New Zealand singer Lorde released a new music video for her song, “Yellow Flicker Beat”, from the Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 soundtrack.
Emily Kai Bock directed the video, which was released on the singer’s 18th birthday – November 7th. But, factoring in the time difference – some 18 (EST) to 21 (PST) hours behind local time in New Zealand depending on your location – the video was released in the States on November 6th, 2014.
The videography seems to weave together and provide the audience with different snapshots of a young woman’s personality – it’s complex, intense, and changeable, much like the locations in the video. The scenes alternates between Lorde in a white shirt singing in a rundown motel with a flickering neon sign on the window, Lorde the stage of an empty concert hall, Lorde dancing in a red suit in front of a line of white aerial silks, and Lorde sitting beside the edge of a swimming pool after dark with her hair down. There doesn’t appear to be a cohesive story driven narrative to this video; yet, showing her in all those various locations and outfits reinforces the idea that Lorde’s character is capable of reinvention.
Musically, the video begins with that ever-present hum supporting Lorde’s lead vocal, and then progresses into an electronic dance track, which shifts speeds through out the song.
Check it out:
In celebration of her new age milestone, and as a means of providing a bit of context for “Yellow Flicker Beat”, Lorde took to her official Tumblr writing,
it’s midnight, and i’m all of ten seconds into being eighteen. the first thing that came into my head just now is that i thought i would have less acne at eighteen.. some things never change. lol. happy birthday me.
i’m in my bed in new zealand, and it just occurred to me i don’t think i’ve been home for one of these little notes in a while. on my seventeenth birthday, i wrote from my hotel bed in new york. on the team music video release, i wrote from paris. when yellow flicker beat came out, i wrote from the bus, whizzing across the las vegas desert. it feels nice to come full circle, in a way, back to where i typed out the little note to accompany the royals video, back where i sucked my thumb, and talked in my sleep, and dreamed.
this video is something i’m really proud of. there are so many beautiful shots and moments, and it’s really worth watching it a few times (in the highest possible quality ;~)) to see all the details. when i was dreaming it up, i wasn’t thinking too hard about story or a specific narrative, more a mood; a harsh, crackling heat. yellow flicker beat is about katniss realizing that things have crossed a line, about being pushed to the edge and right over it. my character in this video, whether she’s weaving her way through a decadent ballroom, hiding out in a grimy, neon-lit motel room (her hair ever-so-slightly dishevelled), or waiting in the night for her bus to come dressed in her whitest clothes, is a shapeshifter, full of intensity and impulse, kind of like katniss. whether she’s in a small space or a cavernous one, she’s fiery. i don’t really know what i’m trying to explain to you here, but don’t read the video like a story, just let it take you somewhere.
i guess that’s all i have to say right now – my mind is kind of whizzing about this new milestone. i hope you enjoy this. i’ll let you know what being eighteen is like when i’ve been it for a second. i love you lots and lots, you know. thanks for watching, and for still being here.
xxxx
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