If you are anything like us, you completely ignored the gorgeous weekend we just had in favor of surfing the Internet in your dark, but air-conditioned apartment. I suppose this post is for those of you who aren’t like us – those of you who were too busy living your magnificent lives. While you were out kayaking or whatever it is you do when the weather is nice, I was scouring Twitter for the latest music videos from local Austin artists. And local Austin artists did not disappoint. Late last week, three great new videos were released that you should all know about.
Whitman: NW Thurman
This video should be a real treat for any Austin resident. Multiple Austin locations are prominently featured, like the Mohawk, Shangri La, that one food truck park on East 6th, and that one pedestrian bridge over next to Lamar. In fact, this could be a crazy night any of us have had – except for the grand theft auto, petty larceny, near-knife-fight, and giant drunken bunny. The chemistry between lead singer Ram Vela and his leporine friend is irresistible, and makes for one of the most legitimately entertaining video I’ve seen in a while. The intro is a bit long, but the outro’s payoff makes the whole trip even more worth it. Weekends for the ages, indeed.
Driver Friendly: Messidona
This pop-punk septet released this fun video on Wednesday. It’s a tribute to Tom Hanks, with each member of the band playing the Hanks character in a seminal film (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, etc) with a couple of other subtler nods woven in (You’ve Got Mail, That Thing You Do). The band immediately began entreating Mr. Hanks to acknowledge the video’s existence, and I don’t believe he has just yet. Whether that ends up happening or not, this is more than a shrewd marketing gimmick; it’s a loving tribute in the playful spirit of its subject. I love any kind of intertextual references and this video pulls off a lot of them nicely.
Zeale: Hope Dies
Our last new video release comes from Austin’s hip-hop ambassador, Zeale, and actually came out over a week ago. In the video, Zeale appears to have survived some sort of post-apocalyptic hellscape scenario and is attempting to run through a burned out forest to his girlfriend, Patricia Lynn of The Soldier Thread. Intercut through the video is footage of floods, wars and other disasters that match the critical lyrics of Zeale’s rap. Though far more serious than the previous two videos, it’s still a compelling watch with a payoff that is equal parts satisfying and discouraging.
– Carter