On Saturday, June 17, Queso Tone released his newest music video for "Mind Control." We've been able to stream this song since the release of the "Raw Ambition" album back in February, but we now have engaging visuals while we listen.
Synopsis
"Mind Control" is a song that describes how one could feel when they're being abused in a relationship; the lyric, "she abuses me and then consoles" displays domestic abuse accurately. Queso Tone covers mental health in most, if not all, of his songs. This makes him easy to relate to and also displays his activism through art.
Highs
The beginning to the music video opens with the characters of Tone and his girlfriend. Tone is painting and appears to be trying to keep his cool while his girlfriend swears at him and yells at him, which is abusive behavior. Finally, enough is enough, and Tone yells back at her. This is called reactionary abuse and occurs when the abused becomes fed up enough with the abuser to react in a way such as yelling back or saying something hurtful back-- it can be seen as provocative, and abusers bank on it happening because they can use it to deflect and blame shift, or use it against you in other forms later. Queso Tone did his studying on toxic relationships before writing this song, and that becomes clear in this music video.
Queso Tone uses being drugged and kidnapped as a metaphor for a toxic relationship. While this could be triggering to some viewers, I think it's an effective way to communicate what it's like to be in an unhealthy relationship-- one does feel trapped in an abusive relationship, and this illustrates it well.
The actresses (Charis Fair and Madilyn Williamson) also appeared to do a great job. They appeared to have fun causing harm to Tone, which shows how much abusers enjoy abusing their victims.
If you go to Eastern Michigan University, you can tell some of the scenes were shot on EMU's campus! The phone booth that does absolutely nothing outside of the Judy Sturgis Hill building near the Alexander Pay Lot is featured. Recognizing our school in a music video is extremely exciting, and it's something that we should all tune into regardless of our music taste.
The video is also great quality. The images are clear, angles are precise, and there isn't anything more that I could ask for here. The crew did an amazing job!
Lows
There's a lot of shakey camera moments. They completely fit the mood, but they can be nauseating to some viewers. It could also be triggering to watch this music video if you've suffered from violence through a partner or loved one, drugs, or kidnapping. There is a very small amount of blood as well, so it's good to keep these things in mind if you have sensitivities towards them.
Rating
I would give the music video for "Mind Control" a 7/10 rating. It's more than likely from my own bias with the song being outside of my preferred genres, and I can get a little motion sick from shakey cams. I have no regrets watching this music video though and could see myself rewatching it in the future.
Resources
Your local health department should have information on healthy relationships, along with the other services that they offer. I also have some articles below:
How to Handle a Toxic Relationship
