New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Clocking in at barely over two minutes,
Danny Elfman has released "Kick Me" today, a swift and pummeling new track with lyrics that simultaneously dismiss and seek approval from their audience. Directed by Petros Papahadjopoulos and featuring animation by Joe Pascale, the song's new video features Elfman - utilizing inverted photography in many amorphous shapes and colors - delivering the track's frenzied lyrics directly into the camera.
"I was feeling particularly mellow one day last summer. I decided to write this very chill song for everyone who wants to put something on that will really help them zone out and relax. Enjoy!" Elfman explains.
Papahadjopoulos said of "Kick Me": "This video is a statement on image and, to me personally, a fulfillment of seeing a wild, raw performance from
Danny Elfman after a lengthy hiatus from the stage."
"Kick Me" features vocals, guitars and synths by Elfman, drums by Josh Freese (The Vandals, NIN, Devo), guitars by Warren Fitzgerald (The Vandals, The Offspring, Dweezil Zappa), bass by Stu Brooks (Dub Trio, Lady Gaga, 50 Cent), percussion by
Sidney Hopson (LA Philharmonic), Joe Martone (Hollywood Chamber Orchestra) and strings by the Lyris Quartet (Kraftwerk, Ben Harper).
Throughout this year Elfman will continue to release songs on the eleventh day of the month. The number 11 has always had significance to Elfman, with his name Elf meaning "eleven" in German.
Last month Elfman released "Love In The Time Of Covid", a song that tells a bizarre story of longing for intimacy in today's socially isolated world in a unique way. The song's video features Scottish transgender performer Shrek 666 who wears extensive makeup and prosthetics. Elfman also appears in a few surprise cameos in the video (directed by Sven Gutjahr).
At the beginning of 2020 Elfman released "
Sorry". "The anger-fueled track pulls from industrial and prog-rock influences to create an uneasy atmosphere that's made even more unnerving with a jarring video animated by
Jesse Kanda," said SPIN. Kanda (Arca, FKA Twigs, Bjork) originally created the video's intricate animation as a visual backdrop for Elfman's live performance of the song for the now postponed Coachella 2020.
A four-time Oscar nominee and Grammy winner, Elfman has scored over 100 films including: Milk (Oscar nominated), Good Will Hunting (Oscar nominated), Big Fish (Oscar nominated), Men in
Black (Oscar nominated), Edward Scissorhands, Batman, The
Nightmare Before Christmas, Spider-Man,
Silver Lining's Playbook and many more.
