Yeah Yeah Yeahs Video "Heads Will Roll" a Tribute to Michael Jackson

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have made it into the mainstream with their hit, "Heads Will Roll," a more melodic offering than I've heard from them before. They retain their edge in this video, featuring a werewolf on the rampage who first pays tribute to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.

The video opens with the band on stage. Lead singer Karen O looks fetching in a dress with clear plastic sleeves. The haunting keyboard and vocal intro begin, and soon we see a shadowy figure in a suit and fedora, head tipped down à la Michael Jackson, striding along a corridor. We are shown the slightest glimpse of his face as he moves along, busting a few Michael Jackson-type moves, and there seems to be something strange about it.

He enters the venue where the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are playing and steps onto a dance floor in front of the band that lights up like the sidewalk in the Michael Jackson video for "Billie Jean." He then proceeds to dance very much like the late Michael Jackson, producing some spins and steps much like that of the King of Pop. The crowd is pleased with the performance and applauds, but then things go very wrong.

A light bursts through onto the dancer, who is revealed to be a werewolf. It is not clear whether this is moonlight or just a harsh spotlight that reveals him for what he is, but the audience members run screaming to get away while the band continues playing. The werewolf, red eyes aglow, stalks after them and begins to attack. This is done very creatively, with flying red glitter used to create the effect of arterial spray (it also ties in with the references to glitter in the lyrics of the song).

By the end of the video, all the guests have been dispatched, and we return to the lit dance floor, on which the bodies of the three band members are sprawled in stylized states of dismemberment. Karen O, whose torso has been severed across and who has also been decapitated, continues to sing until the last line, "dance 'til you're dead," whereupon she abruptly closes her eyes.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs video is very well done. It tells a complete story, albeit a creepy one; it is appropriately mysterious and artistic and edgy, all things I associate with the band. I didn't see the Michael Jackson tribute coming, but that just adds to the band's quirky appeal. I hope they keep us guessing, and I wish them continued success.

To watch the "Heads Will Roll" video, click here

From the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' album It's Blitz!, 2009

Website: www.yeahyeahyeahs.com