it has A$AP singing out of his eyesockets, and his co-star Winona Ryder is loving it
In his new video, Rocky and his punk band are jamming in a garage when a neighbour (a shirtless bodybuilder, to be precise) drops by to complain. Natually, everything escalates. Watching the spectacle is Winona Ryder, the sweetly, nervous, 50s-style neighbour, who can’t take her eyes off Rocky. He’s singing out of his eyesockets, hair in pink curlers, and she’s right there, delivering snacks (what exactly? Your guess is as good as ours) while being the only neighbour that’s very into the whole thing.
The clip brings to life five of the six alter egos from Don’t Be Dumb: Rocky as GR1M, Tommy Revenge as RUGAHAND, Thoto as BABUSHKA BOI, the Williams twins as SHIRTHEAD, and DUMMY lurking somewhere in the chaos. Ryder isn’t the only cameo: Danny Elfman, Thundercat, and A$AP Nast all make appearances.
Directed by Rocky with Folkert Verdoorn and Simon Becks, and produced by Magna Studios, Freenjoy, and AWGE, the video is a full-on American dream: picture-perfect streets, fenced lawns, it’s all in techniolour. You can smell cherry pies cooling on windowsills… when the Johnny Bravo-level macho man (he literally has the build of those 90’s action figures called Rescue Heroes) arrives to snitch the punk chaos to the police, and the whole neighbourhood slowly unravels while the punk energy prevails. They got some cool group mugshots out of it though, before Winona Ryder spends all her money to bail them out and enjoy their rooftop concert.
The song is a mellow, dream-pop synthy number that makes you think of a (literally any) Tame Impala song in the way that it just waves on and on without really having a hook. The vibe might be different than the dramatic punk theatrics and fighting in the video, but it makes it a pleasant watch and has us curious to the rest of the album.
“Don’t Be Dumb,” Rocky’s first full-length release in eight years, features cover art by Tim Burton and is out January 16.
Words by Pykel van Latum
