Broken Social Scene's Andrew Whiteman Slams 'Sweetest Kill' Video: 'Weak S---!'

Ever wonder why the members of Broken Social Scene often don't appear in their own music videos? Call it an aesthetic choice, but there may be a deeper reason lurking beneath the surface.

"I don't believe in videos," Broken Social Scene member Andrew Whiteman tells Spinner. "I think they're bulls---."

That would make sense if the Toronto collective didn't make videos, but they've released a number of them, including two that earned nod from the Junos for Video of the Year (2004's 'Stars and Sons' and 2011's 'Forced to Love,' respectively). Whiteman admits his rejection of videos isn't unequivocal.

"I'm not a hater of the idea itself," admits Whiteman, who also plays in Apostle of Hustle and a new group called ARoaRa. "I've seen some genius videos out of the million that have been made, but it has to be an art thing and music videos are rarely art things."

"They're funded by money made at a production house and they make a s---load of money as commercials. And the taxpayers pay for them because they make a s---load of money getting video grants. It's like a wank-off all around, basically."

Music videos have historically been used as gussied up television ads to sell records, but as stations like MTV have dialed back the number of videos they air, some artists have taken greater liberty with graphic content (typically labeled NSFW) that can find an audience online instead.

That's certainly the case with the video for 'Sweetest Kill,' the most recent single off Broken Social Scene's 2010 album, 'Forgiveness Rock Record.' While the song is a tender ballad, the video is surprisingly violent. Directed by Claire Edmonson, the clip sees actress Bijou Phillips hack apart the body of her former lover with an axe.

The video's gory content caused it to be banned from both MuchMore and MuchMusic despite being partially funded by MuchFact, the video production fund exclusively used by the two Canadian music stations.

Watch Broken Social Scene's 'Sweetest Kill' Video
"I actually haven't seen the video, but I think that's bulls---," he says, flatly. "The literalism of that -- it's like 'the song is called 'Sweetest Kill,' so why don't we have a hot chick kill her boyfriend?' Like, what the f--- is that? That's weak s---, man. Weak s---."

"That's not what 'Sweetest Kill' is about," he continues, offering his own alternate treatment. "'Sweetest Kill' is when you're f---ing 14, 15 years old and you're at summer camp. It's the last night, you're at the tennis court, it's outside and it's a chaperoned dance. Nobody's drunk except the bad kids and you're dancing to f---ing 'Stairway to Heaven'. That's 'Sweetest Kill' man, not that f---ing literalist bulls---. It's a beautiful song."

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