Why Is Pink Reading Occult Book, Playing Rocker-Biker In New Clip?

The video for Pink's "U + UR Hand" appears at first to be just another excuse for the singer to dress up in a series of revealing, sexy outfits. Which is kind of weird, since the clip for "Stupid Girls" basically made fun of bubble-headed starlets who get over by using their bodies.

But if you dig deeper into the inspiration for the clip, which recently hit No. 1 on "TRL," you'll find everything from ancient, obscure black-magic books to some of the edgy comic characters of late New Zealand artist Martin Emond. It's a subversive concept from director David Meyers to turn the "Stupid Girls" clip on its head.

But to notice those aspects of the video, people actually had to see it first. Filmed at the same time as the "Stupid Girl" clip nearly a year ago, Meyers said Pink's label originally wanted "U + UR Hand" to be the first single from her I'm Not Dead album, but the singer convinced them otherwise and "Stupid Girls" got the first shot.

"The compromise was that they gave us money for two videos and we did them at the same time," said Meyers, who has helmed almost all the singer's videos. He came up with the concept of the clip's central character, Lady Delish, a futuristic woman who is having trouble finding a man. It's a scenario that Meyers said fit Pink's own story before her marriage earlier this year to motocross star Carey Hart.

" 'Stupid Girls' was such a big success and she's scantily clad in it, so for a while it seemed like maybe this one would never see the light of day," Meyers said. "But it's about content. In this one, she's a smart girl living in a futuristic world and she's not ass-shaking and doing stupid stuff, so the sexy outfits make sense."

Half the scenarios in the video were inspired by the drawings of underground comic artist Emond, best known for his collaborations with metal singer Danzig. Meyers said Pink brought him a book of Emond's drawings while they were brainstorming for the clip and the pair looked through them and picked out a few characters that would fit Pink's personality.

They include the helmet-clad Rocker Biker Girl, the first character we meet at a place called "Pancho's Garage," as well as Hard Candy, seen working a punching bag while wearing diamond-encrusted gloves in the "Hell Hole" chapter. Emond's work also pops up in a visit to the dizzying rooftop Windy Whistle bar, where Pink portrays the flame-haired, short-shorts-wearing Baby Redknuckles.

Emond, the prolific artist who worked on comics such as "White Trash" and "Accident Man," painted covers for Danzig albums and co-founded the street-wear clothing label Illicit. His paintings and sketches were heavily influenced by skin art and often featured skulls and knives mixed with hearts, stars, birds and gothic lettering. His comic book drawings frequently involved fierce, muscled women with a gothic/undead look and exaggerated features. Read more...