After watching Mattiel’s “Je Ne Me Connais Pas” I found myself trying to brainstorm: when was the last time I saw a woman cross dress in a music video? In media in general? I couldn’t think of an example.
The video itself has shades of Queen, The Bangles, and a very 70’s French pop music vibe; an easy comparison to make when the song has a chorus that is partially in French. “Je Ne Me Connais Pas” translates to “I don’t know myself”, a very canny sentiment: I had no idea that the man with the cigarette dangling from his lips wasn’t a man at all until I went through a few of Mattiel Brown’s photos. She makes a very convincing asshole, and a handsome one at that.
I’ve always been of the opinion that the best music videos are the most simple, and the video for ‘Je Ne Me Connais Pas” is free of complicated effects and the sort of scenery that is only used to force one’s attention. The best effect of the entire piece is the knowledge that Mattiel is able to disappear so completely into her own video; she does the same with her music.
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