Pitchfork Forkcast: Video: Black Lips: "Veni Vidi Vici"

Video: Black Lips: "Veni Vidi Vici"

The video for Black Lips' Good Bad Not Evil track "Veni Vidi Vici" (which Diplo remixed a little while back) ably captures some of the song's off-handed, down-home scruffiness while accentuating its surprisingly political message. Directed by Edward Tegethoff and the band and shot on a Super 8 film camera found in a thrift store, the video follows Black Lips as they shake maracas, sing, and wander blankly through various places in Atlanta, including a cemetery. Meanwhile, inserts show flags bearing iconic symbols going up in flames. The song warns of putting faith in religion ("It don't matter what you do/ Holy world war will come for you"), a pretty heavy message for such a chill tune, and the visuals drive the nihilistic sentiment home. But then the film reverses, the flags become whole again, and hey, maybe there is hope after all.