John Walker, MTV
November 12, 2014
The world can be a scary, tumultuous place, and when you can't find solace in yourself, that madness can feel amplified tenfold. Bad Suns tackle such a crisis of the self on "Salt," a song inspired by conversations the band members had with a close friend struggling with issues stemming from their gender identity.
I spoke with Bad Suns' Christo Bowman, about the L.A. rock band's latest Language & Perspective single, as well as its accompanying music video, which just premiered on MTV at
badsuns.mtv.com. Watch it below, although —
trigger warning — know that the clip contains potentially upsetting visuals relating to gender dysphoria, attempted suicide, drug addiction and sexual assault.
Much like Sia's "Chandelier" and Ed Sheeran's "Don't," the video, directed by Daniel "Cloud" Campos (a renown dancer who's toured with Madonna and who directed Panic At The Disco's "This Is Gospel" video and Paramore's "Now" video) tells its story through a beautifully choreographed dance sequence.
The video documents the journey of its transgender protagonist, played by choreographer Tamara Levinson, who also happens to be married to Cloud, as she accepts the gender identity she can no longer run from.
This character's transition involves hormone replacement therapy and sex reassignment surgery (though it should be noted that not every transgender individual's transition — if they choose to transition at all — includes such steps). The video simply tells a trans narrative, not the trans narrative. And on a greater scope, it simply tells a narrative, period.
Watch:
http://www.mtv.com/news/1995130/bad-suns-salt-video/
