When I first got my sweaty palms on a copy of Millennium, I raced home to pop it in the ol' stereo (Yes, it's true. Some of us do NOT have CD players in our Hondas! *lol*). As soon as AJ's maniacal laugh belted through the speakers, it was love at first listen. AJ's always been a close second to Howie in my heart, and that "chuckle", as it were, was the clincher to his second banana status. I mean, any man who can behave as candidly and unexpectedly as he does is certainly deserving of my heart on backup disk, right?! Right.
So, imagine my disappointment when the Larger Than Life video debuted on MTV. One of my favorite tracks, featuring one of my favorite moments on the album, and Joseph Kahn has to ruin it! Okay, maybe not Joseph per se, but he's the best scapegoat I've got for this travesty; I can hold my peace no longer.
Where shall we start? How about with the entire theme of the video....why-oh-why are my Boys in space? Not exactly scoring high on my "Top 10 settings" list. Far from it, actually. In addition, did anyone notice the "space station" bears an uncanny resmeblance to Star Trek, Deep Space 9?
I was also bitterly disappointed to find much of the video made up of computer graphics. After the impressive sets created for "Everybody", I was waiting with bated breath to see the environment for "LTL". Much to my chagrin, the only material set constructed was for the dance sequence.
The Boys' roles in the video made little sense to me as well. Since when has Brian become 'surfer boy'? Or Nick a robot? Kevin's part was the only fitting assignment, as he really does make quite a sexy 'wing commander'.
Once again, my man got the shaft. In more ways than one. First and foremost, while the others had distictive roles in the shoot, Howie was left to stand awkwardly on a moving floor. Strike number two occurs in the actual on screen time he recieved out of the entire package. Joseph was outstanding in his directorial position on the "Everybody" piece because HE SPREAD THE WEALTH. Now, myself and other coutless Howie Hoochies are forced to watch a video which contains only glimpses of our beloved Sweet D. Not to mention the fact that the tasty eye candy moments we are granted are obscured by a ripple effect. Life is simply not fair.
As for the costumes......well, they've had better. Again, my mind is drawn toward that last fine piece of cinematography that is the now infamous "Everybody". Howie and Kevin looked decent alright, but that's where it ends. Brian, as usual, appeared somewhat frumpy in his attire, while Nick gave a whole new meaning to fashion faux pas. I'm wondering why no one saw fit to inform the poor boy that the V shirt became passe once the 90's hit. And AJ....well, I've got to give my second banana credit for artistic expression and an A+ in risk taking. His midriff shirt with chain mail arms was certainly a sight to behold. While others are reeming him up one side and down the other for his costume choice, you can find me singing praises of it from the roof tops! It takes a true man, you can be sure, to don an outfit like that. Besides, if you look really closely, his 69 tattoo is visible and that's reason enough for me.
All in all, I found "Larger Than Life" to be study in mediocrity, a far cry from the superior work they've put forth in the past. And if I have to watch that video one more time......wait a second.......who am I kidding? I'm the original Backstreet MANIAc, and it's impossible for me to complete a 24 hour period without a BSB fix. Saddly enough, I'll continue to view "LTL", albiet with a certain amount of contempt, until another single is released. Though my disappointment is keen, one thing is for sure: I still love AJ's laugh.
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