The current record holder for most viewed video in my Music Video Pick series to date, I am pretty sure, Mrs. Green Apple’s “Kyohan” (「共犯」):

Not only does the video already have 8.6 million views (across 5 days), but Mrs. Green Apple just recently released “A Posteriori” a few days before and that one has ALSO hit 8.6 million views. Good for them.

To give you an idea of how fast the video is climbing, I saw these posts back to back this morning when I was catching up on Youtube posts:

If Mrs. Green Apple’s POPS doesn’t win a small stack of awards this year, I would be surprised.

This video is an absolute joy to watch a few times and note all the little things. Here are some of my favorites:

  • 0:09 – Postman is iconic
  • 0:20 – We see the letter A and a newspaper with the headline “More than a festival, a renewed Riverton” followed by the first blink storm
  • 0:29 – We get our first pair of twins (and near-twins). The video is full of duplicates [and oversized food].
  • 0:43 – On the left we have the cop-twins [with childish gun] and on the right we have the sun + moon twins.
  • 0:47 – The dancers go through a range of emotions and might be happy or distraught depending on the particular shot. I also just love the way their dance is delightful but also just slightly offputting.
  • 1:36 – Postman is our first slip out of joy at the start of the second section
  • 1:47 – Guys carrying the umbrella are absolutely struggling while over on the left we get green-coat lady with double ballons [like the theme is starting to glitch]
  • 2:00 – The Band is playing whimsical instruments that do not really match any real world counterparts. It’s a good touch.
  • 2:22 – In a video of duplicates and pairs, we get the genius touch to expose the audience right at 2:22. It doesn’t take long before we realize who the audience is… We also see Studio B.
  • 2:27 – The cut back to the “video” has the movements even less human while to the left we have a guy with a pink beard and a bald head that stands out.
  • 2:46 – As the audience starts participating (becoming “complicit”) they become more animated. Feeling like part of the system.
  • 3:22 – The word play is pretty exquisite around this part.
  • 3:53 – In the last 10 seconds or so of the actual video, we see another audience (and the letter C). Turns out participating is just another spectacle, eh?

The play between complicit as both condemnation and something hopeful is so well done. It is bright and beautiful but also terrifying.

Easily my second favorite video of the year. I think I need to share #1, tomorrow. The two combined are some of my favorite videos of all time, as well.

My Music Video Picks [MVP] is a series of posts highlighting various music and dance videos from Youtube. No particular schedule (sometimes lots, sometimes little) though it started as “daily”. It might not even all be music or dance videos. Absolutely picked by me, though. Usually I have to like both the song and the video, but we’ll see.

You can see at least the most recent songs here: [Doug’s] Music Video Picks [Youtube Playlist]. Size of that list will change as the mood strikes. Playlist might contain spoilers for unpublished posts. Just enjoy.