2 min read

How I Like Low: The Videos

Appreciating a rare veteran indie band unafraid to lip sync.
A still from Low's "Hey" video.
The King And Queen of "Minnesota Intense"

I'm a classicist when it comes to music videos. Like David Lee Roth, I think they should sell the song AND sell the act. Which is why "Jump" is a better video than "Right Now," trophies be damned, and ZZ Top's "Legs" is better than Daft Punk's "Da Funk." This isn't to say I can't appreciate a good short film, especially in these low budget YouTube days where MTV won't even let Matt Pinfield say your name late one Sunday night. It's just that, like David Lee Roth, I think music videos have a job to do: make David Lee Roth, or whoever else is singing, look really cool.

So while I've enjoyed the clips made for Low's HEY WHAT so far, I was thrilled to see the king and queen of "Minnesota Intense" appear in the new video for "Hey." Alan Sparhawk's still committing to the Shirtless-Overalls look of their press photos (own it!), and Mimi Parker is both more demure and literally flashier with a foil-wrapped crown. In a sense, they have their cake and eat it too here, initially blasting the band name across on screen and harmonizing in the dark (would A24 fund a jukebox musical?), only to step aside for the potent, more conceptual coda.

Like few else in indie (Superchunk, and...Superchunk?) they've long been up for miming to the camera, regularly collaborating with 120 Minutes mainstay Phil Harder back when 120 Minutes was a mainstay. They've kept on making cool clips since. Here's a few of my favorites. (I'm skipping anything already linked to in my How I Like Low: The Playlist post. They've got so many that I can!)

"Hey" (2021)

Taking this opportunity to say you better check out HEY WHAT if you're planning a Top Ten Albums list before New Years. And hear it again if you have and it's not on it.

"Monkey" (2005)

As referenced repeatedly in my playlist post, catching this video on Yahoo! (lol) back in the day is what made me stop sleeping on the slowcore. A standing drum kit in a snowstorm! None more Minnesota Intense. None.

"Fly" (2018)

It's nice to know I wasn't the only person looking utterly wiped out on a baby cam in 2018.

"Canada" (2002)

I love that this charming video about getting pulled over at the northern border (kid in tow!) before rocking out on stage was for an album released on Kranky.

"Breaker" (2007)

You don't need a big budget to make a memorable music video. Sometimes all you need is a camera, a cake, and a little commitment.

"Plastic Cup" (2013)

They clean up nice.

"Half Light" (2002)

All right. I'm not pretending this is video is a hall of famer. It has shots from a spooky Richard Gere movie in it. But this single from the OST for The Mothman Prophecies is criminally obscure now, and I love that they made a video for a spooky Richard Gere movie. As I said, I have a David Lee Roth perspective on this kind of thing.