You've got to be pretty DGAF to be, in my opinion, to be THE definitive music video director of pretty much the past two decades. Sorry Spike Jonze, I love your stuff, but you ain't Michel Gondry!
It all started in 1994 when, as an impressionable 13 year old, I saw Björk's "Human Behavior" video, back in MTV's heyday:
Holy shit. Who was this kind of Asian-looking lady with the funny name and the badass voice and the dope outfit??? What a sick beat too!!! It didn't sound like anything else I'd heard on MTV. The video, too, looked like it consisted entirely of magic sprinkles... it wasn't clips of some band playing, it didn't take place in the desert or at some house party, and it certainly didn't use any computer graphics to show off any special effects (take that, "Black Hole Sun"!) but it certainly did not look cheaply made. It was surreal and abstract yet had a narrative and concept. It was imaginative, original, visually stunning, and anything but boring. All in all, I had never heard, or seen anything like it. I could not categorize any of it, but that is precisely what I liked best about it.
I was amused, impressed, and became more and more of a fan as I saw his other videos, which were becoming more ubiquitous at the time. Michel Gondry? What a weird name (takes one to know one, as I myself literally have one of the most uncommon last names in the world), but whoever this person was, I definitely wanted him to direct my music videos in the future.
Fast forward to late 2003. I still had none of my own music for Michel Gondry to direct videos to, but that's ok. He came out with his first DVD, "The Work of Director Michel Gondry." It was part of this "Director's Series", and was an extensive "best of" collection of his music videos and other works, and a huge booklet. I can't even begin to describe or explain his other works, so it would be best to check out this DVD, or at least look up his videos on YouTube, and believe me, you'll get the idea. He is, in my eyes, unparalleled at making hyperrealities. I hate to pitch a product, but this DVD is MANDATORY!!! If you can't buy it, borrow a friend's copy, because you have to see the booklet too. You just have to. I used to bump this shit in the video room constantly when I used to work at Tower Records.
I found out through this DVD that he was the drummer in this band called Oui Oui, who were in my opinion ridiculously underrated. They were catchy, fun, cute, had nicely crafted songs, and duh, had brilliant music videos! There's even a live performance of them on the DVD where they're playing a show where there's big circular lights flashing with each band member's face on it. I thought that was SO cool. That's pretty DGAF. Their albums are out of print, which is a damn shame, and i think they should be re-released. I managed to get my own copy on eBay even thought I don't own a record player.
Since then, besides a shitload of music videos, he's also directed several movies and numerous commercials. He's even written a book! WTF? DGAF and prolific.
Fast forward to 2009... and shit's about to go down. I named him one of my influences for my Senior Project at Otis. I wasn't quite able to capture his magic, but who cares, because I'd heard rumors that he was going to release another DVD....
I was in the backseat of my friend Deirdre's car, on the way to Denny's in Hollywood where she wanted to stop and eat before going to the Echo where she was going to play with her band, Last Legs. I get a call from Shimosh, who informs me that Michel Gondry was going to be at Amoeba the next day to sign copies of his new DVD, which freaks me out like nothing else. We'd already scored tickets to see the M.I.A. secret show that same night, so I just felt like i'd won the lottery. It was last minute and unexpected, and I was in disbelief until we actually got to Amoeba the next day.
We had no idea what was awaiting us there. I'd looked it up online, and apparently it was "Michel Gondry and Friends" and there was going to be a musical performance. Hmm... who were his friends? Our friend Don suggested that his friends were drops of acid that they'd pass out at Amoeba in the form of gum. But I almost had a heart attack thinking it might be a Oui Oui reunion show.
It was almost 7pm at Amoeba, and the anticipation was building. The place was pretty packed. I almost didn't mind missing the Mighty Boosh here a few weeks earlier because this more than made up for that. I ran to get my DVD and got a pretty good spot off to the left of the stage.
It was 7:15, and it hadn't started. Announcements were made that it was going to start shortly, but nothing was happening. Don joked that Michel Gondry wasn't even here yet. I cracked up and we made jokes about how he was actually across the street at the Jack in the Box either doing coke in the bathroom or just grubbing the fuck out. We made a stupid scenario where that was his favorite place to eat of all time in the whole world and he didn't give a fuck about Amoeba, the only reason he would show up here was because of the Jack in the Box across the street.
The announcer mentioned that Michel Gondry would arrive shortly, and we busted up at how Don's joke was actually true. Now, we're not sure about the Jack in the Box part... but we are definitely sure that Michel Gondry is DGAF. He's so DGAF that he shows up half an hour late to his own performance, gets on the drums, and chugs a bottle of Corona without missing so much as a beat. He could have done some predictable Q&A session or shamelessly plugged his new DVD. Nope, this music video director wanted to jam the fuck out. He's actually a really decent drummer, and he's still got it.
I admit I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a Oui Oui reunion show, but it was fun and cute nonetheless. It was kind of upbeat mellow jazz with a twist and I was amused to find that the guy on the synths was none other than Mark Ramos-Nishita, aka Money Mark, another '90s icon.
The '90s are really back, I told you so! (The night would get even more '90s later on, but we didn't know it yet or even think it was possible.)
So afterward we got in the endless line to get my DVD signed. It had an 8-bit aesthetic and I found this particularly hilarious on the DVD itself:
"That's retarded!" I exclaimed with joy and delight. I meant it as a compliment, but when I realized that not everyone would think that way, I self-consciously looked around, hoping that no one heard me, least of all Michel Gondry.
"You swear no one can hear you," Shimosh rightfully remarked.
For some reason I was stressing out about what to say. But I HAD to ask him about Steak because I heard he turned down that movie. I wondered why because I thought that was quite an amusing movie and I've constantly wondered what it would have been like if he'd directed it... The signing was going really quickly, and when my turn came up, I stood there and kind of panicked.
"You'reasoliddirectorandasoliddrummer!"
FUCK!!! I didn't realize how fast I'd said that. That was also kind of a stupid thing to say LOL. He looked up and gave me the most confused look he's probably ever given anyone. Somehow that didn't stop me from asking, "So why did you turn down directing Steak?" (I don't even think that was correct grammar.)
"What???" he asked, still looking confused. "What movie?"
"Steak."
"Yeah," he said, as he continued signing my DVD with three different colored Sharpies at once. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I think he then mumbled "Quentin Dupieux" under his breath. I was NOT going to ask him again if he didn't feel like answering, so I stood there feeling awkward and amused at the same time. I thanked him, gave him a regulation thumbs up, and wondered if it was called Steak because I'd discovered some kind of beef. I'll never know. And I will not list the ridiculous possible scenarios we thought of. But damn. That was fucking FUNNY!!!
I realized that I should have talked a HELL of a lot SLOWER... he probably couldn't hear or make out a damn word I said. But what I did NOT realize was how amused he looked as I was walking away... LOL
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