IN DEPTH: Sean Lennon "Friendly Fire"

Considering that anything Sean Lennon creates is immediately compared with the work of his father John Lennon —  aka one of the greatest songwriters and most famous figures of all time — it's not surprising that eight years have passed since his debut album, Into The Sun. His new release, Friendly Fire, finds him in a distinctly different head space than what permeated Into The Sun. Gone is the light-hearted genre-hopping, replaced with a more melancholic sound that mixes strains of his father's distinctive timbre with the West Coast singer-songwriter vibe most associated with producer/musician Jon Brion — who performs on the album. Maybe it's a reaction to the critical attention he's always been subject to; Maybe it's all due to the tragic, romantic triangle he found himself in while working on the songs.

Accompanying the new album is a DVD that ties together videos for each song on the album. Utilizing a variety of styles — the main reference points seem to be all foreign films, especially those directed by Federico Fellini — Lennon stars alongside a cast of well-known starlets, including Lindsay Lohan, Jordana Brewster, Devon Aoki, Asia Argento and his real life ex-girlfriend Bijou Phillips. Quintessence Films director Michele Civetta took some time out from working on his movie Coin Locker Babies to discuss the video accompaniments to Friendly Fire.

Video Static: Let's start at the start... How did the project come together?

Michele Civetta: I've been working on a film called Coin Locker Babies, based on the novel by Japanese writer Ryu Murakami for a number of years. Sean is a big fan of the novel and got involved with the project a few years back. This fall I decided to shoot a camera test for the film with my DP Steve Gainer and it ended up becoming the "Parachute" video. We had such a blast shooting it on an ultra shoestring budget that Sean came back and suggested we shoot a video for every track on the record. We initially planned to create ten autonomous videos, but we're both fans of overindulgent '70s rock odysseys like Tommy, The Wall, and Head, so it evolved into more of a conceptual accompaniment for the record.

VS: I didn't notice a lot of the typical elements or influences from music videos in these clips. They’re definitely not edited or shot like traditional music videos.

MC: Film references were stronger as that is really where my heart is. I like videos a lot, but I've always been more compelled by the more narrative driven ones of yesteryear. If anything, there is a tinge of influence from Hipgnosis, Storm Thorgersons' design team that's responsible for a ton of the Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Edgar Broughton Band artwork.

VS: Even beyond the focus on narrative though, I noticed the way the shots linger and the lack of quick edits. Those things are pretty antithetical to the usual music video structure.

MC: It's easy to make images compelling when you chop them up in a Cuisinart. There is something to be said for long takes. Also the music is very melodic and orchestral so it didn't call for quick rhythmic edits.

VS: The transition between the pieces is usually that TV with the fireplace within... Seemed kind of mysterious.

MC: The TV in the house was a final interstitial element we shot while editing the finished film... The fire image is a play on the record's title. The other idea is that the fire in the TV is primal and it represents mankind and civilization, but when projected through the cathode ray tube it takes on an alien presence. Kind of like the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's an object used in the videos to transcend time and act as a virtual rabbit hole of sorts.

VS: So, there's not really a narrative tying these together, is there?

MC: The project would have been approached differently if it was a true concept record. Many of the songs have been written over the years and then a few of the final tracks, including "Friendly Fire," were written around the time we filmed “Parachute” and while Sean was finishing the record. One of our best friends Max LeRoy died in a motorcycle accident and Sean wrote the title track "Friendly Fire," about him. The song references the betrayal and affair that occurred between Max and [Sean Lennon’s girlfriend at the time] Bijou Phillips. There is a real sadness in the song, since it was Sean's way of processing his feelings; It was almost a first attempt towards reconciliation with our friend and then a week later he was gone.

VS: And the video for that song is definitely the DVD’s centerpiece in terms of the narrative.

MC: We wanted it to anchor the sensibilities, since everything else is so quixotic and bizarre. It seemed like an obvious choice to make that film be the reality from which all the others are stemming.  That Sean and Bijou re-enacted their breakup and betrayal seemed like it was taking a real bite out of the postmodern construct of the concept; I thought it was uniquely brave of them both.

VS: Absolutely. It's one thing to reference a break-up for artistic purposes. It's another thing to cast yourself and your ex for the re-enactment. You also have an acting roll in the fictional version with Lindsay Lohan, right? [see photo at right with Lohan, Lennon and Civetta]

MC: Yeah, that was more of a gag. We had a scheduling change and one of our actors couldn't show. Since it was supposed to be a French New Wave ultra arty homage of the breakup story, it was a perfect subject for parody. We decided I should act and Sean should direct the scene. It just felt appropriately irreverent and a bit of cosmic retribution for the torture that Sean was being put through on a daily basis (learning how to swordfight, rollerskate, etc.)

VS: It was also interesting how Sean is constantly cast as the underdog in these videos and that he doesn't always emerge as the hero.

MC: Yeah, I think that was wholly intentional. Sean is a strange amalgamation. He is very brave and heroic, but I think that many of the videos played on subconscious undercurrents. What was terrific about the project was that we had so many opportunities to put Sean's personality on display and this character is very similar to who he really is in life with his friends; a total goof.

VS: I can totally imagine the scene where a schmuck in a movie theatre line says, "Hey Julian, I love your work" to him being directly taken from real life.

MC: Happens all the time when we're together. I've also heard people come up and unknowingly say, “Hey man, you look like John Lennon!” But, as Sean says, it's the ones who come up and want to talk about his Mom that you have to really watch out for.

VS: The ones that invite him to primal therapy sessions?

MC: Exactly

VS: That self-awareness and self-deprecating humor is definitely evident throughout all the videos. Like, when Sean calls it "a series of shorts that quite simply fall short" while in line for the movie.

MC: That is a typical play on words for Sean. He is always twisting speech in funny, anachronistic ways. I don't think he took the project overly serious as a grand statement. It was really an attempt to create a bunch of different little statements and experiments. Also, we couldn't help but reference the semi-pretentious nature of making ten films about oneself.

--> Watch the Friendly Fire trailer. There is also a video for "Dead Meat" which compiles clips from the full piece.

Sean Lennon Friendly Fire (Capitol)
Michele Civetta, director | Manu Gargi & Griffin Marcus, producers | Quintessence Films, production co | Bryan Newman, DP | Steve Gainer, DP for "Parachute" | Josh Ferrazano/Thought Crime & Jenny Golden/Nuncle Group, editors

SHOT: Swan Island - Molly & Mariah, directors

Diretcing team Molly & Mariah watching Swan Island on the set of "Crumble."

artist: Swan Island
song: "Crumble"
label: Holocene/16 Records
director(s): Molly & Mariah
production co: @radical.media

NEW RELEASE: "Weird Al" Yankovic "White & Nerdy"

Chamillionaire is "Ridin Dirty;" "Weird Al" Yankovic is "White & Nerdy." Rappers play dice go ballin'; Al plays with with 20-sided Dungeons & Dragons dice and goes bowling. He wears braces, bot grills. No, it's not the first time he's lampooned hip-hop — "Amish Paradise" is still his most ingenious skewering of the genre — but respect should be given to the parodist for having a three decade career that's much longer than almost all of the artists he's ever sent-up. -- watch "White & Nerdy"  via SonyBMG Musicbox or a Weird Al e-card

"Weird Al" Yankovic "White & Nerdy" (Volcano/ZLG)
"Weird Al" Yankovic, director/editor | Barbara Benson, producer | @radical.media, production co | Clyde Smith, DP

NEW RELEASE: The Blood Brothers "Lazer Life"

The Blood Brothers valiantly rock out in a room filled with outdated electronic equipment ready to exact their revenge. The machines use their wires like those murderous vines from the first two Evil Dead movies to capture and strangulate the band members. Kind of makes you wistful for HAL, which was at least polite while it killed those meddling humans. -- watch "Lazer Life"

The Blood Brothers "Lazer Life" (V2)
Patrick Daughters, director | Tracey Landon, producer | Black Dog, production co | Shawn Kim, DP | JD Smyth, editor

SHOT: Eminem - The Saline Project, directors

Eminem is set to return with this video in support of the Shady Records mixtape The Re-Up...

artist: Eminem feat. 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Ca$his
song: "You Don't Know" 
label: Shady/Interscope 
director(s): The Saline Project
production co: HSI
rep: Robin Frank Management

SHOT: Stacie Orrico - Ray Kay, director

artist: Stacie Orrico
song: "So Simple"
label: Virgin
director(s): Ray Kay
production co: Rockhard Films
rep: Robin Frank Management

SHOT: Josh Groban - Meiert Avis, director

artist: Josh Groban
song: "You Are Loved"
label: 143/Reprise/Warner Bros.
director(s): Meiert Avis
production co: Pusher Media
rep: Robin Frank Management

SHOT: Akon - Gil Green, director

Director Gil Green has returned from a two week trip to Ghana as part of an effort to increase the quality of videos shot in the region, sponsored by MTV's African property MTV base, the Ghanian Ministry of Tourism and the NYU program in Ghana.

The director ran numerous workshops for film students at the NYU Ghana campus and then allowed the  group to co-produce and co-direct videos — under the name The Red, Gold and Gil Green — for both international star Akon and local artist Tic Tac featuring Batman. The videos were shot in Ghana's capital city Accra and the coastal region of Elmina. MTV base filmed all the activities for a forthcoming "Making Of" special. -- see photo of Gil Green working the camera as Akon performs

artist: Akon
song: "Mama Africa"
label: SRC/Universal   
director(s): Gil Green
production co: Partizan

SHOT: Dirty On Purpose - Andrew Zuchero, director

artist: Dirty On Purpose
song: "Car No Driver"
label: North Street
director(s): Andrew Zuchero
production co: Greencard Pictures

BOOKED: Women And Children - Raafi Rivero, director

artist: Women And Children
song: "Oranges" and "Born TP"
label: Narnack
director(s): Raafi Rivero
production co: Desedo Films