“Antisocial,” the new video from Ed Sheeran and Travis Scott, has something for everybody—provided “everybody” is a subset of the human population that really wants to watch Scott’s head explode, Total Recall-style, or Sheeran bully a robot. Released today in support of Sheeran’s new album No. 6 Collaborations Project—which, as we noted when the track list came out last month, features not only Scott, but also all other musical human beings—the video is a sort of live-action cartoon, catering to all the people who want to see Ed Sheeran leering at them while slathered in calavera make-up, or anyone who wants to see him get stung in the eye by a bee. (So, again: The gamut.)
The song itself is energetic enough, in an “Ed Sheeran singing over the top of a hip-hop beat” sort of way. But the real appeal is just how silly the video gets as Sheeran flips through his various personas. (It’s a bit like that Taylor Swift video with all the zombie Taylors, except a tad more self-aware in how intentionally dopey the singer is willing to look.) There’s also a bit that sees Sheeran riding around in a glass box while hundreds of little blue birds attack him, which is a little on the nose in terms of metaphors for Twitter, but it’s not like it’s not also pretty apt.
No. 6 Collaborations Project is out today; it features Sheeran collaborations from Eminem, Cardi B, Young Thug, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Chance The Rapper, and more.
12 Comments
I think the poking-the-eye-with-something-sharp is the real nightmare. The bee angle doesn’t add much to it in my opinion.
Sharp things in the eye have been a staple since the birth of cinemaA Trip to the moon (1902), and Un Chien Andalusia (1928) are two examplesAnd yes, it is a nightmare – the sliced eyeball was inspired by a dream
I did, until it turned out to be his new music video rather than candid footage!
When I was a kid, got stung in both of the eyes once by a bunch of yellow jackets or something when I went outside to someone’s backyard. It was not a pleasant experience.
Who wants to see? Everybody I guess since the still image is just on the front page for every unsuspecting visitor to just accidentally scroll by. Thanks a whole lot!
Exploding heads is The Fury or maybe Scanners, not Total Recall.
Giving the author some really generous benefit of doubt, people’s heads expand (but don’t actually explode) when dropped onto the surface of Mars in Total Recall.
And no way in hell am I going to watch an Ed Sheeran video to find out if the author wrote ‘explode’ when they meant ‘expand’ or if they indeed referenced the wrong film, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Didn’t watch the video, but when Arnold takes off his lady disguise head he throws it at a guard and it explodes.
Awful, all of it, just go away man.
Everything about that was unpleasant.Everything except “Wanking Fuckballs!”Us Brits know how to get creative when we swear.