Details Be Damned

I'm probably going to end up staggering my thoughts on this video. That's not a bad thing, as I have a tendency to find new perspectives in myself, but it may be a bit tiresome having it split up. I might need to repost this earlier stuff later, with a more complete review as I dump my thoughts out for you to pick through.

This video is exactly what the spiel said it would be:

Ich Tu Dir Weh" is the ultimate distillation of a RAMMSTEIN concert into five minutes.

Nothing more and nothing less. This is Rammstein stock. A reduction of their live show into a very thick and sticky syrup. Not to be taken lightly.

Aesthetically it's unreal. They all look beautiful. Olli and Till in particular are flattered beyond belief. Olli has always been a good looking guy, but in this video he's downright stunning. Till, never a pretty critter, looks beautiful in a strange and brutal way. I'm still ambivalent about RZK's do, but he's looking intensely Richard, and the other three look great in their own, very different ways.

Appearances aside this video shows them all at their most basic. The trademarked signature stuff is all there; the same stances, moves, and expressions we have come to expect, lit, framed, and recorded for our delectation, and all in self-conscious, low colour, 35 mm glory.

Till's crabbed movements and shit-eating grin, wonderfully enhanced by lights wired in through his cheek; Richard's splay-legged new-born colt stance and exaggerated playing; Flake's mad 'I've got too many joints to keep up with' activities; Paul's deadpan, minimalist approach; Olli's I'm hinged at the pelvis terminal dance moves; and Schneider's energy conserving tautness. It's all there, and it's all dished up in a fairly deliberate manner.

This is a good thing. I've read several fans complaints about performance videos, but performance is Rammstein's metier. Their stock in trade is their live show, and as wearable and addictive as their studio work is, it merely serves to populate their live set-lists when you get right down to it. Rammstein's story-driven videos are lovely. Don't get me wrong, but I do think they were well overdue on this one. The Feuer Frei video, which was a glorified movie trailer, and the other videos which have included performance elements, such as Benzin and Pussy, do provide small bites, but they're somewhat dumbed down, weak versions of the actual live show vibe. Ich Tu' Dir Weh actually conveys the pyro, the frantic pace, the energy, and the Till-based insanity rather well, and I'm glad they've finally done it.

Video provided by The Gauntlet

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