Barely Breathing: Curse of the Mysterious Music Video Channel
"Barely Breathing" by Duncan Sheik was an alt-rock song released in 1996. It was Sheik's breakout hit, peaking at number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and remaining on the chart for 55 weeks. At the time, it was the fourth-longest-running single on the Hot 100. It also reached number one on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart and number 19 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart.
In 1997 it quickly became a favorite song of mine. I & my sister would wait for it on the radio & sing along to it.
However shortly afterward. We had recently received new cable & a music video channel was on. For some reason, the songs were in a different pitch, Somewhat low-toned. Finding this odd, We asked my father, Who shrugged & said. "Must be a glitch or something"
Later on, we noticed at night, Something very odd was happening, We were seeing a lot of music videos very differently than what they were shown on MTV. They had a darker vibe & were completely different. I & My sister saw 3 music videos that were premiering.
"Don't Speak" by No Doubt, "2 Become 1" by The Spice Girls & "Barely Breathing" by Duncan Sheik. We were excited that our favorite song was gonna premiere its music video.
...Very briefly a bloody skull popped up for a split second on TV, and I gasped. My sister asked. "What was it?" I replied. "Something just popped up. Looked like a skull or something" Confused, We were about to see something utterly ghastly, Things were gonna get even more terrifying.
The first music video to play was No Doubt's "Don't Speak" It was obvious this was not the video we all know. The music was in a really deep pitch. The sound of flies buzzing blasted full force as we plugged our ears screaming, Graphic Footage of Maggots & Flies popped on the scream, Gwen Stefani's soft voice sounded as low as Darth Vader as her face was superimposed on a flies body as it laid maggots on a rotten apple, Her bandmates also appeared as flies as well, Suddenly before the chorus a huge "SPLAT!!" was heard as the flies of the bandmates guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young was smashed, leaving a bloody, gooey mess as Gwen-Fly flew away from normal human Gwen Stefani throwing rotten apples at the Gwen-Fly in an orange grove during a thunderstorm, Referencing the album cover
My sister ran out of the room screaming & crying & I tried changing the channel but it didn't work. My dad walks in & sees the horrific music video & shakes his head. He tried fixing it but to no avail...
The last image we see of that video is a smashed Gwen-Fly. With tears streaming from her compound eyes. I shouted "What kind of channel is this"
The screen then glitched. It fast-forwarded itself & skipped the Spice Girls video. We could easily tell it was another video in the same vein as the previous. Finally "Barely Breathing" came on.
The video started in a Graveyard. I found this clever at first. Until I noticed the music was in a lower pitch. The camera lowered to show Duncan Sheik, Buried alive 6 feet under in a casket. Pale, Sweating as he calmly sang.
As the song progressed. Duncan began slowly decomposing, His face shriveled up like a prune, and He started to look like a corpse. I screamed out in horror.
Snakes, Maggots, Spiders, Worms & Beetles emerged from his mouth as he continued to sing unaffected by this, As he tried breaking from the coffin.
I sobbed in terror, My sister was traumatized. My Dad looked as pale as a ghost. Keep in mind my dad is 6'5 & used to play in the NFL as a linebacker but he was horrified at this. Seeing my dad scared fucked me up. I screamed out...
"Get rid of this cable box!!!" I cried, My dad tried unplugging it but got a mild electric shock. I look up at the TV, & the song is now at its bridge & Duncan Sheik is now a skeleton swarming with the insects & reptiles, Still singing, But as a whole is busted through the coffin & dirt pours in. Duncan Sheik turns back to normal as the swarm vanishes & as the song finishes, Duncan Sheik emerges from the ground completely fine. Dusts himself off & walks away.
My dad snaps & slams the cable box down. He finds a number & lets the company have it.
They do not answer. My dad leaves a message.
A woman picks up. She claims that music video channel only airs music videos rejected by their record label due to being banned from MTV. The Videos shown were directed by a famous music video director named Jonas Akerlund. My dad knew him & they did not get along at all. I can't remember why.
They explained that the concept of Duncan Sheik being buried alive goes with the name of the song. My dad screamed "Well that doesn't mean he can be shown with all those bugs & snakes" & hung up.
I found out my dad punched out Jonas Akerlund at a party. Breaking his jaw. "That's what 'ya get for scaring my kids!"
We still joke about it to this day. Though I've never found the original banned version of "Barely Breathing" that I saw. Plus I still get mild PTSD when I hear it.
Credited to NickGemini12
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