tUnE-yArDs - “Real Thing” (Official Video)

TUnE-yArDs’ video for “Water Fountain” channeled the loose and colorful glee of Merrill Garbus’ new album so well that it’s a bit of a bummer it’s taken this long to see another video from Nikki Nack. Now we finally have, and it’s another doozy. Director Tom Jobbins has described the video as “Charlie Chaplin-like,” but just as “Water Fountain” director Joel Kefali used Pee Wee’s Playhouse as a jumping-off point to create something wholly original, this moves in the same way. There are echoes of Modern Times as Jobbins creates an assembly line where Garbus is eventually built, piece-by-piece, for the dance-filled finale. It’s a totally bizarre video, but then again, Nikki Nack is a totally bizarre album, and in both cases, Garbus’ massive charisma makes you not want it any other way.