“Monkey vs. Robot” is a rather difficult piece to describe. With the use of nearly every recording medium he could lay his hands on, Filmmaker Nathan Pommer has created an absolutely hilarious psychedelic music video, chronicling a hokey battle between yesterday’s primate, and tomorrow’s cyborg. The battleground, set in Coney Island and a few back streets in New York City, is not only color, but black and white, not only filmed in 35mm, but16mm, Super8, and digital video as well.
The lyrics are funny, free flowing and downright simple, yet oddly affective, profound, and memorable. “Monkey hate technology, Robot hate the monkey” or “Monkey Mate in Jungle, Robot Replicate in Factory” for example. The film is spawned from the cerebrum of James Kochalka Superstar, a cartoonist and songwriter, who has also translated his tune into a graphic novel of the same title.
Like the best music videos, “Monkey vs. Robot” is instantly addictive, and can be enjoyed over and over again without it ever getting tired.
