Take a Picture

collage created w/screen shots from Filter's "Take a Picture" directed by David Meyers

While I don't exactly "feel like a newborn" while watching "Take a Picture", it definitely triggers the fairytale loving child in me. The video plays like a modern fairytale with its mermaid imagery, star filled sky, glistening night sea, and sunken treasures. Interestingly enough.. the song was written about Richard Patrick's experience getting naked on a plane while inebriated. No matter how hard you dig I'll doubt you'll find the symbolism. The David Meyer's directed video premeired in 2000. At the time, CGI (computer generated imagery used often in conjunction with a green screen) was becoming the major force in the special effects world. "Take a Picture" is a fantastic melding of CGI with man-made sets. The layering of the two gives you that other-worldly sensation where you're not sure where the set ends and the CGI begins. I'm completely bewildered by the house flooding scene.

The song was Filter's biggest commercial hit, but not the best representation of their much harder, electronic sound. A few years ago, I saw Richard Patrick play at the Bowery Ballroom with Army of Anyone. He's one of the few men with the ability to scream in tune. During the show, Richard threw an open water bottle out into the crowd which managed to land right on my friend's head. She was drenched, but just shook out her hair and continued to jive to the music. After the show, much to our surprise, Richard ran up to us and sincerely apologized to her. He was an extremely cool, down-to-earth man, very much the opposite of the rock star stereotype.