Sebastian Mikael has returned with a video for his newest single, “Money.” An ode to women on the pole with life goals, the subject of the song has more on her mind than turning tricks. She’s fantasizing about a life outside of the strip club the same way men fantasize about her. Instead of giving us the cliché strip club montage, Sebastian has gone for something a little more subdued, focusing more on the inner struggle of his subject and less on her provocative vocation.
Our story begins with the camera moving down the path of a snowy wilderness terrain. A funky guitar kicks in and we see Sebastian and a scantily clad pretty young thing against a white background. The outlines of their bodies are filled with scenes from the snow covered terrain. Things get chaotic during the chorus. The imagery changes to flashes of birds, screen test footage, a Rorschach test of the stripper with Sebastian in the middle, slow motion gun shots and more as a guitar riff similar to one found in The Isley Brother’s “Voyage to Atlantis” wails. From there, we get a couple of different vignettes of Mikael and camera shots trailing the dangerous curves of his female co-star.
While the video is enjoyable and may take a few viewings to fully comprehend how the visuals compliment the song, it ends very abruptly. But maybe that’s the point, to tease the viewer, leaving us wanting more, just like the stripper and her patron who are seeking more from their intimate encounter.
