Was driving the kids back home from swim lessons and played R.E.M.’s Out of Time in the car. Wasn’t sure if the kids had heard it before, but when “Losing My Religion” came on, they knew some of the words and were doing their best to act out the verb at the end of lines. “I think I thought I saw you cry.” = Kids make crying sounds.
Got to “Shiny Happy People” and realized I hadn’t seen thie video for a while. Maybe even since the 90s. Recalled impressions (while safely driving) from ’91:
“They look happy.”
“Michael ‘Never-gonna-lipsync’ Stipe is now lipsyncing all the time. He’s decided to be dorky. Dig it.”
“I crush on Kate Pierson. Oh, Kate. Kate Kate Kate.”
“This video is a depiction of the interior of Mike Mills’ brain.”
“If I ever get a chance to meet Peter Buck, gonna check to see if he’s ticklish. It might sprain his face, but bet the answer is ‘yes’.”
“Hey! I’m Jane Pratt! Dig my daisy dress! I’ve helped millions of girls with self-esteem and assertiveness! Rad! Also, again, my daisy dress!”
Got home, watched the video after the kids changed into their pajamas.
The comments on YouTube’s Warner Brothers official clip (doesn’t allow embedding, so I’ve created a work-around) have an intermittent theme of “It’s sarcastic/satire, you idiot.”
Yes, yes. Old man laboring makes the whole thing happen. Nothing is easy. But he gets relief from a sweetheart of a girl. All is well. Work done. Let’s all hop around and make silly faces without being wry. If we’re gonna dork, let’s dork all-out!
They keep cutting away from Peter Buck right before it looks like he’s gonna crack-up. A motif!
How’d they go forward in time to 2011, gather a bunch of people from downtown Portland, and get them to 1991 to dance around? Hope they returned everyone and restored the timeline.
Kate, Kate. Kate-tilly-itily-Kate. Your hair is a thick raspberry-flavored cotton candy my fingers would gladly get stuck in. Wait. Did I type that, or merely think it?
