Stuck Like Glue

I’m a big believer that "Love Shack" was a giant hit because of the sheer, unmitigated joy of Kate Pierson in the video.

Yes, it’s hard to separate the clip from the hit, at least it was back in the days of MTV, when we all watched and were all addicted.  Now the video is an afterthought, unless you’re vying for Top Forty success, or are in country music.  I mean wasn’t the video of Cee-Lo’s "F**K YOU" the words only?  A great track should be able to stand on its own, you don’t want the visuals messing with the movie you’ve created between your ears.

Then again, is "Stuck Like You" a great track?

I’m not sure, but at least until halfway through, it’s a great video.  Because of the sheer, unmitigated JOY!  Remember when videos were a throwaway, a lark, completely disconnected from the music involved?  Tom Petty seemed to have contempt for so many of the videos he was in, that’s what made them great.  Sure, I’ll make this clip, but it’s about the SONG!

But by time Tom Petty started making videos, he was already a star, had been making hits for half a decade.  Whereas Sugarland debuted in the modern, visual-oriented era, and maybe that’s why I hate them so much.

Well, not that much, but would Kristian doff that dorky hat?  But even more important, can Jennifer Nettles stop singing out of the side of her mouth, stop emoting like someone stole her s’mores and if she cries she’s gonna ruin her makeup for the prom?

Yes, she’s overdoing it.  Completely creeping me out.  I’d run from a person like this in real life.  And you don’t want to run from stars, you want to embrace them, or feel they’re so mysterious that you’re dying to know them.

Mystery is hard to pull off these days, it’s now all about openness.  And that’s just what Jennifer Nettles delivers in this clip, she’s a REVELATION!

I apologize for the VEVO ad, but hang in for the clip…

It looks so good.  And Jennifer Nettles looks so normal…and cute!  She’s like a sitcom star with talent.   Yes, we no longer expect anybody on TV to have talent.  But SHE DOES!

And even Kristian Bush seems to be in on the joke, he’s sitting in the back seat of the station wagon wearing a smile that seems to say I’m along for the ride against my will, but what the hell!

This is why we hate instant successes.  They need it so bad, they’re not human.  And we’re attracted first and foremost to humanity.  And I’m attracted to Jennifer Nettles here.  I can imagine talking to her in the cafeteria, having a conversation with her backstage.  I get the impression someone’s home, someone who’s got parents, who’s experienced heartbreak, someone who’s three-dimensional as opposed to a cartoon character.  She’s been doing it so long that she’s got confidence, she can relax and let the warmth run out.

Yet when Jennifer starts to dance at 2:23, she loses me.  We get it, you don’t have to dance and keep trying to impress us with your talents, no wonder Ryan McPartlin rejects you!

In this case, Sugarland already has a career.  We know they’ve got talent, we know they can play.  So the video is seen as extraneous to their career.  Then again, I’d rather watch this video than see them perform the song live, just like I’d rather watch Kate Pierson shimmy and shake and go under the limbo pole in the "Love Shack" video than see the B-52’s perform the song live.

And that’s a problem.  We seem to have video songs and songs without predetermined pictures that we each own individually.  But I’ve got to give Jennifer credit here, by acknowledging to herself that she’s already a star, she’s relaxed and has drawn me in.  And with a video this good, a so-so song enters the land of repeatability.  But this is how we got into this mess, we wanted to see the videos over and over again.  The band live?  Not so much.

P.S. I only checked out the video because someone e-mailed me about it:

Kristina Knight:

This was brilliant of Sugarland… they took the MTV approach. Released the video the same day as the song. The song becomes an instant hit because they have a clever funny video. The song has a catchy hook that’s for darn sure, but I fail to see where this is considered a good song. It’s like Hillary Duff with a steroid induced twang.
Kind of a weird song coming from good song writers (I think both Kristian and Jennifer are great writers) approaching (or maybe even over) the age of 40.

Enjoy!
Watch: Sugarland’s new video for ‘Stuck Like Glue’