Who Killed Amanda Palmer DVD

Who Killed Amanda Palmer

One year after the release of her debut solo album, Dresden Dolls piano basher Amanda (F) Palmer continues to tour unabated with a third visit to the UK planned for this autumn. This week sees the release of the visual element of the onslaught with the album’s DVD companion piece.

Who Killed Amanda Palmer (A Surrealist Mini-Mystery, to give it its full title) brings together the videos for the album along with live footage and a couple of talky extras to boot. Palmer is definitely no stranger to good old-fashioned hard work, and the DVD contains a video for each and every song from the album. The sessions saw the Brechtian punk frontwoman reunited with Dresden Dolls collaborator and friend Michael Pope, with a brutally quick turnaround that would make many contemporary acts blush. The first seven videos were churned out in seven days flat – no rest day here, which makes Palmer not only a workaholic but probably more industrious than God.

The videos, mostly directed by Pope, have a certain guerrilla aspect to them, with some being filmed in the singer’s old high school in Lexington assisted by students, volunteers, and anyone else who was willing and available. Among these is a gutsy performance of ‘Guitar Hero’ and an unsettling video for ‘Strength Through Music’ a song which, if there were any doubt at all, Palmer confirms was written about the Columbine High School Massacre.

Elsewhere ‘Runs In The Family’ sees Palmer thrashing about in a way that recalls ‘Girl Anachronism’ and revelling in the “most offensive” video she’s ever made for ‘Oasis’. This jovial tale of date-rape and abortion, tiresomely banned in the UK, was lovingly dedicated to Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin on more than one occasion. The videos range from the sublime ‘Astronaut’ to the ultra-high camp of ‘Leeds United’ (the only popular song to name check Sainsbury’s?) and there is a welcome lack of big budgets, special effects, and pouting throughout.

The DVD is rounded off with the sombre ‘Blake Says’ and ‘Have to Drive’ taken from the live shows, which gives some screen time to The Danger Ensemble, an Australian dance troupe who have accompanied Palmer through much of the tour.

Much of Palmer’s appeal, and a large chunk of her success is down to a persistent approach of telling fans absolutely everything throughout. An artist who blogs as incessantly as she performs, she shares whatever she’s thinking at the time in a warts-and-all uncensored way. The DVD’s mini-documentary “Amanda Speaks” may be interesting or self-indulgent depending on whether or not you’re a fan, though the commentary with Michael Pope gives an insight into how it’s done when the budgets aren’t that big and the schedules are tighter than Amanda’s corset.

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