Synopsis
The Hives perform "Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones" in a hyperactive, surreal production built around green-screen compositing. The band members appear in multiplied formations, synchronized clusters and constantly shifting geometric arrangements, turning a straightforward performance clip into a kaleidoscopic visual spectacle. Rapid cutting, tightly choreographed movement and a playful sense of scale give the video a classic Busby Berkeley flavor, while the band's sharply coordinated black-and-white look keeps the imagery rooted in The Hives' theatrical garage-rock persona.
Factoids & Trivia
- The video was created in a full-on Busby Berkeley style, using elaborate patterns and repeated performers to transform the band into a moving visual arrangement.
- The production team filmed more than 100 green-screen setups in a single shooting day. The footage then required an extensive post-production process in New York.
- The Saline Project has recalled that the band asked whether the video was finished immediately after encountering the exhausted crew at Heathrow Airport following the shoot.
- The video was included in QuickTime format on the enhanced CD edition of the single, making it an early example of a music video distributed as part of a CD release.
- The video debuted on MTV Europe's Top 20 list at number 19 on December 4, 2004. It later peaked at number 16 and remained on the list for four weeks.
- The song's guitar riff draws on The Monkees' "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," while critics have also noted similarities to Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Kicks" and the sound of Devo.
- The track appeared on the soundtrack to Madden NFL 2005 and was later used in MotoGP '06.