Genius. The
music video for Mumford & Sons’ “Hopeless Wanderer” is pure brilliance. The
band parodied their own brand by casting comedy actors Will Forte (Saturday
Night Live), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Ed Helms (The Hangover), and
Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live), to portray the band. For the first
minute, the video featured unidentifiable people playing the instruments, a
common ploy seen in other Mumford & Sons videos. At exactly the one minute
mark, the four actors are revealed, lip-synching the band’s song.
With
settings on a dirt road and in a barn, the lighting and spacing of the actors
is similar to the dynamics in the video “Little Lion Man.” The actors seem to
begin the video seriously, but over time, it turns into a reduction to the
absurd particularly at Sudeikis’s and Forte’s make-out scene. They are dressed
in a caricature of the band, most notably with Helms’ rugged outfit and Forte’s
scraggly beard.
The video
has become an Internet sensation – as of today, it has notched 6,777,349 views
on YouTube - and with good reason. Fans of the band can appreciate the video’s
familiarity while those who do not follow the band are drawn by it’s star power
and comedy. The song is only ranked #123 on iTunes's current top alternative songs list. It is the recent single off the album "Babel." The album debuted #1 on Billboard 200 album charts and sold 600,000 copies its first week.
Aesthetically,
the video is terrific. The scenery is wonderful. The video quality is superb in
HD. The camera angles vary and are unique.
Personally,
I am not a fan of Mumford & Sons. I’m somewhat familiar with their music and
don’t have any strong feelings for it. I know their style as a folk band. The
song itself didn’t strike any chords with me. I’m simply not drawn to their
music. The video, however, I thought was fantastic. I am a fan of the work of
these four actors and found a Mumford & Sons parody to be hilarious. The moment I
saw the quartet, I began laughing. From there, the video continued to
entertain. The four meshed perfectly together. The lip-synching was spot-on. The quality, lighting, and camera work were all impeccable. This is easily one of the best music videos I’ve seen in awhile.
I wasn’t
the only one that enjoyed it. Rolling Stone posted an online article (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/inside-mumford-sons-hopeless-wanderer-video-20130807)
in which director Sam Jones proclaimed, “The band loved it – they didn’t want
to change a thing.”
A separate
Rolling Stone article included a Q&A session with the band member Ben
Lovett about the video. Some notable quotes:
-
“I’m pretty sure my mom still thinks it’s me in
that video.”
- “[on
the kiss] That
was definitely kind of a wow moment. To be fair it does fairly reflect what goes on in
Mumford & Sons. “
- “Music videos are
ridiculous things that bands do for their music, trying to get it right. It’s
very hard. I think having fun with it is probably the only way forward.”
For the entire Q&A, visit: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-mumford-sons-talk-hilarious-wanderer-video-20130809
The video made Time’s online “5 Best Viral Videos of August” as seen
here: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/08/30/the-5-best-viral-videos-of-august/
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