Mates of State - "Staring Contest" (Official Music Video)

As a writer, it’s always really fun when your vague assumptions about a song’s meaning are justified. When I wrote about Mates Of State’s single “Staring Contest,” I mentioned all of its allusions to young love and the kind of reckless abandon that comes with being a tween. Mates Of State released a video for the single that validates all of my points, and the venture happens to be a family affair. Directed by Will Kindrick, the video stars Mates Of States’ Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel alongside their daughters Magnolia and June; read what the couple had to say about the video and watch it below:

Based on a true story of our daughter June’s intro to her class. Kids are allowed to bring in a book to read to the class. June instead chose to sing an Adele song to them. We re-imagined this performance into a full-on blow out party. During the song bridge, we play homage to the fight scene in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video. The kids skipped school, we flew to California to film in Pasadena.