Every week, a slew of new music videos hits the web. Watching them at your desk is not time theft because you deserve it; think of it as a nice reward for surviving another work week. But what if you don’t have time to watch every video — maybe you have a deadline, a hungry pet, or other grown-up concerns. In consideration of your schedule, Lizzie and Kaitlyn bring you a series called One Video. Each week we’ll tell you “one video” you need to watch, why, and for how long.
Welcome to the final installment of One Video, a column that was good while it lasted, but as Shania would say: “now we’re past it!”
It’s not because our love for music videos or light time theft has dimmed at all, and of course, our love for each other only grows each day. It’s also not a decision made due to low page views, as no installment of One Video has ever had fewer than 18 readers, and that we can promise you. The truth is that Kaitlyn will only be working at this website for two more days. Before you ask: of course she made Lizzie a breakup playlist, and of course it is very moving!
This week’s video: “Need a Little Time” by Courtney Barnett
Kaitlyn: In the last week of One Video’s sweet little life, the Lord saw fit to test it. Taylor Swift released a visual for “Delicate,” brutally murdering the best song on her album with a PSA about how to get hookworm and an ad-spot for the LA bar Golden Gopher — an “iconic property” refurbished in 2004 by “Cedd Moses’ acclaimed 213 Hospitality, the first hospitality developer to stake a claim in the neighborhood’s historically significant buildings by reinventing them into cultural destinations.”
Lil Dicky — one of the most underobserved and revolting people of our time — released a video with Chris Brown, Ed Sheeran, and Kendall Jenner. In it, he and Jenner switch bodies, and then she sings, as Lil Dicky, as her (?), “I got a vagina, I’m gonna explore that right now. Holy shit, I got a vagina.”
What the shit is Vic Mensa ever doing?
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Lizzie: It’s rough to come to terms with the fact that we’re living in the final days of One Video, but perhaps it’s even rougher to come to terms with the fact that music videos do not seem to have measurably improved since we started this godforsaken column.
If I were feeling generous, I’d say that, over the course of One Vid, the chances were usually pretty high that at least one musician would release a good video every week (except for that time we wrote about a Shins video, and all the other weeks we skipped due to some combination of exhaustion and boredom and no options other than visual trauma released by Imagine Dragons).
Kaitlyn: Anyway, this week, we picked the space-themed video for “Need a Little Time,” a song about needing a little time.
Who is Courtney Barnett?
Kaitlyn: Courtney Barnett is an Australian singer and songwriter who is a personal hero to many — and not just when she is wisely putting on a space suit and launching herself out among the stars to avoid an unpleasant conversation.
Her new album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, is due out May 18th. The lead single is called “Nameless, Faceless,” and the chorus is the slightly paraphrased Margaret Atwood quote “Men are scared that women will laugh at them; women are scared that men will kill them.” Another time, she said that if she could only dance to one song for the rest of her life, it would be “You Never Can Tell” by Chuck Berry. Not my choice, but it’s an interesting question to think about for a few hours and discuss with friends. I’m curious what Lizzie would choose.
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Lizzie: The other day while at the gym, I listened to J. Cole’s “Work Out,” which is not actually about working out, but it felt fitting anyway. It’s so, so embarrassing, but what is the point of the last One Video if it’s not to embarrass myself? I had a good time and thought, “This would also be an appropriate song to listen to during a spin class.” I know that’s not the question, but I’m sick of doing what is asked of me!
Kaitlyn: My choice is “Leavin’” by Jesse McCartney. Thanks, and whatever, Lizzie!
What’s special about “Need a Little Time” by Courtney Barnett:
Kaitlyn: What’s going on with everyone’s faces? Hard to say. It’s special to think about the artistic choices that director Danny Cohen and production designer Marni Kornhauser are making here. There are extensive credits in the YouTube description of “Need a Little Time,” and one of them is a food truck in Wodonga, Australia. Nice!
Also special: space, wooden tongue depressor, lovely shades of teal throughout, tiny planet the perfect size for Courtney Barnett.
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Lizzie: I think most music video connoisseurs would agree that the presence of musical instruments in a video is, in most cases, a cop-out. In this case, Courtney Barnett floats around space with nothing but her seafoam green guitar, and it works. I don’t know why! Maybe because she doesn’t use her instrument as an aesthetic crutch, like, “Oh I couldn’t think of anything else to do, and I’m a musician, so here’s me holding a thing that makes sounds.” Instead, it’s like, “I brought my guitar into space because what else am I gonna do out here?”
How long everyone should watch “Need a Little Time” by Courtney Barnett:
Kaitlyn: Over and over until the Earth moistens and crumbles beneath you like a graham cracker dipped in orange soda, leaving your body to free fall through space and time. Wouldn’t you prefer that One Video never came to an end?
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Lizzie: Yes! See you next week! Just kidding! It’s really over! So watch the whole dang thing.
Bonus Video:
All “One Video” Videos:
Goodbye!
Bye!
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