Lopez Blogs

To quote the amazing Josie (BigBrother11), I have been a right moody cow bag all week. I don't know what is wrong with me. I have clearly fallen into an emotional black hole of moodiness and not been able to claw my way out. Bah to that I say. Bah. Plus having my computer hacked through some evil trojan (what is the point of anti-virus et al?) meaning all my internet banking, paypal, twitter, email accounts were all at risk wasn't the most delightful thing to happen either... Still Toy Story 3 has helped a bit (it's delightful and the last 20 minutes had me weeping uncontrollably) and the Dirty Disco video in particular (below) seems appropriately apt for me this week :)

Dirty Disco ~ White Room:

If White Room were a fella, he would be a hot, messed up piece of ass. Perhaps not conventionally attractive, but definitely so charismatic and beguiling that you are drawn irrevocably into his steamy clutches. The song is at once a theatrical, flambouyant, thought-provoking mini epic that creates it's own bonkers universe through vivid lyrical imagery and a frenetic, engaging, addictive pop funk vibe that starts in your fingers and has you convulsing from head to toe in a sweaty synthtastic 3 minutes of amazingness. And here's what you get in the video...

• It commences with a rather normal looking doctor, with this rather scary looking pokey pokey eye patch. I wouldn't want him inspecting my corneas. However, it is a theme of the perceived normal not being quite what it seems that runs through this clip (I so get symbolism)...
• Take your first glance at Adam, all trussed up in a strait jacket. Not only is it fabulously accessorised with an Elizabethan ruff, but his orderlies have their mouths taped shut with clear tape. This cannot be particularly comfortable, and shows once again all is not as initially seems.
• The flashing/shadowy lighting effect is straight out of a horror movie/x files rerun and creates the illusion of the unsettling environment our antihero Adam has been thrust into. His eye make up is wildly out of control too, creating a crazed look upon his face!
• There is a nurse monitoring his every move. She comes from the Lisa Scott Lee school of nursing (see Chain Reaction) as her uniform accentuates her long legs and buxom assets. This is far more important than her ability to administer medication :P
• Adam is having a right conipition fit trying to get out of his strait jacket and there are flashes of him topless with some very long black rubber gloves on...
• There is a terrifying looking nurse who is NOT from the Lisa Scott Lee school of nursing at 55s. She reminds me of the baby doll head on the mechanical spider creature who lives next door in the first Toy Story. That syringe has made me feel all sorts of queasy. I am not good with needles, although I do enjoy a quick poke ;)
• The taped orderlies are trying to strap Adam down to a bed with no mattress. This is actually quite representative of where the NHS is today. They are not having much luck because he is wigging out like a loon on loon tablets. Which he potentially is in this clip. Plus, trust me, it's always a bit more fun to struggle when being tied to a bed :P
• Adam has something jammed in his chops and is given electric shock treatment. This probably hurts like a mother. All quipping aside, some of the mental health practices in this country (and I work in this field) are bloody shocking
• We are now moving on - slutty nurse (loving the belt) has sedated Adam with a potent cocktail of drugs. These probably won't help him, but at least he will be nice and pliable for the staff.
• The other patients are all doing stereotypical things that the general public perceive as the norm in these institutions - crayons, rocking, sports, music. Adam tries to disrupt these routines, to get people to do something a bit better for themselves through creative expression. It works - the switching between patients playing instruments and the band performing the song is really effective, and damn they look really good if you pause at 2m17s. Even in this one still shot you can tell they have an amazing energy together...
• The video ends with a much calmer/sedated Adam being dragged away by the spooky orderlies - perhaps the best visual image since The Gentlemen in Buffy! An entertaining, creative tour de force...