Oh Love Music Video

[DecanoLP]

Finally watched it now, but I wish I didn't :/

Terrible is all I can say. That's just a boring and senseless video with Green Day playing their instruments and some girls drinking and smoking. This is by far the worst video they've ever done so far, luckily there aren't many people out there who still care for music videos.

[Cre Tool.]

Finally saw it!

Not their best, but its not THAT bad. I mean it is kind of senseless and all but the video doesn't matter that much anyway.

I think the parts of the girls was a little meaningless, but Green Day playing was enough for me to like it.

I hope the video for Kill the DJ is better though.

[ScreamsInSilence815]

I...umm....quite honestly I don't know exactly what to think.

It's not that I hated it, but it generally didn't sit well with me. Putting aside the obvious objectification of the models, the whole thing was kind of pointless and unenthusiastic. Billie's passion was the only thing that made it worth watching.

Idk, it's just definitely not their best The song is fantastic, but the video? Probably won't watch it again if I can help it.

[imabout2break]

i don't think the girl's part are meaningless. it has meaning to Green Day and its song. I believe the trio participated with the concept and all, they don't just do what the director told them to do. every piece of the vid has something to do with the new album, if not, with the trio.

[Irrlicht]

I think the video is OK- not their best music video, but OK. Obviously, the guys had much fun...

[icyfire34]

^ She is actually pretty.

That girl with the short blonde wig and gross dinosaur back had too many closeups and it made me puke

i agree! i thought i was the only one

the one on mtv was the r rated or the g rated?

[CameronM.]

TRE'S SPARKELY GUITAR! <3

[Bastard of 1967]

I really thought the worst when I saw the preview for this video. I was offended by the intent behind it and the direction it appeared to take, as I saw it as a gross parody of what was at the heart of the song itself. After watching both the R-rated and clean versions, the things I had worried about are basically what's presented onscreen, and it still irks me, but I'd never have guessed how overwhelmingly BORED the entire excercise would appear. A bunch of men pushing 40 -- men who have for the most part been in committed, long term relationships in the past 20 years -- looking incredibly unsure of what to make out of awkwardly performing for a bunch of unthrilled faux-Suicide Girls male gaze-bait. It comes off as stilted and weird more than anything.

Green Day may have finally opened up the age gap here. I think the video presents the flip-side of The Grouch from Nimrod, the "what happens when you're too old to be young, hip, and punk anymore" -- when your gut's getting fat, when you can't jump whatever comes along anymore....when all you really can do is sit around on the couch and gawk while your surroundings are filled with hot, svelte, sexy, hip babes (or conversely for the women, strong, dangerous-looking men). "Oh Love" answers the "what happens next": you watch but you can't really touch or do much of anything except maybe flirt a little, but OH how you wish you could. Those themes are all over the fucking place in this video and I gotta tell you, at least from the perspective of this 44-year-old fart, I can understand what Bayer's aiming at.

Trust me, as you transition from youth to twentysomething to thirtysomething and beyond, you will have to deal with this. We all will, and we all do.

Edit: Some more thoughts after finally getting a sec to see the R-rated cut. There's really no difference between the two versions until we get toward the end of the song -- as the song (and perhaps also Sam Bayer? ) reaches the climax, particularly going into the repetition of "tonight my heart's on the loose", this is where things start getting racy. Not only to we start seeing a lot more naughty bits, but we also see a key change in the band's behavior: they're not just off to the side playing and watching the temptation, they're now starting to participate in it -- to a degree. They'll flirt, they'll look, they'll play, and they'll even touch, but did you catch Tre's reaction to the one model who basically starts undressing herself in front of him? He simply gets up and walks away. He enjoys the teasing and tittilation but when it comes down to "hey baby, let's you and I go for it", he doesn't want a part of that -- even most of us geezers sitting in the strip joint have our own self-imposed limits! The theme is one of being surrounded by sex, and that when it comes to actually taking the plunge, when you hit mid-life the rule still is "you can look but you can't touch", even if that limit drives you up the goddamn wall.

[Bam13]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who got the "we're bored" vibe out of this video. I just couldn't get over the bored vibe - which mostly came from the models models for me (lots of empty faces).

It was good, but the pd version is still kind of a let down and while the R version is deffinitely better, I was just hoping for a little bit... More.

[CameronM.]

Also add this to the short list of music videos by Green Day that m little brother can't watch, along with Jesus of suburbia, Mother Mary, and Stop drop and roll. *sigh* Maybe Kill the DJ will pass my approriate test

[Eldoon]

Green Day may have finally opened up the age gap here. I think the video presents the flip-side of The Grouch from Nimrod, the "what happens when you're too old to be young, hip, and punk anymore" -- when your gut's getting fat, when you can't jump whatever comes along anymore....when all you really can do is lay around on the couch and jam while your surroundings are filled with hot, svelte, sexy, hip babes (or conversely for the women, strong, dangerous-looking men). "Oh Love" answers the "what happens next": you watch but you can't really touch or do much of anything except maybe flirt a little, but OH how you wish you could. Those themes are all over the fucking place in this video and I gotta tell you, at least from the perspective of this 44-year-old fart, I can understand what Bayer's aiming at.

Trust me, as you transition from youth to twentysomething to thirtysomething and later, you will have to deal with this. We all will, and we all do.

Thank you for the reply, Bastard o' '67. You are an especially insightful poster here on GDC and I am always intrigued to read your opinions and contributitions, but I'm going to have to respectfully agree to disagree with you regarding this video. I completely understand the motive, mindset, and motif you're reading into the clip -- and I think that's a worthy theme as any for Oh Love. Comparing Oh Love to The Grouch is very interesting and apt, and I can certainly respect your connection with the song through its ruminations on midlife. My problem, however, is that Bayer's execution of the video just smacks as misguided, dunderheaded, even dull at best, and potentially demeaning, neanderthalic eye candy exploitation at its worst. I can't get behind a video that is so unsubtle, that leaves such ample room for misinterpretation. I really think GD know better and are infinitely more thought-provoking than they appear, but they also seemingly don't take particular care to think through their presentation sometimes. Consistently approving asinine pitches like the one for this video does not help.

This is no slag at you, but when I am 44 years old I would hope that I'll think of women half my age as people rather than mere objects of unrequited sexual desire.

[Bastard of 1967]

That's a really interesting perception (as always). Do you think the joking around towards the end was representative of the Green Day men letting go of their inhibitions, and allowing themselves to have a little bit of fun without turning it into something more, such as real love?

You explaining it from an older perspective really helped me GET the video. I enjoyed it, but haven't really thought about the point until now. Your interpenetration seems really accurate considering the song and the stages the guys are in their career/lives.

See my edit - that's exactly what I was getting at.

Green Day's aging, folks, and they're singing about it. Even going back to answer some of their old questions about life, lust, and love and relating them to their more recent personal experiences.

[WorryRock02]

......

[Bastard of 1967]

Guess we'll agree to disagree and leave it at that. I think there's something much deeper in this video than meets the eye candy, and I stand by my interpretation.

[Tubbie Head]

As I expected the video is bad.

NEXT

[Harinezumi]

I don't like nipples in my music videos.

[Malleus]

Also add this to the short list of music videos by Green Day that m little brother can't watch, along with Jesus of suburbia, Mother Mary, and Stop drop and roll. *sigh* Maybe Kill the DJ will pass my approriate test

You really gotta take your little brother off of the leash bro! Why can't he watch Jesus of Suburbia? I haven't watched that in a long time, but I can't remember any relatively explicit girls in that video. Also coming from someone who is a little brother, we always find a way to see tits. Always.

[Tubbie Head]

I was just thinking... where is the band having fun with motocycles and the skates we heard about?

[Hedwig]

Will this world please STOP objectifying woman? If even Green Day does it, i honestly don't know who doesn't.

[Schlappy]

TRE'S SPARKELY GUITAR! <3

Um... Billies?

I enjoyed the video, as most people have said its a bit boring but does its job well. Its as if they are just trying to focus on putting on a show without getting caught up with the sexy girls theyre player for. Maybe they do feel like that sometimes when theyre trying to play and suddenly theres boobs in their face, oh sexy GD fans! Looks like they lost the fight by the end though!

[Heather.]

I was just thinking... where is the band having fun with motocycles and the skates we heard about?

And the chipmunk costume!

All or some of this better be in the Kill the DJ video, which promises to be so much better in comparison.

I wonder if we're going to get an extended behind the scenes of Oh Love besides what MTV posted.

[TheGreenDayKidd]

Also add this to the short list of music videos by Green Day that m little brother can't watch, along with Jesus of suburbia, Mother Mary, and Stop drop and roll. *sigh* Maybe Kill the DJ will pass my approriate test

Hahaha..

[Tubbie Head]

I've only seen the R one, where's the "clean" version?

Also, I noticed this doesn't really have a backstage feeling, like we saw in the previews... It's just them playing in a room in from of pole dancing woman or hores, trying not to fall in the temptation, It's just... WTF?

[jayjaded]

God when did kids get so pathetically old? In my days we'd be so stoked at seeing this video. You are all waaaay to fucking jaded. It's a music video. It's supposed to be provocative its supposed to be glam and all the things your life isn't. I never knew kids were on such a moral high horse. Also to those saying "omg their married" 1. You don't know the dynamics of their relationships nor will you ever until you become a multi millionaire who tours for a living and 2. I'm pretty sure the wives where in on the joke. It's not like you can make a music video and hide it from your wife.

The way I see it, your either to uptight, or you wish you were either the band or the babes and can't see it for what it is. A music video.

[IscoredWaddlesgoals]

Here's the essay you didn't ask for - I wanted to put it in spoilers so as not to clog up the thread (I've got many, many things to say) but couldn't find the spoiler button thingy so sorry for that.

The anticipation - I didn't want this to end up being as bad as it is so my heart sank a bit when I saw Billie's tweet and the 'making of' thingy. Even if it wasn't going to be as raunchy as the original preview made out, seeing Billie crouch down behind a settee/sofa/couch/ with a creepy look on his face (which I know was perhaps supposed to be intentional but it still is) did not make it any better. The second preview thingy just compounded any sense of impending doom. Perhaps some people's reactions are down to them reassuring themselves it might be alright before they saw it. It wasn't.

The girls - Where should I start ? Firstly, I don't hate all nudity, ever. I don't think that if a magazine has a naked person in it, it should be banned. Or that everyone should have to sign up to internet filters because the right wing press don't like porn sites. What I do hate is how subtley patronising and hateful this video is. It's like they've thought of everything and nothing at once - think blonde, big chested women are a bit cheesy nowadays ? How about getting tattooed ones instead ? Because they're 'interesting and 'edgy' see ! Want 'mystery' and 'enigma' but can't find an actress willing to do it ? Get some models to mouth at the camera and just sit there with there with their breasts hanging out for no reason ! It's 'art' ! And what's better than topless women with characterisation and a script ? Topless women that don't move/speak or have names ! Why would they ? They're just women. Or 'chicks'.

What the girls do - so when a woman sits on a....thing with her hands between her legs it's saucy and naughty but if Billie does it on stage in front of a crowd it's hilarious ? I didn't realise female masturbation was only for other people. Not mention incredibly exciting eh lads ? And 'lesbians' ? In a world where they're still not allowed to get married in most countries and years after Britney/Madonna ? REALLY ? And before anyone points it out, yes Billie may have kissed other blokes but I doubt he's being filmed in soft focus wearing just his underwear on MTV while his wife watches in the background. Or at least I hope not. And who exactly is that blonde woman that keeps appearing ? Sam Bayer's mum ?

The band - yes, you are 'allowed' to change your opinion on things. Yes, you've got a vastly different worldview now to the one you had 15 years ago. Still doesn't make you going from taking the piss out of this sort of thing to doing it any better. The sad thing is, I doubt they even realise. The lack of self awareness or any thought to how at least some female fans might view it almost shocks me. Not as badly as how Tre repulsed me with his finger up the skirt antics mind. They come across as a blissfully unaware, desperate old rockers trying too hard to cling onto relevence and not even realising. And I don't think they 'need' to do this sort of thing to be played on MTV/radio - Lady Gaga's stuff came out just after Adele's and which one became the most successful ?

The actual video as a thing - oh dear. If it's meant to be about 'sexual tension' then why do they not seem particulary attracted to the models ? There's no chemistry, little interaction and when they are together, I just want to die of cringe. And correct me if I'm wrong, but is sexual tension not supposed to be more of a subtle thing between two people that perhaps don't know how to express it ? Why not get a whole group of men & woman to act this out 'backstage' while the band play on a 'stage' somewhere ? It's a sort of potentially intersting idea gone horribly wrong. And I certainly don't think people should have to feel bad or apologise for not liking it. It's vomit inducing and makes me embarrassed to be a (soon to be former if they carry on like this) GD fan.

Anyway, sorry to have kept you so long. I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed.