The music video for "Told You So" - the latest glimpse of chameleonic R&B singer-songwriter Miguel's upcoming fourth album War & Leisure - juxtaposes the personal and political in an arresting yet abstract manner. The Karim Huu Do video sees the LA crooner dancing with verve in the middle of a desert; his performance is intercut with footage of rocket launches, explosions, tanks, Vietnam War protests, Trump protests, a sea of waving American flags, Martin Luther King Jr., and other evocative and politically-charged imagery. At the very end of the video, Miguel and his spectators watch a large satellite burst into flames on its way back to earth.
The song itself - an exuberant and uptempo R&B cut with dashes of funk - is not as explicitly political, however (unlike the recently released 'Shockandawe'). The 'devilspeak on my tongue' could refer to the lies of a lover or a politician, and the song becomes a more tempting listen when this ambiguity remains unresolved. In his recent interview, he claimed that he was not inspired to revisit his penchant for sexually explicit lyricism ("eroticism doesn't feel timely"), opting instead to focus on "The overall status quo" and "How to engage."
Eroticism nevertheless remains a breathtaking part of the song, even if Miguel is now more preoccupied with its dangers and costs: 'I know you sense the sentiment in my eyes/ As long as you know, baby/ Every pleasure you taste has its price, babe'. He may have 'told you so', and suspiciously warned you twice that he does not want to 'control you', but you go along for the ride anyway - the lure of the relentless electric guitars, stratospheric vocals, and slick dances moves proved to be too irresistible.
