Innocent Criminals Page
The edited Israel's Son is in color, with no "story" or side plot to it --
just Daniel, Ben and Chris rocking out in a large room similar to a warehouse or barn. Sunlight (or at least simulated sunlight) is streaming in. There is one closeup of a piece of a heavy chain; other than that, the band is always in view (unlike the
remade Tomorrow and Pure Massacre videos).
There are close-ups of the band members playing their instruments, as well as close-ups of Daniel's face (which is certain to please a large segment of the band's fan base).
At one point, the camera is pointed at Daniel and he seems to realize that he is in a "rock star" pose and looks away, appearing to be mildly embarrassed at being caught.
Chris still has his long hair, so the video was obviously filmed before the end of December when Chris' haircut made its public debut at a concert in Perth, Australia. Daniel wears a blue sports jersey with the number 27 on it and a red sweater. Chris wears a T-shirt and Ben a long-sleeve shirt.
No effort is made in the video to reflect the dark mood created by the song's lyrics. In fact, the use of color and light appears to be a deliberate attempt to counteract the somber theme of the song.
Two devoted 'chair fans have offered more perspectives on the new Israel's Son video.
Maya, who loves silverchair, said she found the new video "sick, twisted and
demented."
"I don't think they could have made Daniel look more like [Nirvana's] Kurt Cobain if they hired a plastic surgeon," Maya said. "First of all, the lighting and the colors of the lenses are SO reminiscent of Smells Like Teen Spirit. But the most demented part is putting Daniel in one of those grandpa sweaters that Kurt made
famous. Yes, Kurt wore green, and they stuck Daniel in a reddish one -- but come on!"
Maya said the first thing that came to mind when she saw the video was that "they are
turning Daniel Johns into Kurt Cobain."
"Perhaps it was to stir up some controversy so that people would pick up on the
resemblance, criticize them for it, allow them to defend themselves -- basically create
controversy for the sake of gaining more press," Maya said.
She also pointed out something which may be only a coincidence, but is interesting to
consider.
"Daniel wears a shirt with the number 27 on it," Maya noted. "Perhaps I've analyzed too
much trashy pop culture in my day, but 27 is not just some random number in this
post-grunge world we live in. Janis Joplin died at 27, [so did] Jim Morrison and Kurt
Cobain. And after Kurt's suicide, a HUGE deal was made about that age being the lethal
age for rock stars."
From a professional's point of view, Jarod (who silverchair fans in Houston can tune into on The Buzz, KTBZ 107.5 FM) noted that the actual song Israel's Son was edited for the video.
"Nothing's really missing completely," said Jarod (at left, with Chris Joannou.) "A
lot of the instrumental parts are cut in half, basically." New on the The Buzz playlist is an Epic Records release of
Israel's Son which contains the same edits as the new video.
