A Place With No Name (Second Single from Xscape) Discussion

[speechlesslove4michael]

I was waiting for a video with storyline too …

But I have to say that according to the song itself it must have been a dance, dance, dance video !!!

So that’s what they have done and done beautifully. As for demands for more “story from lyrics” – let’s wait for MJ One video, if, IF it is on the original version of the song and the “circus” is involved, it is more suitable for the storyline that is in the lyrics, IMO.

They're using the original song for their version?

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

Michael's lyrics have define story to tell. The video didn't recreate it whatsoever, the woman had to take him to that magical place. I don't see if following the storyline, sorry. They were just randomly dancing.

 

[HIStoric]

Michael's lyrics have define story to tell. The video didn't recreate it whatsoever, the woman had to take him to that magical place. I don't see if following the storyline, sorry. They were just randomly dancing.

While I too would've preferred it to follow the story (I had a much different vision in my head but it was pretty out-of-reach financially), many of Michael's short films didn't follow the lyrics of the song. Billie Jean doesn't show MJ meeting or dancing with Billie Jean nor is Annie is seen in Smooth Criminal.

 

[AtlasAir]

This would have been THE song to do an animated for.

Hopefully there's one more single and do that.

 

[dam2040]

People complaining about stories and stuff - not every video followed the song did it, and also about MJ being in it much - look at the Cry video for example. I think they did a great job but I hope the public start to warm to it as I'm not seeing many positive comments.

 

[CherubimII]

:give_heart:Michael Jackson's "Place with No Name" video gives me a
RUSH OF PURE JOY!!!! :girl_in_love:

 

[CrazyVegasMJ]

Now that I think of it, I'd have to say that Hollywood Tonight has been the best posthumous "storytelling" video as told through the actual song lyrics.. I mean, in that video they pretty much told the exact sorry that MJ was singing about in the song..

In APWNN, although it's obvious they attempted to tell the lyrical story told in the song, they didn't really get very far except the whole Jeep part pretty much.. There didn't seem to be any sort of "taking" to a "place with no name" as described in the song..

IMO, the video could've been better.. I thought I liked the video a lot at first, and it is a decent/OK video, but in no way a groundbreaking or even sense-making storyline..

Although I do think it is better than all other posthumous videos, except HT and the unreleased BTM video..

 

[AgentMJ]

Guys I just saw this on ebay, is this true?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MICHAEL-...84892?pt=Music_CDs&hash=item3f3b19c79c&_uhb=1

I thought they weren't releasing it as a CD single.

 

[Tygger]

I like the promotion done for this video. While it is somewhat passable, overall; I dislike the video. While I appreciate the casting of the beautiful dancer and unseen footage of Michael, I feel disappointed for Michael and Stargate for the following reasons:

And the BTS footage was quite nice, but I guess I could have done with out it? I don't know, it wasn't enough BTS footage that we haven't seen to warrant it being anything more than a mix up of the ITC video and the random dancers.

The footage of Michael dancing in B/W were mostly unseen however; those were dance moves left on the cutting room floor. Some of the dance moves were ones from the ITC short film but, from a slightly different angle and/or zoomed in. Those are the scenes I quite liked.

The footage of Michael in the red shirt and with the jacket and sunglasses are behind-the-scenes footage and I am unsure why those where used. There is already an issue with behind-the-scenes footage from the Ebony shoot for ownership reasons however; I am unsure why the ITC behind-the-scenes are somehow less personal and/or exploitative of Michael than the Ebony shoot behind-the-scenes. Seemed a bit hypocritical.

Quite poor video for APWNN they did!!! Looks like a fan-made. Everybody has got that ITC and the making of ITC footage. Disappointed...

However, I think they could have done more with the concept of the song. The images of the shipping cranes and port in the background of the ocean footage and the various highway scenes didn't make me think of a place with no name. Not saying the video needs to be an exact copy of the lyrics but I was hoping for a bit more to be honest.

One great thing about this video is that they already have a second jeep campign ready to go, lol. No editing is necessary. All they have to do is to show the first 30 seconds of the video in the commercial. Every promotion helps

Exactly. The video is a showcase for Michael and Stargate. The beauty shots of the Jeep were off-putting and the shots of the shipping cranes, port, and the dancer and second male lead in front of the projection screen showed how cost effective the project was.

By the way, there was one too many male leads in this video.

However, I still feel that the unreleased BTM video (with the Jabowokeez, club environment, MJ masks, etc) is the best posthumous video still...

But for the life of me I'll never understand why that wasn't officially released when it's obvious so much time, effort and money was put into that..

EVERY video after Michael’s passing will be considered a tribute video as it should be; Michael earned that respect. For some reason, Michael Jackson tribute videos are being viewed as negative by some fans and I completely disagree with that view. I disliked some of the tribute videos because they were poor productions NOT because there were clips from several of Michael’s short films as opposed to just one short film.

I believe it may have been decided not to release BTM as a single. Thus, BTM, an excellent video, was allowed to waste in favor of a less than mediocre hodgepodge of fan-made videos. BTM is my favorite with LNFSG as my second favorite. I still watch LNFSG. HMH was quite nice as well.

I will not watch APWNN again anytime soon despite the unseen dancing clips from ITC (which made APWNN feel visually like ITC 1.5) and the clips of the beautiful dancer.

This would have been THE song to do an animated for.

Hopefully there's one more single and do that.

This made me laugh.

I have made it no secret my favorite original and remix is Xscape and I truly hope it is the third and last single. However, with APWNN and the monies spent on the Billboard spectacle, I am now nervous as to how Xscape would be visualized. In my view, it is too precious and deserves animation and I dare say two animation videos; one for the original (a prison escape based on TDCAU) and one for the remix (a futuristic escape from the system).

If it is not going to be done correctly, I rather it not be released; choose another song from Xscape.

Going to look beautiful in NY city ....

My New York, U.S. friend confirmed to me it did!

I've never been to Times Square. Will there be audio playing all around or just from the screen?

There was no audio but, my friend brought along a mp3 player and played APWNN when the video started.

Did the Times Square video cut off before the video completed? It looked like it did.

No, my friend said the full video premiered in Times Square.

 

[ivy]

There is already an issue with behind-the-scenes footage from the Ebony shoot for ownership reasons however; I am unsure why the ITC behind-the-scenes are somehow less personal and/or exploitative of Michael than the Ebony shoot behind-the-scenes. Seemed a bit hypocritical.

The issue with Ebony footage isn't because it was exploitative of Michael, it was a copyright disagreement. I guess you can see the difference between MJ Estate - who happens to be representative of MJ- to use previous MJ video footage versus a random person using a MJ video footage for profit reasons. Clearly MJ Estate (perhaps and/or Sony jointly) owns copyright on ITC footage, it's disputed and a court ruling is asked to determine who owns what on Ebony footage. Even if you argue that ITC Behind the Scenes were shot for MJ's personal use and needed his approval for release, guess who can give such approval now? Yep his representatives aka MJ Estate.

 

[Tygger]

"The makers of the documentary are attempting to exploit footage and photographs of Michael Jackson, which we believe are owned by his Estate," says Weitzman. "The documentary contains footage of Michael during private moments that he never agreed could be publicly and commercially exploited without his consent and/or involvement. Michael never authorized or approved the use of this material in the film.”

I will maintain it is hypocritical that ITC footage is less private and/or exploitative only because of who owns it.

Back to APWNN: after seeing this video, I am looking forward to Cirque's take on the original. I hope they can express the mystical quality of the original mix.

 

[donalb]

Good news. The video is starting to go viral. Up to 370K views. The ratio of likes is still 97% which is an indication that most people either enjoy the video or song or both. They might also click the like because they just love Michael no matter what. Hopefully, they will keep playing it for whatever the reason is. Also hoping that the Sony has something more planned in terms of a radio promotion like they did with LNFSG and banner ads on iTunes to promote the album again

 

[AngelMJ136]

I saw the video for the 10th time I guess. And that time I REALLY saw it, you know with my head clear with no preconceived notions or thoughts. And I realized why this video is justified for APWNN and I immediately typed what I was feeling and just wanted to share this -

Each and every one of us have a different interpretation to the song. Everyone imagines a "place" where they are happy and have no fear. For them it maybe the mountains, the countryside or the sea (or just an utopian land). If we had a video with a "story" line it wouldn't agree with everyone. A song which actually lets your imaginations soar shouldn't be limited to just one point of view. MJ gave everyone an opportunity to "escape", just "escapism" where their minds are happiest through his songs. And for him, the place doesn't necessarily have to be a "physical" place, he is (may) also talking about human emotions.. how one can soar to "that" place (the boy and the girl, you know what I mean). MJ isn't here to make videos, so this is the next BEST thing a director could do... capture an array of beautiful imagery and let everyone have their own interpretation. This is what music and its visual work should really be about - liberation. For me, this video is the best. The place where I am the most happiest is by the nature (mountains, sea). Its interesting how the director connects the beauty of falling in love and the love for nature. MJ's love wasn't limited or biased, he had love for EVERYTHING and this video shows it. That man was beautiful.

 

[AgentMJ]

Hi guys, I wanted to share my edit for 'A Place With No Name', containing the original version. So here it is, enjoy! (Looks best in HD)

Michael Jackson - A Place With No Name (Original Version)
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Post by Amy King.

 

[Tygger]

Hi guys, I wanted to share my edit for 'A Place With No Name', containing the original version. So here it is, enjoy! (Looks best in HD)

For some reason the visuals plays better with the original mix. Also, does your version include less color scenes? I prefer the B/W scenes to the color scenes in the video.

 

[speechlesslove4michael]

Michael Jackson video 'A Place With No Name' debuts on Twitter with unseen footage
http://www.today.com/entertainment/new-michael-jackson-video-twitter-fresh-footage-1D80062789

Michael Jackson fans, it seems, never have to really say goodbye. On Wednesday night, the late musician's reps released "A Place With No Name," the first video from Jackson's latest posthumous album "XSCAPE," on Twitter — and the King of Pop even appears in it in never-before-released footage.
The song, which samples the 1971 hit "A Horse with No Name" by the band America, is a smooth dance tune — instantly catchy and fun, as was Jackson's style. The video, shot by Samuel Bayer in both black-and-white and color, is a desert-and-beach fantasy in which a man in a truck finds a writhing woman in white, picks her up, and frolics on the sand with her.
Throughout the video, Jackson pops up in candid shots, smiling in a hat and sunglasses and dancing in a white T-shirt; the black-and-white dancing images are clearly outtakes from his 1992 video, "In the Closet." He's clearly so on top of his game and having such a great time, it's easy to forget that the musician died in 2009.

The video has been re-tweeted more than 36,000 times (as of Thursday morning) and favorited by nearly as many viewers.

Long live the King of Pop!

Vevo ‏@Vevo 5 h.

#VevoPremiere: Watch the new video from @michaeljackson, #APlaceWithNoName http://bit.ly/1ux3uuG We miss you, MJ!

When in the video is Michael shown through the window of the car? Is this an actual screen cap and I missed it? If so can someone tell me the time it is in the video?

 

[speechlesslove4michael]

You know the more I watch the video the more I think it truly stays pretty faithful to the storyline. I think it was nicely made. I've read some sarcastic remarks about it, but imo they have no merit -. Idk how you can say that the couple are a bunch of random dancers that don't have anything to do with the story when in reality they are the protagonists. Michael at times as I interpret it is the protagonist as well because it seems to me the guy could be Michael. And when he is standing there contemplating or fantasizing about this mysterious place with no name he is saying "taking me to the place without no name". The highway shots are amazing too it conveys this feeling that it is taking you to this mysterious place. Lots of symbolisms in this one, love it.

You almost get the feeling that Michael is reflecting back on this moment in his life. As though he is the man in the couple and it is a memory for him and he is reminiscing in the video as he stands in the desert. That's the feeling I got from it anyway.

 

[speechlesslove4michael]

Hi guys, I wanted to share my edit for 'A Place With No Name', containing the original version. So here it is, enjoy! (Looks best in HD)

Michael Jackson - A Place With No Name (Original Version)
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Post by Amy King.

Thank you SO much for sharing this. IMO this video is MUCH more suited to the original version of the song with it's laid back nature. I think this video is much better with the original version

 

[speechlesslove4michael]

Does anyone else get annoyed by the damn pop up ads that are unrelated to the video watching it on Vevo or is it just me -__-

 

[Bubs]

When in the video is Michael shown through the window of the car? Is this an actual screen cap and I missed it? If so can someone tell me the time it is in the video?

No its not a screen cap from video. Someone must have made some photoshopping or something, as there no image of MJ through car window.

That image is so sad, like those people leaving Michael in the desert and waiving him goodbye:-(

 

[donalb]

No its not a screen cap from video. Someone must have made some photoshopping or something, as there no image of MJ through car window.

That image is so sad, like those people leaving Michael in the desert and waiving him goodbye:-(

Actually, I watched the video again. Michael's image does appear briefly in the window during the transition from his dance scene and the scene with the couple in the car. Not sure if it is the same image that is posted here but I do see it

 

[Bubs]

^^Obviously I haven't watch the video properly if I didn't see it.
Must go and watch it "few" more times. I guess my eyes got stuck on image of watered MJ

 

[Bubs]

Actually, I watched the video again. Michael's image does appear briefly in the window during the transition from his dance scene and the scene with the couple in the car. Not sure if it is the same image that is posted here but I do see it

I watched the video many times again and cannot see it:-(
There are some similar images of MJ, but not like the one posted above.

When woman dancer touches the car window @ 1:40 to 1:43, there is no image of Mj through the class, or at least I cannot see it?

On different note, the more I watch it the more I like the way Michael's moves fits with song beat.

 

[Dudex]

I found this from Ivy's twitter:clapping:

this is sooooo fake omg

 

[SoCav]

*deleted*

 

[czechstar]

Anyone notice that although the song title is a "A place with no name", Michael actually says "a place without no name" in the song? Although the meaning is essentially the same, it is an interesting play on words. It is one of the ways that Micael "Michaelized" the song

Michael loves his double-negatives!

 

[Allusio]

They're using the original song for their version?

Idk for sure but I hope on that and it would be nice.

 

[HIStoric]

Anyone notice that although the song title is a "A place with no name", Michael actually says "a place without no name" in the song? Although the meaning is essentially the same, it is an interesting play on words. It is one of the ways that Micael "Michaelized" the song

Sometimes I think it might just be Michael singing "Taaaake meee to a place wiiith-a noooo naaaame!". That's how I justify it

 

[speechlesslove4michael]

Idk for sure but I hope on that and it would be nice.

I hope so too. It would make sense seeing that's what happened with Blue Gangsta

 

[OnirMJ]

^^I called it "A Place Without No Name" until the Tracklist revealed that it will only be "A Place With No Name". I also called STTR "Rythm of Love", because i heard that Michael re-titled the song that way, and DYKWYCA was "DYKWYCA (12 o'clock)" for me.

A Place With No Name was always A Place With No Name.
Slave To The Rhythm was always Slave To The Rhythm.
Do You Know Where Your Children Are was never 12 O'Clock - That is fanmade!