"Third Eye" by Florence + the Machine

The final chapter of what has come to be known as "The Odyssey" by Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine is as spellbinding as the other installments (previously here, here, and here). Here, in a song called "Third Eye," we see Florence in the costume we have seen in prior chapters, performing familiar choreography. But it and the entire story, full of dream-like motifs and psychological symbolism, ends in a kind of breathtaking place: "I'm the same, I'm the same, I'm trying to change..."

All of the chapters have been edited together with never-seen-before dramatic segues and made into an incredible artistic statement: "The Odyssey" film can be seen in its entirety at Florence + the Machine's website, linked below. The chapters contain clues and share a remarkably expressive language of motion and emotion embedded in the choreography. In nearly each chapter where Florence and her doppelgänger wander through different time periods and locations, we seem to be witness to an age-old story of not only male oppression of women, but of interpersonal strife (and sometimes physical violence) on an individual and family level, the inability of so many people and cultures to say what they mean and to really use the time we have here instead of squandering it on petty hatred, grudges, and misunderstandings. Like Florence so aptly and chillingly observes in both parts 1 and 6, "I suppose if you've been through something catastrophic, if you've been through, like a storm or an earthquake together or something horrendous, it would bring you closer together...but what if they are creating the disaster within themselves?...There's this big storm and it's all around us and we're in the middle of it and it's calm, but I can feel it, like it's everywhere..."

I strongly urge you to see "The Odyssey" in its entirety. It's so worth it: enriching, inspiring, thought-provoking...and beautiful.

http://florenceandthemachine.net/

"Delilah" by Florence + The Machine

The incredible, powerful visual odyssey from Florence + The Machine continues with this installment, "Delilah," (part 6) from Florence Welch's most recent album "How Big How Blue How Beautiful."

Before you watch, make sure you see the other pieces that lead up to this chapter: "What Kind Of Man (Part 1)" and "How Big How Blue" here, "St. Jude (Part 2)" and "Ship To Wreck (Part 3)" here, and "Queen of Peace (Part 4)" and "Long and Lost (Part 5)" here. They contain clues and share a remarkably expressive language of motion and emotion embedded in the choreography. In each chapter where Florence and her doppelgänger wander through different time periods and locations, we seem to be witness to an age-old story of not only male oppression of women, but of interpersonal strife (and sometimes physical violence) on an individual and family level, the inability of so many people and cultures to say what they mean and to really use the time we have here instead of squandering it on petty hatred, grudges, and misunderstandings. Like Florence so aptly and chillingly observes in both parts 1 and 6, "I suppose if you've been through something catastrophic, if you've been through, like a storm or an earthquake together or something horrendous, it would bring you closer together...but what if they are creating the disaster within themselves?...There's this big storm and it's all around us and we're in the middle of it and it's calm, but I can feel it, like it's everywhere..."

http://florenceandthemachine.net/

"St. Jude" and "Ship To Wreck" by Florence + The Machine

Here is "St. Jude" by Florence + The Machine, the second part of the phenomenal story started in her video for "What Kind of Man." If you missed the first video, please see it here and marvel at the layers of meaning, the layers of visuals, the layers of characters and story (and what seems like different time periods), and ultimately the psychological meaning of it all. Just stunning.

And this second part picks up with the same dream-like motifs: the doppelgänger of Florence and the split story line, the expressive reaching dance move, the precious gesture of sharing a breath of life, and the idea of surviving a devastating storm.

Continuing the story with the image of the doppelgänger, rage and chaos within a relationship, and dance moves we have seen in both previous videos, here is "Ship To Wreck."

All songs from her new album, "How Big How Blue."
http://florenceandthemachine.net/

"What Kind Of Man" and "How Big How Blue" by Florence + The Machine

Florence + The Machine have released a new album called "How Big How Blue How Beautiful" and not one but TWO incredible, shattering videos to go along with the tracks "What Kind Of Man" and "How Big How Blue."

The video for "What Kind Of Man" is absolutely mesmerizing and so intense, full of metaphor and told through dream logic. Not that the deeply psychological narrative is dream-like since nothing technically surreal happens...rather I mean that it is told in the manner in which our dreams speak to us: through imagery and pictures. This is one of those amazing artistic statements that are coherent in the subconscious. In the video, we have different time periods and several locations that seem to bleed into one, references to storms, disasters, and suffering, and visual cues of a kind of kaleidoscopic memory review on the part of our heroine with a group of men standing in for possibly one or more past or current relationships. It is immediate, visceral, and truly stunning. Watch it a few times to let it sink in...

And because there is the briefest shot of Florence's bare breasts, I am not embedding the video here like I normally would, lest an overzealous conservative stumble upon it, report me to Blogger and have me shut down. And I'd rather not put an "Adult Content Warning" on my blog since that is a bit limiting and is not emblematic of "Oh, By The Way" which I would like to keep open to as many visitors as possible. To watch the video, click on any of the below photos from the video to go right to Florence + The Machine's VEVO channel on Youtube, or use the link at the bottom.

And as if that wasn't enough exquisite Jungian imagery, here is the equally mind-boggling "How Big How Blue." With simple yet utterly profound lyrics and a majestic horn section that sounds like the beginning--or end--of our universe, this brief song speaks to concepts that are beyond words. Speaking of dream logic, this video recalls for me a dream I had when I was 17 or 18 where I walked into a cave to find an ominous, robed and hooded figure but I overcame what fear I might have had to discover that it was me under the robe. I walked to myself and we embraced, like Florence and her own self here... it is a powerful, poignant, moving--and archetypal--idea. And we see movements in the kinetic vocabulary here that are identical to movements we saw in "What Kind Of Man." In these films, Florence Welch is saying something cosmic in size and just as important...

"What Kind Of Man" video:
http://youtu.be/XgeKHTcufLY

http://florenceandthemachine.net/