Full disclosure: If it has women in it, I’m going to like it. If I can dance to it, I’m going to like it more. If it’s a little weird I’m really gonna like it. Thus, when our managing editor sent me the link to Trash Kit’s video for “Medicine” off their new album “Confidence” My first thought was “ohhhhhh this is great” before immediately checking their facebook page to see if any of my friends had liked them and I was behind on the trends.
The song is a little X-Ray Spex and a little TV On The Radio, a lot “post-punk,” which is my shorthand for “this is not a traditional punk song and you can eat it, too.”
It’s not only that I want to marry Rachel Horwood’s drums in this song (do you think they’ll have me?) or go Ursula on Rachel Aggs’ lead vocals,
The video! The video that seems like someone’s incredibly excellent interdisciplinary thesis, (which is a compliment!). I’m jealous that I wasn’t asked to be a part of Memories (honestly, why don’t more bands call up their friends and say “hey come dance in my video, you’re gonna be a forest spirit, don’t worry about it”)?
I’ve even crafted a narrative for myself about this video after weeks of close (repeated) watching. There’s this element of eerie and omniscience. Like is the band in some fairy circle summoning guidance (medicine?) but the nymphs, fairies and spirits go rouge and Aggs is taken away by the fairies. Probably never to return.
(I read a lot of magic books as a youth, don’t summon anything guys, ever. But it makes for great stories.)
“Terror/ she can’t tell/ you can’t tell/ if she’s asleep /or she’s awake”
We’re in what I’ve decided is a Tennis Court Forest. Harwood’s drums have leaves on them in preparation for our their summoning (perhaps?).
“Medicine/Medicine/ I know/ Keeps me strong /When I’m listening/ Let’s go”
I actually think this song is about music, and it’s power to stop, start or change your life when you need it most, but MOSTLY I am way into these forest spirits! Their choreo is top notch, seriously, why there isn’t more coordinated movement outside of pop videos? Get on this people. There’s a need. No one likes just watching a band in appropriate mood lighting play the song; we want dance moves and creepy forest giants.
At 2:23 everything starts to get a little menacing, and little skulking, a lot of anticipation. That’s my favorite part of attending concerts, when within a song when almost everything drops out, and you’re waiting in an almost silence and you realize, it smells like tension, beer and sweat. But the energy starts building and everyone in the crowd is moving in closer, no one’s moshing but you’re in the mob, touching it, and then the guitar starts to everyone’s back up moving, dancing, this is your medicine, right, this what you came here for, and we tear the band off stage.
This post was written by notalexus. Thanks girl!