In a letter to their fans posted this weekend, Innerpartysystem (my favorite discovery of 2008) wrote about the difficulties they’ve experienced getting exposure for the video to their single “Don’t Stop.”  The line, apparently, is that the video is too edgy, or too visually intense.  So, a bit reluctantly, the band remade the video.

Never ones to quietly bend over and just take what they’re given (someone must have misplaced the ball gags from the original video), Innerpartysystem have still managed to include plenty of subtly disturbing imagery.  They’ve even brought their creepy newscasters back to take in the new show, complete with quasi-Johnny Carson.

With the brutally overwhelming social commentary cut or at least softened, there is now room for the band to be showcased front and center.  While I know the guys have an aversion to pin-up superstardom — hence the obscuring shadow and backlighting — people like to see what they’re buying (or buying into).  A face makes it easier for the masses to relate to music that is a bit more challenging than your usual pop fare; it gives them something to connect with, an investment, something to keep them hooked while everything else sinks in.  It’s not always so much about selling the band’s image as it is making that personal connection.  This is why bands can make or break themselves live.

This is also where I think Innerpartysystem does themselves a great favor, because their live show adds hot blood and a pounding heartbeat to the already intense electronic beats and grinding guitars, which gives the music a dimension that isn’t possible on a recording.  The performance footage of the band in the new video gives a peek at that live show intensity, however, and adds a level of immediacy that wasn’t in the original video, which had a more cerebral and detached feel.

Innerpartysystem has had a banner year, coming up from obscurity to making a noticeable dent in both the UK and US music scenes.  I know it was a difficult decision to revisit the single and video they used to establish a baseline for what their band is about.  I think it was the right decision, though.  After capturing the attention of the music industry and fans of intelligent, provocative music and visuals, this reworking gives the band a chance to broaden their appeal and continue to develop new opportunities to get out their music and message.  It’s not a matter of redoing something that wasn’t done right the first time; it’s expanding and enhancing what’s already been done to take it to the next level.

Innerpartysystem are ready.