Music Video: Jillette Johnson
There are roughly 10,000 reasons why this debut Jillette Johnson video is incredible but I’ll start gushing with just 10 of them.
1. Lyrically, this tune is so raw and confessional, I can easily picture Jillette hunched over a leather-bound journal fleshing out her heartache to generously share with us.
2. That dress! The pleating, the draping, the way it sprawls around the piano bench when she sits down. So etherial and nicely juxtaposed with the rustic character of the surrounding space.
3. Slo-mo and reverse filming effects. Reminiscent of a Sundance audience favorite or early Coldplay video (a la Scientist). Stylistically, it’s a treat to watch clothes re-button and arguments un-happen. For this video, the choice proved to be highly evocative.
4. Nod to Eddie Sedgewick with blonde wig. I want to go to that party, why wasn’t I invited?
5. Filters! In the age of Instagram, nothing excites me more than making photos more interesting and moody with filters. The video is jam-packed with them. Blues, greens, reds, yellows. While the choices might seem aesthetically driven (man, she looks beautiful in a red filter) I believe they add to the natural shifts and stages of a relationship.
6. The PG-13 sun-drenched pillow fight. Jillette shows her sexy and playful side without being too much of an exhibitionist or seeming perverse.
7. This video could double as a New York tourism ad.
8. Shadow puppets and finger painting in bed. What’s cuter? And where can I sign up for this?
9. Coney Island! You know that scene in Uptown Girls where the late, great, Brittany Murphy takes baby Dakota Fanning to spin in the teacups on Coney Island but it’s closed and dirty and heartbreaking? This makes up for it.
10. Her VOICE. Jillette can sing and she’s not afraid to let everyone know about it. She rips through this song like a rock opera. It’s a little La Boheme meets Carol King in her prime. The chick writes all her own music as a newly signed artist on Wind Up Records. You can watch this video all afternoon on youtube and then go buy her debut album on iTunes. You can also follow her on instagram because if it wasn’t already blatantly apparent, she’s got an eye for all things pretty. –KAITLYN WYLDE