Welcome to the White Parade

Okay, I really don't know how I feel about the Pumpkins' video for "Tarantula".



I love the song. I love Billy, even if he does look old now and I want to put eyeliner on him. But.

White appears to be the new black. I like the striped sleeves -- even if they look lifted from The Black Parade -- but the asymmetrical midriff thing doens't do it for me. And William, at this point in your life, do you really need a cape? He must think he does, because apparently he also wears it live.

Next thought: Wow, they replaced James and D'Arcy with...twenty more musicians. It's like a game -- Spot The Real SP Recruits -- not the best move if you're trying to hide the fact that half your lineup is newbies. The people lip-synching are especially strange. Like, it's obvious Billy is singing the recorded lyrics, even the backup vocals, so don't have a GIRL and a BLACK GUY pretending they're singing, because it just becomes funny. And not in a good way. Turns out the real band members are wearing white like Billy. In fact, Jeff Schroeder, the guitarist, is also wearing a cape. Bassist Ginger Reyes, however, apparently declined the offer. "No thanks boys, I'd rather blend in with the crowd and, you know, not look dumb."

On the other hand, it's nice that the boy seems to be enjoying himself. I love the little thing Billy does where he tosses the microphone from hand to hand after he sings "I wanna be there when you're happy," and then in the middle of "I wanna love you when you're sad," he starts smiling in a way that almost looks totally spontaneous. And then he twirls his mike around just offscreen! It's simply adorable. Almost enough to make me like the video.

And then, at 1:34, Billy shoots lasers out of his eyes. I KID YOU NOT. And they're not even very bright or very exciting lasers. They're...just kind of little flat pink lines. They look like some kid thought it would be funny to doctor the video and put lasers in there. Any credibility this video had went out the very-low-budget window at 1:34.

I understand the the idea of juxtaposing of the black-and-white figures with the changing colors as kind of a throwback to the pseudo-psychedelia of their very earliest videos, but honestly, those videos were no better than this. It was only around the release of "Today" that the Pumpkins became -- and stayed -- a notably great video band. I was going to post links to all of their videos to prove my point, but then I realized the self-indulgence of that and went with three examples.

Today (1993) -- This is probably my favorite video of theirs. Hell, maybe my favorite video EVER. How can you get any better than Billy driving an ice cream truck, and James in a dress?

Tonight, Tonight (1995) -- I remember when I saw this on MTV even before I was really aware of the Pumpkins, and I was like WHAT IS THAT. It gave me this weird feeling. A few years later, I heard them again, I realized I wanted that feeling back, and I plunged into Pumpkin fandom like that couple plunging from the blimp. My journey was just as fantastic.

Stand Inside Your Love (2000) - This is here to show that even in their last days, SP were capable of gorgeous videos. Creepy, flouncy side characters had become standard fare by that time, but the elegance of the direction and the style (that little black frame; that one moment of color at the end) make this one a keeper.

And now we have...8-bit laser eyes. Billy, if you're going to make a grand comeback, don't let yourself get out-videoed by the likes of My Chemical Romance. Right now they're trouncing you on flair, if not on street cred. And if the "Tarantula" video is indicative of the quality of the new album (modestly titled Zeitgeist), SP might even drop in the latter arena.

But ultimately, I'm just bitter because I didn't win K-ROQ's free tickets to the Fillmore show. I'm pretty hopeful for the album, because the song is good. Maybe I'll even grow to like the cape. We'll see.