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| Watching the Music A milk carton's quest to find a missing youth in Blur's "Coffee and TV". |
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Watching The Music
By Adam D. Miller
Video: “Coffee & TV”
Artist: Blur
Album: 13
Director: Hammer and Tongs (Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith)
Released: 1999
Winner of the 1999 MTV Europe Video Award for Best Video.
Available on The Best of Blur DVD from Emd/Virgin
Video can also be viewed online at www.hammerandtongs.com
Considered by many to be one of the better British bands of the 1990s, I disliked Blur for a long time, simply because I associated them with the dozens of television commercials and Hollywood blockbuster previews that utilized “Song 2.” The sheer annoyance of hearing this song several times a day, whether I wanted to or not, made me write-off Blur as MTV sell-outs and pop filth. What is it with these songs that suddenly become popular in ad campaigns and movie trailers? The most recent seems to be “Hey Ya” by Outkast, which finally replaced Smashmouth’s “All Star” as Most Obnoxious Song Overused in Media Campaigns.
The video that turned me around as far as Blur was concerned was “Coffee & TV,” which chronicles a milk carton and his quest to find the missing kid pictured on its side. The video was directed by Hammer & Tongs, the award winning duo that also produced videos for R.E.M.’s “Imitation Of Life”, Beck’s “Lost Cause”, and Fatboy Slim’s “Right Here Right Now”, among others. Half of Hammer & Tongs, Garth Jennings, will be making his feature film debut as director of the forthcoming Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy adaptation, which is set for a 2005 release.
The video for “Coffee & TV” uses clever computer animation to transplant the adorable little milk carton onto a residential British landscape. He starts out inanimate, as the distraught family of the missing child are seated around the breakfast table. Eventually, the milk carton grows arms, legs, and a smiley face, and dances upon the table. He believes he can find their son, and leaves them behind to begin his quest.
Thematically, the video has very little to do with “Coffee & TV” and its lyrics, though comparisons can be drawn between lines like “There’s people there who will hurt you/ Cause of who you are” and the obstacles our milk carton friend must overcome on his journey. These include a lawnmower, a motorcyclist (who incidentally ends up giving the milk carton a ride into town), and other crazy people he comes across. During his adventure, the milk carton spots a female milk carton, and falls in love. 
A pedestrian flattens her, leaving the milk carton in agony. He becomes more and more distraught as the video proceeds, but perks up when he finds the missing boy (who turns out to be none other than a bespectacled Damon Albarn, Blur’s lead singer) playing with Blur. Albarn sees the milk carton and picks it up to examine his photograph on its side. With a feeling of regret at leaving behind his loving family, he safely returns home. Unfortunately, the fate of the milk carton is not so splendid. His milk is consumed by Albarn, who then tosses the carton into the trash. Rest in peace, little friend. The video ends with the milk cartoon happily peeking out of the trash bin to wave goodbye, before growing angel wings and rising towards the heavens. It is there that he joins the female milk carton, where they undoubtedly live happily ever after.
“Coffee & TV” is the perfect example of the music video doing more than just exposing the band and their performance. It instead uses the music and selected lyrics to tell a bizarre and abstract story about an animated milk carton. In the process, it helps us enjoy a great song even more. After having seen the video, I cannot listen to the song without envisioning a smiling milk carton, marching along. Splendid indeed.
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