Today I’d like to write about DJ Shadow – ‘Nobody Speak’. I can no longer remember how I came across this song, but I do know I heard it before I saw the video. I remember thinking, “These are just terrible lyrics.” I mean, truly terrible.

This is the opening –

Picture this
I’m a bag of dicks
Put me to your lips
I am sick
I will punch a baby bear in his shit
Give me lip
I’mma send you to the yard, get a stick, make a switch
I can end a conversation real quick

I’m sure there are plenty of people who would be quick to defend these lyrics but let’s be honest, Shakespeare this is not.

That being said the song has a good beat and I found myself tuning out the lyrics and dancing in my car when it came on. Eventually I saw the video and was deeply impressed. First off, the look. This video looks like a feature film, (I just looked at the Vimeo upload and the director confirmed it was shot on the Alexa Mini). It’s clean, and epic looking. The video is filled with beautiful close ups of different faces. The lighting is perfect. Even the sound before the song starts is big and overpowering. If you are curious about how the video was made I found a nice interview with the director here. 

As for story, not so much, diplomats trading insults until everything goes horribly wrong. My favorite moment is most likely the ending when the man is shamed by the woman who is cleaning. It’s a good video, a fun video and despite my feeling about the lyrics by Run the Jewels I think it works well.