Male Bonding - ‘Year’s Not Long’

If you haven’t seen this, it’s best if you watch it now before reading the rest of this post, because SPOILER ALERT (I hate that phrase, and in most cases the idea) it will kinda possibly, ruin the twist for you. Then you can read, and watch it a second time, perhaps spotting a few things in the first half you didn’t notice before.

Basically, this is a video pitched at the name of the band rather than the song itself, although the shifts in direction of the video are quite well matched to changes in that of the music. It’s deliberately challenging and confusing, not sexually (unless you’ve really got your head up your ass, so to speak) so much as what it might say about the band and what they might want to say, but ultimately I guess it’s about different - and natural, even ideal - perspectives. Here’s some explanation from the director:

“… Since I was a child I always found most “masculine” things to be erotic. In middle school I played basketball (for one game before getting kicked off—ha!). That energy, to me, can seriously only be matched by cruising bars.

…

So the goal was to fuck with the idea of feminine vs masculine while also presenting it as normal. Because this IS a normal thing that boys do. They play sports, they lift weights, and they kiss. Neither thing is WEIRD. What’s strange to me is the way most people choose to perceive it.

…

But I guess really the bottom line is the sexual tension within sports, to me, holds the same eroticism AND masculinity as sucking a dick does.”

and from the same interview;

> Do you think anyone was converted to homosexuality?

“I could only hope that some kid, in some town we’ve never heard of, will see it and feel more comfortable. But again, I don’t want to present boys making out as funny or a joke, ‘cuz I don’t think it is. The punch line is intended to be the realization, like “Oh shit, what the fuck IS masculine?”

You really have to be careful about how personal life is represented because mainstream media still doesn’t have a “normal” context for gay men. They just think of people like Elton John, John Waters, or Freddie Mercury… guys who wear tight clothes and talk funny… They don’t think “oh this guy is my boss” or “this guy is my friend that I hang out with” (I’m talkin bout NORM STORMS ya’ll).”

(Saith hardcorefornerds)

Wow. Mr Hardcorefornerds, thank you! I’ve never been so eager to watch a music video for some reason, and after letting it load and setting it to full screen and pausing iTunes and watching it—well. Yes. It was good!