Joel Trussell

Typically, I’ve viewed music videos in a vacuum and only because I liked the song itself the lyrics, melody, rhythm, and so on. Rarely did stop and really think about what I had heard and in this case seen. But the experience of viewing various music videos and then discussing them in class was refreshing. I have always been curious about music videos, particularly the ones in class, when trying to think what came first, the music itself or the idea for the video. I’m sure with videos like Numb by U2 there was a give and take. The music and lyrics paved the way for the imagery shown throughout the music video. But on others like the crazy animal video or the magician, which medium flowed into the other. Chicken or the egg? I’m sure this type of analysis wouldn’t necessarily work with all music videos but it’s interesting to think about.

Joel Trussell sounds like one of those rare artists who has found a happy medium between doing what they love and making a living He did have to work at it though, which is where you can really see the inner struggle he describes in the article. Fear can be a debilitating force for an artist or, in Joel Trussells case, a powerful motivator. He strives to work as much as he can to keep his skills sharp as well as being relevant. He fears work will dry up if suddenly people realize that he actually can’t illustrate or animate as well as they think. But he also fears success, being stuck doing the same type work for the rest of his life. This is why I think he finds relief and solace with Mocheeba, its his outlet. He gets to say “This is a Joel Trussell piece” an opportunity I think few artists really get to experience.