Daft Punk didn’t make a video for and eventually got around to releasing one for … so by those standards, the fact that they just premiered a clip “Instant Crush” a scant two weeks after they released it as a single is pretty impressive.
Simply put, making music videos hasn’t been the ‘bots top priority in the Random Access Memories era — the “Dance” clip was little more than a jazzed-up performance clip — though they’ve stepped things up ever so slightly for “Instant Crush.” There is a storyline (one that features the song’s vocalist, Julian Casablancas, as a military mannequin who falls in love with a fellow display), and genuine production flourishes. In short, it’s an actual music video.
Daft Punk themselves don’t make a cameo (though their iconic helmets do), instead leaving the Strokes frontman to carry the load. Casablancas does an admirable job, too, emoting his way through the auto-tuned track, and displaying a refreshing lack of self-awareness by striking no shortage of seriously goofy poses. The story portion of the video plays out in a museum, as two mannequins — one of whom is a dead-ringer for Casablancas — spend decades staring at each other from across a gallery … their love forever unrequited, until, of course, they are both put into storage, where fate finally conspires to bring them together.
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Yes, it’s a little silly. But, it’s also touching, too. And cool, stylish and a bit sanguine. And as far as Daft Punk videos are concerned, that’s about all you can ask for. Hey, not too bad for a pair of robots who couldn’t be bothered to even show up.
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