No Doubt And Damian Marley Are Also Crushing Out On Alan Rickman

Ed. note: Once again, Idolator intern Kate Richardson scours the video sites, looking for the best fan-made music videos. In this entry, she looks at two clips that pay tribute to all-ages sex symbol Alan Rickman:

Alan Rickman: pouty, droll, inexplicably appealing. If he weren’t acting, Alan Rickman would teach something like English lit or art history at a prestigious liberal arts college where he would be universally beloved by the female student body for his dry wit, passionate teaching style, and sexy accent. Instead he’s playing Snape in Harry Potter, which has skewed his fan base much, much younger. This week we explore Alan’s youth appeal:

Song: “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt Concept: Alan Rickman as jilted lover. The greatest thing about this video is its first minute. It’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure book: you can either be taken by force by haggard, bearded Alan Rickman, or you can go in soft and slow with gentlemanly Alan Rickman, but either way, it’s totally hot. As a music video, this clip is really not bad–“Don’t Speak” works well for emotionally fraught makeouts, and the dancing footage is a convenient and successful filler. It’s not terribly interesting, but sometimes you just have to sit back and let a tribute video’s general concept sink in. Best music-to-image sync-up moment: At 1:21, the dance move is perfectly matched to the drum entrance. Silliest music-to-image sync-up moment: At 2:06, there’s a really weird still shot of Alan with his eyes half-closed that stays onscreen for a solid five seconds. But … why?

Song: “All Night” by Damian Marley Concept: Alan Rickman as totally chill dude who will bring the weed to the party. And he can dance! This video has the advantage, energy-wise. The editing is quicker and there’s a better variety of clips, making it a little more interesting to watch. The song is fun and appropriately inappropriate for the subject–though in a weird way it does kind of fit, since many women of all ages do seem to want Alan Rickman’s loving all night. Still, old English white dude plus Marley brother equals unavoidable incongruity. Best music-to-image sync-up moment: This is kind of cheesy, but about thirty seconds in Damian Marley sings “Now she call me on the phone and said she’s home alone, and she want me to come over and her house a home” as we see clips of Alan Rickman, yes, talking on the phone and then making some lady’s house a home. Silliest music-to-image sync-up moment: The last twenty seconds are seriously bizarre. We get a very tense sex scene, then the music stops, and then there is a completely silent thirteen-second clip of Snape writing at his desk.

Verdict: The song choices are equally inexplicable, but the Damian Marley video has the edge in general enjoyability and technique, making it the distinguished Englishman over the age of sixty that I would most like to make out with–and the winner of this week’s match-up.