintive against the swells of industrial dance grooves). The lovestruck part comes as no surprise, given that, according to Ogilvie, the song was written for his missus - "It’s about realising that you’re falling in love with someone while at the same time missing them terribly." Pardon me while I swoon.

The video, while not necessarily the most romantic visual, plays on the idea of distance, at least in the opening moments - with glitchy shots of green fields and roadways and other aerial scenes. Much of the video takes the viewer on a walking tour through different city neighborhoods, perhaps as a means of walking to distract yourself from being lovesick. An absorbing clip to go along with this gorgeous song.

If you missed the listening party, check out the replay here. And if you missed A Call and Response the first time around, there's no time like right now to dive in.   

[posted 8.15.20]