Catman Cohen’s Prayer For America  / 2007 Self / 6:19 / http://www.catmancohen.com /
I think this is a first for NeuFutur. While we have reviewed full videos and audio singles in the past, this is the first time that we have ever reviewed a single music video. We have reviewed Catman Cohen in the past, reviewing both eir “How I Want To Live†and “How I Want To Die†albums. It is true that we here at NeuFutur were not the biggest fan of Cohen’s work on these previous discs, but I Think having a visual to match with the vocals on “Prayer for America†really begins to help things out. The opening of the video starts out with a tattered flag, moving into what seems like a menu, in which “Government Propaganda†is clicked. Soon after, clips from 9-11 are spliced in with different displays of patriotism, as the electronic beat and the raspy vocals match forward.
The production allows the different footage to match up well with the music contained within; when I hear and see a song like this, I’m really reminded of the work by Carl Klang, but Cohen is not crazy or a lunatic rightists. The way I see it, political beliefs loop around from the left and right into some sort of Mobius strip, where individuals towards the left side of things (Cohen) can see eye to eye about government propaganda with people on the extreme right side of things (FREEPers, Carl Klang). The use of original media with the different clips creates something that is new and exciting. While the computer generated graphics in this video are nothing to write home about, they are more than decent enough to show exactly what Cohen wants them to show in regard to this video.
I can see this video getting some public access time, but what might be the best way for Cohen to get eir message out loud and clear would be promoting the crap out of “Prayer for America†on sites like Youtube. Heck, even if the rap hook that takes up the second half of the track was excised from the track and put forth as a hook, something to go forth and snag individuals’ interests, I think that Cohen’s message would go far and wide. Regardless, this is a visually stunning video that will make individuals think and wonder about who they have elected in office in the last few years.
Rating: 7.5/10