As Charli XCX keeps the singles coming from Charli (in particular with Troye Sivan), her sequel, after a fashion, to “1999”–called “2099”–isn’t exactly the most futuristic in video form. Even if the beats backing it are drenched in the moody aggravations that would be ideal for that star-studded space movie Nick Naylor was envisioning for the glamorous comeback of cigarettes in Thank You For Smoking.
Directed by Los Angeles-based Brits Bradley&Pablo, the narrative takes place “at a top secret jet ski testing facility deep within an unnamed mountain range”–a.k.a. on the likely very high seas manifested via climate change ramifications by 2099 (if, of course, we make it that far). Yet the image of Charli and Sivan arrogantly riding on the very things that contribute to pollution and biological contamination doesn’t seem to be an ironic statement about the way people treat the earth now. Riding past a boat emitting a plume of smoke from the image (again, it has to be said that this trend was seemingly established by Lana Del Rey on the cover of her Norman Fucking Rockwell album), XCX is soon joined by Sivan in a casual, friendly sort of face-off that finds Sivan or, more likely, his stunt double, doing back flips on his jet ski behind her.
Both of their blithe lack of concern for emitting excessive amounts of fuel into the water is further corroborated by the addition of four more helmeted jet skiers behind them. Because, ultimately, what it all comes down to is how good a shot looks. This was behavior that might have easily flown in 1997, one of the peak years for jet skis to appear in music videos (as most distinctly evidenced by Mariah Carey’s “Honey”), but in 2019 (or 2099, if that’s when this video is suggesting it takes place in), it feels a bit icky. Like someone who still smokes or vapes despite knowing full well what the unavoidable effects are going to be. At the same time, there is almost a certain unwitting brilliance to the visual rendering of the song, evincing just how much humans will never change their behavior for the long-term benefits if it feels too good (i.e. escapist) in the present. Jumping on the back of Charli’s jet ski to leave his own PWC (personal watercraft) discarded in the water (once more, very blatantly taking a shit on the environment), XCX gazes haughtily into the camera as though to say, “And what?” Or, more to the point of her lyrics, “Quiet, no discussions, please hush/I pull up, roll up, fuck up/Don’t make decisions for me, you don’t know nothin’.” This seems to be what all of humanity is saying in its comportment toward being “concerned” about climate change while measured against their lack of will to actually make a change that would affect the future positively. It seemed because Charli also has a lyric that says, “Ooh, I’m zooming like a jet ski, zoom zoom,” she decided that was the concept for the video. Unbeknownst to her it would be one of the grandest statements on why Earth will be completely fucked by 2099. Because humans want what they want no matter the cost to nature.
