Music: Deep Elm posts alternate to controversial Fightstar video

Deep Elm Records has released an alternative to the "Paint Your Target" video by London, England's Fightstar. The original version of the video raised broadcasters concerns over school violence. It features school children playing a mock game of war in a playground, and while the video contains simulated gunfire and explosions, there were no actual weapons shown. US media has expressed concern with "questionable content" in the video while the BBC earlier declared it offensive and refused to show it on their terrestrial station in the UK. The song in question appeared on the band's recent record They Liked You Better When You Were Dead.

Bassist Dan Haigh, who directed the video, and Deep Elm founder John Szuch both released statements:

Haigh: "this is social
commentary on how violence is inherent in our culture. It's a real shame that
rock music can't be the platform for revolution in modern media like it used to
be."
Szuch: "Censorship has gone too far. This is a bunch of school children playing with
their fingers pointed like guns. You'll find this on every playground in
America... We live in a society of war...perhaps we need to focus on what we are teaching our children."

The new alternative video for "Paint Your Target" was directed by
Sam Brown for Flynn Productions. Both versions of the video are now online to view.
Paint Your Target: Original | Alternate