DVNO

"**DVNO**" is a song by Justice initially released as a single in 2008 and later included on their debut album *Cross*. "DVNO" and its accompanying video directed by Spike Jonze are considered classics of 2000s house music. A reversed clip of "DVNO" was also released on *Cross* as "NO Ad", which is the final track on the album.

## Background

"DVNO" was initially released as a 12 inch single in 2008 under the Ed Banger Records label with the B-side "Get Down" and again in late 2009 after the band signed with Because Music.

In an interview with Fredrik Strage for Swedish magazine Pop #36, Gaspard Augé revealed that "DVNO" was made after listening to Westcoast G-Funk for weeks.

"It was around the time Gang Starr's "Skills" was released and we wanted to make some sort of gangsta-rap and tried to murk our sounds as much as possible. However no one has ever compared it to hip-hop. We've heard that the drums sounds like AC/DC and Limp Bizkit, the melody is reminiscent of Harry Robins, and the synthesizers sound like electro and thousand of other comparisons. No one agree with us that it sounds like hip-hop"
In September 2023 Pitchfork Media included the song at number 31 on their *Top 200 Tracks of the 2000s*.

## B-side

Main article: Get Down
The B-Side Of Releases Of "DVNO" is a Track Called "Get Down" Which Is Featured On Cross.

The B-side of Later Releases Of "DVNO" is an almost 7 minutes long track called "Together", a small part which can be heard of in TGTHR 11.4 FM, a short skit contained on Cross.

## Music video

The track's music video was directed by Spike Jonze and entitled *Big City Nights*. It focuses on the character Charles (Tony Maxwell), an anthropomorphic dog in a leg cast with a crutch wearing urban clothing. Charles, who has lived in New York City for only one month, is shown walking around with a boombox blasting "DVNO" at a high volume. His hobbled walk is made fun of by a pair of children. He is turned down when he attempts to participate in a public survey. His boombox annoys a bookseller on the sidewalk from whom Charles buys a paperback novel entitled *Big City Nights*. Charles meets a woman named Beatrice (Catherine Kellner), who was once his childhood neighbor. They agree to have dinner together at her home, traveling by way of a city bus. Beatrice boards the bus, but Charles is startled by a sign stating "NO RADIOS". As he is unable to turn off his boombox (which is earlier indicated to have a broken/missing volume button) he reluctantly remains at the bus stop, as the bus drives off with Beatrice.

Although the video has drawn several interpretations, Gaspard Augé has stated:

> There's no story. It is just a man-dog walking with a ghetto-blaster in New York. The rest is not meant to say anything. People are trying to explain it: Is it about human tolerance? Integration? Urbanism? There's really no message. There will be a sequel someday.
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### "Get Down" video

Main article: Get Down
Charles would indeed return in the music video for the Justice track "Get Down", which is also from *Cross*. In this video, he is an actor shooting scenes for a film set on a beach. When the day's shoot is over, he discusses techniques with the director and then runs into Beatrice; they have apparently become boyfriend and girlfriend. The two make plans to go to a restaurant for dinner. Charles gets into Beatrice's red convertible and they drive off into the sunset.

The concept for this video echoes that of the "DVNO" video, in that the track is treated as nothing more than a score against which the story plays out. "Get Down" was directed by Justice themselves; Jonze makes a guest appearance as the director of Charles' film. According to the *J.U.S.T.* audio commentary, Justice wanted Charles to return in a happier environment, to cheer up fans who saw him in a depressing situation in the "DVNO" video. This would see him enjoying an acting career, receiving compliments, and dating Beatrice.

## Statistics

On this forum, it was concluded that DVNO was around 120 BPM and in the key of A-sharp.