Innocent Criminals Page
Silverchair guitarist/vocalist Daniel Johns says that record company executives forced the production of a new video for Israel's Son because they claimed the original video was too violent.
Johns told MTV's Week in Rock that he was "very happy" with the first
Israel's Son video.
"I thought, 'That is a good film clip for us. That's all right,'" he said. "Then
someone had to go and have a whinge about it [and] now we've got to change it all just because of [a] stupid thing."
Bassist Chris Joannou said one image in particular bothered the Sony bosses.
"In the end it just had a noose hanging off a beam of wood," Joannou said.
"And a dog in a cage," Johns added. "They said it was too violent. It's bad," he said,
smiling.
The new video made its debut on MTV's 120 Minutes on the 11th of February.
It has been played regularly on MTV's Alternative Nation and was spotted at least once in the early afternoon.
MuchMusic, the Canadian music video channel based in Toronto, is
showing what appears to be the uncensored version of Israel's Son.
The video premiered Feb. 26 on Much Music's Power 30 show, which has also shown the
original, concert-footage video of silverchair's Pure Massacre.
Power 30 is also seen on MuchUSA, an American version of the network which
shows many of the programs seen on Much Music. At present, MuchUSA has
limited distribution in the United States.
The video shown on MuchMusic contains many of the same shots of the band seen in the
version which is airing on MTV. It opens with an older man in a hat walking through what could be Australian outback country, carrying a bulging burlap sack. A second man who is younger and sports long hair, is seen running through similar terrain, frequently tripping and falling on his face.
The older man checks his watch as Johns sings, "You're late for the execution." The
other man continues to run as the man in the hat walks slowly until he reaches a shabby looking platform which appears as if it could be used for a hanging. He puts down the burlap bag and checks his watch before he begins to tie a noose out of a piece of thick rope. He takes a small dog out of the bag and puts the animal in a cage made of tree branches. The man then finishes tying the noose and throws it over a beam of wood atop the platform.
The younger man is seen running as the old man sits and waits before again looking at his watch. He eventually begins to walk away.
As Israel's Son reaches its raucous climax, the long-haired man arrives at the platform. He sees the noose swinging in the breeze and screams, as Daniel Johns is heard screaming in the song. The younger man looks at the now-empty dog cage and his face freezes in horror.
Then, he turns and sees that the dog is safe and sound, out of the cage and tethered by a piece of rope to a stake in the ground. The dog is innocently looking at the man as the camera returns to the band playing, and the video ends.
In truth, there are three videos for Israel's Son. A video with concert footage was aired in
1995 on Australian television.
