KAT-TUN’s “RESCUE” PV: First single that doesn’t suck

I’ve never really been into KAT-TUN; I listened to Queen of Pirates, but I didn’t get it. Furthermore, I’ve never been into the entire (male or female) idol fixation. I am, however, a sucker for good pop music and KAT-TUN’s newest single is certainly good, if not fantastic. There’s something particularly wonderful about the title track, “RESCUE”: it’s desperate, and hauntingly so. It’s set against a frenetic, fast-paced techno/dance hybrid that increases the sense of urgency; the chorus never really tells us what exactly the boys need rescuing from (“Into place / lost in maze” doesn’t really help, although I guess it explains all the running to nowhere in the video), but the post-pomo atmosphere gives us some idea. Or maybe these dudes just want to phone home.

Apparently, someone got wind about a few of my favorite PVs of all time and now everybody is catching onto the super slow-mo bandwagon. I am, of course, now intrigued.

We get some really cool soaring vocals before the fast beat crashes in and we expect to see an all out, sudden dance-fest, but instead we get really weird, inappropriately understated robot jerking.

Oh hey, I didn’t know Koda Kumi was in this video.

Dude. Chapstick. Frealz.

I don’t think this guy is aware there’s actual filming going on. The transparency of his lip-synching is painfully obvious. And he’s not even trying! He might as well be reading the lyrics off a cue-card for the first time. He is not, unfortunately, the sole offender.

This guy consistently takes huge gulps of breath…for nothing. The audio doesn’t match with his movements which suggests soft, tender whispers (although I’m really glad that forgotten D-list VJs can still be hairspirational).

Each singer gets his own special set of “dancers.” These two girls do this weird pointing thing behind Koki’s head, in case you forgot where he is in the frame.

At this point, we’re introduced to an extended mix, which is actually kind of cool and also – the real dancing begins! Each member gets his own routine in a sort of rigidly set, controlled dance-off. They’re all really good, but she is clearly the best.

I know that dramatic music calls for dramatic shots of really slow, dramatic running, but when you’re not going anywhere (with it or at all), it goes from totally awesome to useless really fast.

I think this deserves an LOL.

Yuichi is awarded the ultimate, definitive “I don’t want to cry alone!” and this is how he delivers it: eyebrows scrunched in confusion with a mouth barely open enough to convince us that any sound beyond a groan could possibly emerge.

It’s an incredible, heartfelt song, but what a mediocre, phoned-in PV. While I understand there’s such a thing as claiming the entire pop star ideology, the kind that requires a healthy fan-in-on fan-disregard (total dedication to the art, man) and a well-played ego, these boys aren’t pulling it off in the least. Not that I think they’re trying to; they just look like they’re wondering when the catering is coming. There’s none of the anguish that’s so sincere in the song, unless it was over Ray-Bans that weren’t dark enough for their post-apocalyptic CGI world.

RESCUE PV ░ [ View ]

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