Fleet Foxes is just one of those bands that will never die. As they headed a generation of folk Americana music, they shaped a sound unique to them but so familiar to the listener. After a few years of silence, Fleet Foxes has come out with a stellar line up of songs and music videos. This one in particular caught my eye.
Directed by Sean Pecknold, brother to lead sing Robin Pecknold, This beautifully eerie video is completely left up to interpretation. My conception for the video may differ from what the director or even fleet foxes envisioned but either way this video does make you sit back and ponder it’s meaning and how it applies to your life.
It starts out with man who looks to be troubled and deep in thought or maybe not thinking at all. The man turns his head and looks as if he is dead inside. Only adding to the troublesome feeling of the man lead singer Robin Pecknold delivers a shivering low register vocal with warbling guitars. As the camera slowly zooms in on the man you begin to notice the coloring, texture and overall vibe of the video. Vintage, retro and rundown are just a few words that pop into my head as I watch.
The scene cuts to a fluorescent floating red cube in the hallway of the home the man is in. It isn’t said or written but it almost seems clear the relationship between the troubled man and the red cube. The man seems mindless and and as if he is being controlled by the red cube.
The music picks up and the main character jumps out the door and runs towards the mountains. Sean Pecknold uses one of my favorite cinematography tricks in this scene. The Dolly Zoom! The Dolly Zoom was first made famous by the Alfred Hitchcock movie “Vertigo”. The Dolly Zoom is done by zooming onto the a subject while simultaneously moving the camera towards or away from the subject.
It really demonstrates in this video how far he has to run or symbolic of getting away seems like far away and daunting task. It seems the main character is trying to get away from the cube; He is trying to get away from the mind control.
https://giphy.com/embed/TEWAA8d9OEvi6sS8ZS
via GIPHY
Or possibly he is being controlled by the cube and being forced to run towards the mountains. The latter seems to be the case as the main character’s body movements and mannerisms look uncomfortable and forced. The irregular movements of his body attest to a wrestle of the mind between the man and his enemy the red cube.
Some symbolism of the red cube could be anything that distracts or consumes us for the worst. For many of us those distractions can be things like phones and social media or a career. For others it could be drugs, medication or even depression. We can sometimes feel the mental and physical pain of fighting against our addictions. I think the actor in this video accurately depicts that struggle and fight.
This is a beautiful music video with great music by the wonderful Fleet Foxes. Give the song a listen and watch the music video with intent of searching out the symbolism and what it means to you. Comments and interpretations are welcome!
MUSIC Factory 
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