Stereogum Home

 

August 14, 2009

New Antony & The Johnsons Video - "Crazy In Love"

thumbnail icon: New Antony & The Johnsons Video - "Crazy In Love"

Always a show-stopper, Antony Hegarty's cover of Beyoncé's Hot 100 jam "Crazy In Love" is a masterclass on how to cover a song: with its rearrangement and reinterpretation, this version projects the mirror-imaged flip side to the sentiment B and Jay-Z bottled in their buoyant club hit. Antony's take casts the tune's desperation in an entirely new light -- from a confident celebration of irrational infatuation to one of hand-wringing loss of self-control -- and the video does so literally: Beyoncé's hyper-colored, crisply lit dance routines give way to Antony lurking in shadows, filtered through a diaphanous and murky haze. We're unable to see him clearly, but really we're just being put in his shoes.


(via P4K)

"Crazy In Love" is now available, stacked with "Aeon" as a double A-side single, via

Posted at 1:11 PM by amrit in
Tags:  |  |




18 Comments

Incredible.

Posted by: dafs profile link at 08/14/09 2:05 PM  | Reply
Score = 1 Vote up Vote down

Pretty much I hate the way his voice sounds and have never had the ability to listen to any of his songs without feeling really awkward. Its not bad... probably... but it is certainly not my bad. Downvote away.

Posted by: daebhid profile link at 08/14/09 2:29 PM  | Reply
Score = -3 Vote up Vote down

yeah... I meant my BAG. BAG!

Posted by: daebhid profile link  in reply to daebhid's comment at 08/14/09 2:30 PM  | Reply
Score = -4 Vote up Vote down

ahhhhhhhh, what's with the scary avatars?

Posted by: Goddess Bunny at 08/14/09 3:32 PM  | Reply
Score = 2 Vote up Vote down

Who listens to this shit?

Posted by: Nick Rock profile link at 08/14/09 3:36 PM  | Reply
Score = -2 Vote up Vote down

Awesome

Posted by: michael at 08/14/09 8:25 PM  | Reply
Score = 1 Vote up Vote down

Antony, out of the thousands and thousands of amazing songs you could cover, why this one?
While you're at it, might as well cover The Black-Eyed Peas or Lady GaGa next time.

Posted by: SubSickAlien profile link at 08/14/09 9:25 PM  | Reply
Score = -1 Vote up Vote down

Yea, he took a song HE liked and put a different take on it. It was carefully chosen in my opinion.

Posted by: jacob  in reply to SubSickAlien's comment at 08/15/09 12:44 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

because there' a difference between 'good mainstream' and 'bad mainstream'

Posted by: c-payne  in reply to SubSickAlien's comment at 08/15/09 1:30 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Theres not many that can turn an upbeat pop song into a melancholy masterpiece. I’d put Antony & The Johnsons in the list of few that can though.

Posted by: Ra(n)d(ome) Pop(e) at 08/15/09 8:00 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

this is an awful cover of a fantastic pop song. nothing like sucking the energy out of a hot jam.

Posted by: barry jive at 08/15/09 9:13 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

not a terrible cover.
the pattern is movement cover is much better.

Posted by: mugwort at 08/15/09 11:46 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

unlistenable AND unwatchable.When will you stop turning mental patients into indie celebs?

Posted by: wayoutwest at 08/16/09 9:59 AM  | Reply
Score = -1 Vote up Vote down

I really like this guy. He's like a cross between Jobriath and Nina Simone. And, Nico Mulhy's arrangements are stunning.

Posted by: Jonee at 08/16/09 7:39 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Yes, it's a cover of a hot pop song, and yes, the original video created an immediate image that's hard to forget. But, in all honesty, Antony's version fits the lyrics much better than Beyoncé's video does: he gives it the angst, the despair, and the "crazy" that a song celled "Crazy in Love" warrants. BOTH versions do what they, seemingly, set out to do, and both do it well.

Posted by: Dvs|Ursus at 08/17/09 3:15 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Simply amazing.

Posted by: thom at 08/17/09 10:48 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Um, am I mistaken or is he wearing BLACKFACE with a drag wig in part of this video where he's singing a black woman's song? No one seems to have mentioned this. Maybe I'm wrong. Check the 2 minute mark. The obscure filming style seems designed to cloak this obviously boneheaded idea.

Posted by: Jemiah Sludge profile link at 08/18/09 4:32 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Amazing

Posted by: Stephanie profile link at 08/19/09 4:51 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


Staff

  • Founder/Editor-In-Chief: Scott Lapatine
  • Executive Editor: Amrit Singh
  • Senior Writer: Brandon Stosuy

Info

Contact

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Jonathan Boulet - A Community Service Announcement (The Album Leaf Remix) (»)
El Guincho - Antillas (XXXchange remix) (»)
El Guincho - Antillas (»)
Wolf People - October Fires (»)
Fan Death - Cannibal (»)
Fan Death - Reunited (CCENTURIESS Remix) (»)
Chll Pll - Dick Moves (»)
Chll Pll - Pass Out (»)
Beck - Harry Partch (»)
Tim Cohen - Haunted Hymns (»)
Tim Cohen - Take Aim Goliath (»)
Ducktails - Sandglider (»)
tUnE-YaRdS - Hatari (Drunkenmonkey Remix) (»)
tUnE-YaRdS - Hatari (Karn Remix) (»)
Beach House - Norway (»)
The Golden Filter - Thunderbird (»)
Crystal Antlers - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan Cover) (»)
CFCF - How Bizarre (OMC Cover) (»)
The Acorn - Strange Animal (Gowan Cover) (»)
Black Tambourine - Black Car (»)
Boyracer - Sunshine And Violence (»)
Henry's Dress - 1620 (»)
Honeybunch - Mine Your Own Business (»)
Lilys - Claire Hates Me (»)
Lilys - February Fourteenth (»)
Lorelei - Today's Shrug (»)
Sleepyhead - Different Colored Letters (»)
Small Factory - Merry-Go-Round (»)
Swirlies - Sarah Sitting (»)
The Ropers - Waiting (»)
Velocity Girl - My Forgotten Favorite (»)
Monsters Of Folk - Say Please (»)
Rain Machine - Give Blood (»)
Wetdog - Tidy Up Your Bedroom (»)
Beck - Little Hands (Feat. Feist, Wilco And Jamie Lidell) (»)
Brendan Benson - Feel Like Taking You Home (»)
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp (Memory Tapes Remix) (»)
Solange - Stillness Is The Move (Dirty Projectors Cover) (»)
Pearl Harbor - California Shakedown (»)
LoneLady - Immaterial (»)
Andrew Cedermark - Hard Livin' (»)
Family Portrait - Super Cool (»)
The Soft Pack - Answer To Yourself (»)
Bear In Heaven - Dust Cloud (»)
Bear In Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers (»)
Atlas Sound - Doctor (Five Discs Cover) (»)
Atlas Sound - The Screens (»)
Cloud Nothings - Hey Cool Kid (»)
The Mary Onettes - Dare (»)
The Mary Onettes - Puzzles (»)
Digital Leather - Photo Lie (»)
Memory Tapes - Easy Pert Mom (»)
Memory Tapes - Graphics (Sci-Fi Edit) (»)

Progress Report logo
Commercial Appeal logo
Premature Evaluation logo
Band to Watch logo
Quit Your Day Job logo
The Outsiders logo
The 'Gum Drop logo