You’d never guess by the demeanor of the band Human Zoo that there is anything wrong with their content. One need only listen to their music to understand they’re not troublemakers. Under no circumstance would they release a song, let alone a music video, with any brand of controversy or conspiratorial violence. They’re good kids, doing their best in a harsh, bleak world. Unless, one would suppose, we count that one incident with Rachel playing the piano with their foot (something that may or may not have actually happened). But we digress; Human Zoo is an upstanding group in today’s modern society. Eventually, however, one can’t be good without making some people feel kind of bad.
So when they released the music video for their song, “Wealth & Hellness (ft. Will Wood)”, someone, potentially automated and/or algorithmic, may have taken offense to the depictions therein. This seems like a serious oversight. If we look at Human Zoo’s pristine track record, there’s no indication that they are conspiracy theorists or the like. No chance would they want to take such an egregious risk in their blossoming music careers. Keeping to this point, it seems that someone at YouTube has made a grave mistake. So, when this happened, the band launched a censored and redacted version of “Wealth & Hellness”.
For what it’s worth, the music video is not the same without the original track’s vocals. Right away we notice a distinct shift in tone that is much more apologetic about the entire issue than is necessary. Every lyric is different, save for the first. Each visual that had a shred of an edge is now rounded down to a bluntness that is wholly unfair to Hunan Zoo’s sensibilities.
Rather than being able to express themselves freely, “Wealth & Hellness” now stands as a sort of prison to the sentiment it once contained. A closer inspection of the new censored track reveals a sorrowful hollowness that was never deserved in the first place. Critics will agree that the track is not something we should have had to come to. Hell, its tragic forced innocence detracts from the message it had originally sent its audience. Eventually, YouTube may relent. Let’s hope the uncensored version sees the light of day in the future.
And with that, I wonder if you’re understanding this new review after I originally reviewed the uncensored version. Can YouTube redeem itself? Really look at yourself, YouTube. One day, you’ll see that removing “Wealth & Hellness” was the wrong hill to die upon. Some day, too, YouTube might even not exist, consigning megatons of digital content to oblivion. That’s the eventual truth since nothing ever lasts. I believe that much, anyway. Can you see that, YouTube Corporate? Seriously, it would be such a shame if not.
So that mostly concludes my tirade. Unless there’s more to say on the subject, I consider this review good to print. Can’t wait to see it go live and shake up the press a bit. Keeping up with that, the original song is still on Spotify, but if you wish to watch the censored version of “Wealth & Hellness (ft. Will Wood)”, you can find that above or on YouTube.
