Behind the Video: The Black Lips on Their "Katrina" Clip

The Black Lips are four Atlanta rock & roll renegades who've been playing their wildly entertaining brand of dirty blues punk since 2000. On September 11, the band -- known for truly outrageous stage shows that involve drinking pee, nudity, making out with each other and profuse bleeding -- will release their new album Good Bad, Not Evil? on Vice Records. The LP is stocked with gleefully disturbed tunes like its first single, "Katrina," which somehow manages to merge Kinks-style heartbreak pop with one of the most appalling natural (and political) disasters in American history. Rock Daily asked singer/bassist Jared Swilley about this unusual song, as well as the cheery day-glo video they made for it:

On writing a love song about a hurricane: "In a lot of ways a girl can be much like a hurricane. In this case, though, we didn't want to be political, even though we have ties to New Orleans, so we tied the two ideas together."

On why the song has only four lines of lyrics: "In this day and age of ADD, we try to appeal to those with a short attention span who wanna go ride bikes later."

On the video's larger concept: "I would describe the concept as strikingly similar to that of a Christmas tree's lights. Sometimes they're green, sometimes they're yellow, and even sometimes, they're purple. The fast shot changes pay homage to our lightning-fast wit."

On what the Black Lips will do to celebrate the release of their new album: "Continue on with our never-ending tour and maybe buy a six pack of Busch."

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter