Apparition, by Stealing Sheep
October 17, 2015 12:22 PM Subscribe
The new song and video by the psychedelic pop band from Liverpool is on Vimeo and YouTube. A discussion of the video, with screenshots and storyboards. The Stealing Sheep website and twitter; also, wikipedia. More on the video: Nowscopitone, Guardian, folkradiouk, Frontview. The video credits.
This video is what results when a country/region doesn't genocide its aboriginals.
posted by rhizome at 1:16 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 1:16 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Beautiful song (as is everything from this band) and beautiful video, but two qualms:
(1) being old enough to remember the 1960s birth of psychedelic music, I'm not sure if 'psychedelic pop' is the best description for the band, but I can't think of another off the top of my head...
(2) not to be flippant, but wouldn't the use of Morris Dancing here be kind of a 'white-on-white' cultural appropriation? (I'm just nagged by the thought of how differently it would be taken if they were joining into a Native American dance routine)
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:18 PM on October 17, 2015
(1) being old enough to remember the 1960s birth of psychedelic music, I'm not sure if 'psychedelic pop' is the best description for the band, but I can't think of another off the top of my head...
(2) not to be flippant, but wouldn't the use of Morris Dancing here be kind of a 'white-on-white' cultural appropriation? (I'm just nagged by the thought of how differently it would be taken if they were joining into a Native American dance routine)
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:18 PM on October 17, 2015
(2) not to be flippant, but wouldn't the use of Morris Dancing here be kind of a 'white-on-white' cultural appropriation?
This is like calling a book plagiarism because it's written in the English language.
posted by rhizome at 1:50 PM on October 17, 2015
This is like calling a book plagiarism because it's written in the English language.
posted by rhizome at 1:50 PM on October 17, 2015
Okay, looking at the previous videos from this album, Not Real and Deadlock, and from their first album, Shut Eye, Genevieve, and Rearrange, I can see some seriously intentional visual phychedelia (In fact, Genevieve is pushing a distinct '60s Vibe'), which appears to me less well-matched to the music as this video... still groping for a good way to categorize the music... but then, that is sometimes a GOOD thing... (one review on Amazon calls them "medieval Kraut-Folk", which is an even WORSE description) I just hope this helps them to 'break out' in the currently dismal music scene. I'm certainly paying full price for the current album and then going to give them some word-of-mouth support.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:57 PM on October 17, 2015
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:57 PM on October 17, 2015
You should warn a person before linking to Morris dancing.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:26 PM on October 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:26 PM on October 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
ooh this is good! thanks
posted by Foci for Analysis at 2:45 PM on October 17, 2015
posted by Foci for Analysis at 2:45 PM on October 17, 2015
(2) not to be flippant, but wouldn't the use of Morris Dancing here be kind of a 'white-on-white' cultural appropriation? (I'm just nagged by the thought of how differently it would be taken if they were joining into a Native American dance routine)
I think not, for lots of reasons. Most obviously because Morris dancing has, in modern culture, almost nothing to do with a specific cultural group or region within England. There are urban and rural Morris sides. I knew someone who was in an all-female Morris side when I was living in the East End, for example.
posted by howfar at 3:06 PM on October 17, 2015
I think not, for lots of reasons. Most obviously because Morris dancing has, in modern culture, almost nothing to do with a specific cultural group or region within England. There are urban and rural Morris sides. I knew someone who was in an all-female Morris side when I was living in the East End, for example.
posted by howfar at 3:06 PM on October 17, 2015
The director Dougal Wilson previous (Goldfrapp - Happiness), previously (Bat For Lashes - What's a Girl To Do), previouslier (John Lewis - Monty the penguin). His whole showreel is one gem after another.
posted by progosk at 3:22 PM on October 17, 2015
posted by progosk at 3:22 PM on October 17, 2015
Yeah, Morris dancing is liberally enjoyed in England, and it's never been attached to a particular ethnic sub-group. Bellringers, perhaps.
posted by Devonian at 3:41 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Devonian at 3:41 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
And, hm. Went through the links. Just doesn't gel for me. It should do - it's got bits of XTC, bits of Psapp, bits of early-ish Beck, all stuff it wants to appropriate - no crime, that - but it's too monotone. It doesn't have the loose-limbed whimsy of pastoral British psychedelia, or any light and shade in the mix. The videos reflect that, a succession of student-art surrealist imagery but no real introspection, danger, narrative or wit. Just needs a drop of any of those, really, it's all nearly there but where's the spark and wobble?
It would be grossly irresponsible to suggest that everyone involved should drop a decent amount of LSD and go to the circus. So I won't. But someone should.
posted by Devonian at 4:04 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
It would be grossly irresponsible to suggest that everyone involved should drop a decent amount of LSD and go to the circus. So I won't. But someone should.
posted by Devonian at 4:04 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think the concept of the video is substituting for the song's missing whimsy.
posted by rhizome at 4:23 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 4:23 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was wondering why there weren't any hipster morris sides in Shoreditch during the beardy-folk revival some years ago after angular/yelpy/electro/sounds-like-Joy-Division-crossed-with-* new-wave got coopted and plastered all over the cover of NME, when authenticity became homespun folksiness; then I read Electric Eden and learned that the previous hipster morris revival, in 1972 or so, had gone down so badly that presumably everybody was still too traumatised to go near morris dancing.
posted by acb at 5:49 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by acb at 5:49 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
The English dance thus apparently arose as part of a wider 15th-century European fashion for supposedly "Moorish" spectacle, which also left traces in Spanish and Italian folk dance.
It is suggested that the tradition of rural English dancers blackening their faces may be a reference to the Moors, miners, or a disguise worn by dancing beggars.
Sincerely,
Wikipedia
posted by tapesonthefloor at 1:48 AM on October 18, 2015
It is suggested that the tradition of rural English dancers blackening their faces may be a reference to the Moors, miners, or a disguise worn by dancing beggars.
Sincerely,
Wikipedia
posted by tapesonthefloor at 1:48 AM on October 18, 2015
If any Londoners fancy getting better acquainted with Morris, then the London Pride Morris Men are an excellent and very friendly bunch. It's curious and rather wonderful to see them perform in grotty, grimy, hyper-urban London estate back streets, but they do - and get a lot of respect from da kidz to boot.
posted by Devonian at 6:29 AM on October 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Devonian at 6:29 AM on October 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
(2) not to be flippant, but wouldn't the use of Morris Dancing here be kind of a 'white-on-white' cultural appropriation?
This is like calling a book plagiarism because it's written in the English language.
I have no idea what that second sentence even means.
posted by durandal at 7:39 AM on October 18, 2015
This is like calling a book plagiarism because it's written in the English language.
I have no idea what that second sentence even means.
posted by durandal at 7:39 AM on October 18, 2015
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posted by lmfsilva at 12:48 PM on October 17, 2015