What do you think of the new Marco Brambilla directed "video portrait" of Kanye? We kind of love it, and have watched it about six times already. The title of the song is "Power", but at the end of the shot, with Kanye lost in a busy tangle of bodies and movement, with two swords about to bear down on him, does he really have any?-

Other interesting things to note:

• The two girls standing sentinel in the center of the frame (they're the first people we see, besides Kanye) start off clothed(...ish), but the draping comes off, and end the video nude. (The cloth that was covering them can still be seen fluttering away when the video ends)

• Name a vice, and it's in there! Lust, drinking, fighting: it's quite the bacchanal.

• At the beginning of the painting, the style is similar to renaissance paintings: ordered and architectural (like a Bellini Triptych). Towards the end, it seems to go back in time to a more chaotic, Roman style. (Think the Villa of Mysteries)

The lyrics he's singing are:

I’m livin’ in the 21st century
Doin’ something mean to it
Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it
Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it
I guess every superhero need his theme music

No one man should have all that power
The clock’s tickin’, I just count the hours
Stop trippin’, I’m trippin’ off the power

What are your thoughts on it? (No really--we're curious!)

For more reading:

Interview with Brambilla