Covering the crossroads of music and film.
Matt & Kim Get Naked in Times Square
By Jim Shearer on 04/27/2009
Filed under: VIDEO BLOG
Matt and Kim are no strangers to showing a little skin in their music videos. In the clip "Yea Yeah," (off their debut album, S/T) the indie-pop-duo briefly turn their backs to camera (2:40) and change shirts during a raucous food fight. If the sight of barebacks in that video made you blush, I don't even want to know what'll happen once you see their latest creation.
(left: The Naked Cowboy has nothing on Matt and Kim.)
In "Lessons Learned"--the second music video off their Grand album--Matt and Kim rely on some classic music video parlor tricks--a Times Square backdrop, violence, bewildered bystanders, one-continuous take, a surprise ending, getting' shut down by the man, and nudity, nudity, and more nudity. (Fittingly, this all takes place in front of the building that made famous the music video tricks of the trade mentioned above.)
I'm not a huge fan of public nudity, especially in front of little kids (1:13 into the clip Matt begins unbuckling his belt as he passes a young boy--there's something not right about that), but I do love the fact that this video had me asking about 10 different questions by the time it was over: Were they really naked? Were they really getting arrested? Did Kim really--
Tags: Did They Really Get Naked, Grand, Lessons Learned, Matt and Kim, Music Video, Nudity, Times Square- Permalink
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- Comment
Jacquelyn
That was kind of disturbing, especially with Kim getting hit by a bus at the end. I agree about the nudity in front of children, it just isn't right. When they are standing there naked spinning around there was a little girl in a pink coat and a white hat... I'm sure she has all sorts of confusing thoughts and weird questions for her parents after seeing male genitalia.
dave
As a resident of New York, I can say there are far more disturbing things one would have to explain to their children than a couple of naked indie rock kids. I'd feel more awkward trying to explain homelessness, or the passed-out drunks in Greenpoint.
Doc
The only way the experience of seeing this is going to be harmful to kids is if their parents freak out and hysterically tell them, directly or by implication, that this is a horrible, dirty, nasty thing that has happened to them, that they must put it out of their minds immediately, and that they will be punished if they ever mention or even think about it again.
On the other hand, the kids will benefit from the experience if it provides motivation for parents to do what they should have done already: 1) explain calmly that, although we generally don't go around naked, we all have bodies under our clothing, that boys and girls are different in some ways, and that it's a good thing they got to see what they did; and 2)ask the kids for their perceptions and feelings, discussing these things with them in a calm, accepting way. Obviously, the exact details of what to say to the kids will depend on their ages.
jamie
more power to these two.. i am in total agreeance that two naked people is far from the worst thing a young child could see. all you religous conservatives need to stop demonizing anything remotely sexual. go matt and kim
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