Erykah Badu - Window Seat

Q: What do you get when you mix the JFK assassination sight, a large crowd enjoying the outside air and Erykah Badu?
A: You get a whole lot of necked Erykah of course.

What was meant as a simple commentary on what is acceptable in art and social mores in a fearful society can now be seen as prophetic. In the video Erykah strips down to what the Maker gave her as she makes her way through a crowd of on lookers until she is abruptly assassinated. Badu was recently "assassinated" for the stunt  as she had to pay a $500 fine and was sentenced with 6 months probation. Bit right in the badunkadunk by the fearful society she was trying to call out. Upon the first time seeing it I was not impressed by the so called "art" (though, truly, what isn't impressive about a naked Erykah Badu?), but watching the video again and removing myself from seeing it as a stunt and instead as a real music video, I find it quite stunning. Filmed in slow motion the video has an almost liquid surreal feel to it as Badu floats through the crowd. Matt and Kim (who apparently inspired this video) pulled the same antics in NYC, but in that video the two were just as part of the crowd as the bystanders were, basically we were just watching what happens when people try to strut in the nude in public. In Window Seat there is a dream like dynamic as Badu and the crowd are two separate entities. The crowd are honest to god onlookers, where as Badu seems removed from the crowd and intently focused on accomplishing something she feels compelled to express. She moves and acts like she is in a very personal music video while everything around her plays out separately as reality. Her actions and expressions are not that of an exhibitionist looking for a reaction, but toward something bigger. While the idea seems elementary, Badu brings a sincere depth to it all. Take a step and think about how you would feel and react as you stripped naked in a heavy crowd outside. Badu literally doesn't miss a beat and her fearlessness is soon seen as more than just being nude in the crowd, it's about achieving a larger point beyond her, the crowd and the historic location. Enjoy.

Rating: *****