‘Return of the Ankh’ Like Whoa.

Let it be said that Badu can do no wrong in my eyes. She is my spirit guide.

Let it also be said that I love this video. It’s over the top, sure, and a little corny, but so is Erykah. I mean, she has a 10-minute song that takes me through every single emotion and leaves me exhausted. She’s just…a lot. In the best way possible.

That is all.

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  • This song is dope. This video is fun to watch and really-annoying-artsy-college-freshman all at once.

    “groupthink is bad! JFK!”

    uh, okay?

    (Here’s the part where people tell me I don’t get Badu’s “truth” or some shit.)

    • R.A.B.

      Well, Gene, things just ain’t the same for sangers.

  • Scipio Africanus

    I’m guessing BET isn’t going to play this, since they’re supposedly trying to clean-up their act *pours out a little likka for BET Uncut*

  • Alisa

    Great song, so-so video IMO. I’ve never seen Erykah live but it’s one of the experiences I am really looking forward to.

  • ah yes, green eyes is my go-to whenever i need a good cry. the fact that i actually have green eyes gives it more resonance

  • keke

    I love this woman!! Yes, the song is great. As for the video, its great to watch but it is one of those pieces that people like to describe as “it makes you think”….and we all know how annoying that can be.

    But in my book, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott can do no wrong. I cannot wait till Erykah goes on tour. I will be sure to make it this time.

    • i’d really like them to explain what it makes them think about.

      • +”Lessons Learned”, the Matt and Kim video that inspired it.
        +Vulnerability vs. sensationalism.
        +Why people who follow their own path tend to get cut down. (Maybe she was a bit heavy-handed with the symbolism but I don’t mind it.)
        +How black women’s bodies have historically been portrayed through art and media.
        +Think it’s interesting she used audio from Nov. 22, 1963 that described Kennedy’s tour through Dallas, which was recorded right before he was assassinated. Wondering what that means for her since she’s a Dallas native.
        +Aesthetically, I also think it’s interesting it was shot like the infamous Zapruder film.
        +It’s kind of making me rethink what I thought “Window Seat” was about. I had a completely different image in my head when I first heard the song.
        +And finally…um…I need to get to the gym and start doing squats.

        • Scipio Africanus

          I mean, with it being filmed at the actual grassy knoll she almost had to make it overtly JFK Assassination-related, otherwise it would have been kind of pointless.

  • She is exactly what I want all my artists to be. Unpredictable. Gifted beyond belief. Crazy. Free spirited. Music is better when the artist has one foot in the “bat-shit” pool.

  • I can’t wait till tomorrow for the pick up. Hopefully I’ll like it better than the last one. She reeled me in with Honey and now with a Window Seat. Love Ms. Badu.

    Tiffany
    http://liferequiresmorechocolate.blogspot.com

  • Steve

    I just didn’t expect her to have a body like that… I was like Oh!

    • Scipio Africanus

      It’s funny that she really hid her curviness from folks for years. People had no clue she was low-endedly blessed until maybe just in the last 5 or 6 years, even though she’s been out since ’97, and was very much on the scene fro maybe 23 years before that.

  • I’m just thrilled to get some new music from her. I remember first seeing her on BET. I had never heard of her before and just caught BET by accident flipping channels. She did her entire first album live on that show. My jaw stayed on the floor the entire time.

    Its amazing how desensitized big city people are to crazy though. Only one guy at the beginning of the video even stopped for second to try and help. I mean there was a mad woman running around butt naked in downtown Dallas and no one ran in with a coat or blanket or anything.

  • No! Blocked by UMG on copyright grounds. Guess I’ll have to check it elsewhere . . .

  • Scipio Africanus

    Explanation:

    http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/0330quickbadu.1f733ed77.html

    Q: To start, what can you tell me about the thought process behind the video for “Window Seat”?

    EB: It was filmed Saturday (March 13) before St. Patrick’s Day. It was a pretty spontaneous thing. The song “Window Seat” is about liberating yourself from layers and layers of skin or demons that are a hindrance to your growth or freedom, or evolution. I wanted to do something that said just that, so I started to think about shedding, nudity, taking things off in a very artful way. I am from the theater, and this is just a part of expression to us, a part of art. And I saw a video by a group called Matt and Kim, and it was filmed in Times Square. And I thought it was the bravest, most liberating thing I’ve ever seen two people do. And I wanted to dedicate this contagious act of liberation and freedom to them. I hoped it would become something contagious that people would want to do in some way or another.

    Q: And what was the thinking on the location and the Kennedy element to it?

    A: Times Square is the most monumental place in New York, and when I was thinking of monumental places, the grassy knoll was the most monumental place in Dallas I could think of. I tied it in a way that compared that assassination to the character assassination one would go through after showing his or her self completely. That’s exactly the action that I wanted to display.

    Q: And I take it you knew that there would be a similar real-life reaction when the video was released?

    A: Yeah. I knew that would happen, so as soon as the thought came to my mind, I decided to assassinate myself as a gesture. Because it was going to happen anyway. The video is a prediction of what is happening now.

    Q: Tell me about the logistics of filming. Was it really nudity, or was there trickery involved?

    A: Oh no, it was straight guerilla cam. I got out of the car and I went for it. A day before, I took the same path alone to see where I was going and to see where the “x” spot was. And we only had one shot to get it right, and I decided to go at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. I told the cameraman that I would meet him there, and when he saw me pull up, he started. We had to speed the music up because we wanted the effect to be slow-motion.

    Q: So, it all happened a lot faster than it seems, but there was still time for people to realize what was going on. Were you afraid of the immediate reactions from folks?

    A: Yes. I was petrified, period. The whole thing was frightening. The whole idea was frightening. Not being in love with my body, not being secure about being vulnerable, the police coming to take me to jail. I’m breastfeeding right now. Anything I could think of, I did. But those little things diminished as I thought about the big picture. And, as I started to walk, I confronted a lot of fears, and I hoped that it would encourage others to do the same thing in their own way.

    Q: Are you afraid of any ramifications now, since the city of Dallas has come out with a statement referring to their disapproval of “guerilla filmmaking”?

    A: No. That fear left when I fell to the ground. With the death of that part of me, a lot of those fears died as well. I had a paradigm shift, of sorts.

    Q: So, this was meaningful for you in a more important way than just making a video or stunting?

    A: Yes.

    Q: Do you have anything else to say to the folks who aren’t having a positive reaction to this?

    A: Sure, I would like to say that it was a protest to awaken a term called “groupthink.” It’s a term that was coined in 1952. It’s the recognition of a state of being for humans. It’s human nature for a person to be afraid to express his or her self in fear of being ostracized by the group or general consensus. A lot of times people are judged unfairly because of that. I think about the Salem witch trials; I think about the assassination of Christ, I think about the character assassination of artists and celebrities on blog sites. I think about all of these things as groupthink. And when I fall to the ground in the video, the word groupthink spills out of my head, because I was assassinated by groupthink. …

    When I told my mother what I wanted to do, she was not 100 percent confident that it was the right thing, but she was supportive. I shared it with my family and made sure I told them that this act is not in any way a reflection of who they all are. It’s who I am. They said I had their support. I have young children whom I was considerate of and I told them what I was doing. My 5-year-old said, “OK, Mommy, can I have some more pudding?” My 12-year-old said, “It’s all right because I can explain to everyone that my mother is a wonderful person and she’s just having fun.” After hearing that, I took myself a lot less seriously.

    Q: Did you consider the children in the plaza that day?

    A: I didn’t think about them until I saw them, and in my mind I tried to telepathically communicate my good intent to them. That’s all I could do, and I hoped they wouldn’t be traumatized. The people that got caught in the shot seemed as if they didn’t even see me. There were a couple of people, and a guy picking up clothes. It all happened so fast. Of course they saw the camera, so they knew we were shooting something. But it was a great day for me.

    Q: So, no regrets?

    A: No regrets. Move forward from here.