Compare/Contrast - "Space Girl" - Bad Mary

Bad Mary, the spirited band from Long Island, guns along in pure punk DIY fashion. They are unmanaged, handle their social medias solo and they even take the plunge to go live on Patreon, "the membership platform that makes it easy for artists and creators to get paid." They throw down at their live shows with big sounds mixed with the hardy candy they throw at their loyal audience. Bad Mary has that Big Bertha Badass musical persona yet they still remain loyal to their hometown by performing at the 5th Annual Bad Mary Holiday Disaster on December 13th in Bethpage, LI.  Amanda Mac handles vocals with wide eyed curiosity and subliminal confusion. Her sig other, Mike Straub, leads the rhythm section with his tasty bass lines. The Mighty Professor (Mike's actual college prof) applies his scissor rip up guitar sty while Amanda's Pop handles the kit. Bad Mary keeps it genuinely all in the family (no fights unlike the Robinson's. Seek out our Crowe's Reunion piece)

BM recently released Return of Space Girl. The fabulous four poured out 12 songs. I am into the "Itch",  a sassy, sardonic song about one's self imposed co-dependent relationship with a phone. Still, I chose to focus on a compare/contrast of the original and the latest video for "Return of Space Girl".

In the original write up of Bad Mary  I declared "If Dee Dee Ramone and Debby Harry had a love child it would the whirling dervish with saucer circle, eyelined eyes, Amanda Mac. The original "Space Girl' pulsated with frenetic schism. The latest, filled with  futuristic observation  still blows the atomic fairy dust out the galaxy.  Scully and Mulder would be salivating to crack this spacealiscious code. 

 

Let's begin with the original "Space Girl" hurled into our universe in 2014. Amanda pulsates with pure energy whenever she is on stage or with a few feet from the camera. Mike keeps it bopping on bass. The song along with the video heightens one's senses, not only with the lyrical onslaught but with slamming visuals. You need the video to appreciate the song's fierce impact. The predominant black and white with shades of grey anti color scheme  gives off the campy vibes of a late night B movie morphed with a dash of Dr. Who weirdness. Bring on the Dr. Whovian vibes so we can take a Tardis ride while we absorb Amanda's commanding vocals. She lights up the dark with her frantic movements. She wears a retro mini dress. The fashion choice accentuates her features without revealing too much. After all she is a  classy chick who doesn't need to play all her cards  The petite punk princess prances with energy as she suggests there is more to life than gluten phobic, "Where's my safe space" human factor.
 

As stated the original was sent into orbit in 2014. The replay slipped into the human sub system on November 4th 2019. The latest offering still contains the rush and thrash musical performance. Amanda still rips the fringes off the lyrics. "WE ARE NOT ALONE” The band rocks it’s familial furiosity. They jam in their usual effortless black eyeliner fashion.

A fan from Japan created this art

 

The noticeable  change up rings clear in the video style. There is a heavy leaning on the sparse Japanese anime style. Unfortunately I am not a fan of hand drawn voyeurism. Still they don't go too heavy.  In the mostly animated video, Space girl bursts open as the celestial, cartoon stroked heavy thighed, back packed Wonder Woman. She yells  “Hello Earth. Can you HEAR ME". Space Girl rolls into Gotham dodging fire balls while leaping badly built buildings in a single bound.  There is a definite feminist not so subtle hint. I don't want to wage feminine war but I do feel it's time to move past patriarchal pesticide so we can move forward toward a more unified, less angry news cycle. That said, I adored the original campy version. But I'm glad Bad Mary continues  it's combustible "Hey World Do You Hear Me" theme while cordially passing the smashed potatoes at the holiday dinner table.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eabTsyP1vg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SYr3jIbKi0