Remember when you could watch music videos twenty-four hours a day on your television without all the superfluous filler and distractions you have to succumb to today? Back then, there were performance videos and concept videos, and if the musicians or the video’s director were feeling overly ambitious, they might concoct a video that combined both motifs. Of course, that was the ’80s, before creativity and intellect were abducted by random information and convenience. This was prior to the Internet and before you had the luxury and the burden of having the world instantly in the palm of your hand so you could simultaneously dismiss the physical world in your immediate proximity. This was also before fake reality devoured legitimate reality in one gluttonous sitting, and the two became an indistinguishable mess, giving rise to demagogues who beat subtlety and decency half to death, then promised to make the country hate again, by bringing that ugly emotion out of the shadows and parading it around the public square like the carnival sideshow attraction it is.
As bad as it seems in the midst of this nasty political climate where basic rights, respect, and decency are denied to those who are deemed “different” in some way, all is not lost. Houston punk rock band Giant Kitty has released their new music video “The Stupid Stuff” to help you rage against the mean. The new video, directed by Jenny Waldo, is one of those combination concept and performance videos that’s a throwback to the ’80s, when music videos had their own dedicated television station and the politics of hate weren’t as overt as they are now. With the clever use of the most basic of props, sticky notes and a Sharpie, interwoven with footage of the band performing the tune on stage, “The Stupid Stuff” exposes the absurdity of the politics of hate and fear and its reliance on stereotypes and labels to feed into the ignorance and prejudices that adversely influence your actions and interactions with others. Click on play at the top of this article to watch “The Stupid Stuff” video.
Giant Kitty will be featured in the upcoming short film Acid Test directed by Jenny Waldo. Click here if you would like to donate toward the post production and distribution costs of this film.
Giant Kitty is Miriam Hakim (vocals), Cassandra Chiles-Quirk (guitar), Glenn Gilbert (bass), and Trinity Quirk (drums).
For more information about Giant Kitty, including a schedule of upcoming shows, you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit their website. You can find Giant Kitty’s “The Stupid Stuff” on iTunes or at Cactus Music.
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