"Crystal" Persuasion
by Sean Carolan

There's a new single from New Order (cause for celebration, generally speaking) that has engendered a fairly interesting video. A decade ago, Milli Vanilli were pilloried for daring to embody the performing persona for a cadre of studio musicians, New Order have taken the opposite route with their single "Crystal":

They've removed themselves from the video entirely, in favor of photogenic sixteen-year-olds.

There's little likelihood of these youngsters meeting the same horrific fate that enveloped Milli Vanilli - New Order are at the very least a known quantity, with their lyrics, if not their actual song titles, sparking recognition among even the most casual of listeners. I'm basing this on solid scientific research: a group of three hair care professionals in Jackson, NJ, all responded positively when I repeated the lyrics "Every time I see you falling / I get down on my knees and pray". How's that for market testing?

Of course, the kids in the video were about four when that song came out. But there they are nonetheless, cavorting to the music provided by our old friends in New Order.

In case the audience misses the irony of a kid in high school lip-synching to Bernard Sumner, with no lack of conviction by the way, the end of the video hammers it in, where a gaggle of (possibly younger?) kids tries to take over. Ultimately, New Order are saying, that's the way pop music works - you get your place in the spotlight for a little while, until someone steals it from you.

Unless you're New Order, and it's a spotlight of your own manufacture. Then you get to point it at someone else, and it becomes a magnificent tool of misdirection.

©2001 Sean Carolan