When casting an Ariel Pink video, one must always consider who is affordable, proximate, and has adequate drooping facial flesh suitable for conveying an obsession with mundane suburbia.
Enter Rick Wilder, the infamous front man of cult punk band The Mau-Mau’s. He is, without a doubt, the only man whose can really grasp Ariel Pink’s Gummo-esque aesthetic, facially. You’ll see what we mean.
In the video, Rick plays an aged rock star who’s existence has been distilled down to uneventful monotony while the apathetic echo of Ariel Pink’s voice tells of lingering memories and dreams unrealized. Through a series of scenes depicting his everyday life, his woefully suburban life story unfolds.
Yes, Rick cross-dresses. Yes, he is between 150 and 3,000 years old. Yes, he works at a breathtakingly humdrum fluorescent-lit grocery store. Yes, he moonlights as a rock-n-roll bad ass and shows up all the kids who doubted him at the end.
Ariel even makes some cameos in it so you can witness the spectacle of them, side by side, bizarre and beautiful. In the end, we’re left with the feeling that these really are the glory days, and that bringing back spiked leather bracelets is probably not the worst idea for octogenarians.
The video directed by Grant Singer and co-produced by Urban Outfitters as the 21st installment of their UO Music Video Series.
You can see Ariel Pink live on his pom pom tour if you live in any of the cities below:
TOUR DATES
January
27th – SYDNEY, Oxford Arts Factory (AUS)
29th – PERTH, The Bakery (AUS)
February
7th – SAN FRANCISCO, Bimbo’s 365 (US)
9th – PORTLAND, Hawthorne (US)
10th – SEATTLE, Neumo’s (US)
11th – VANCOUVER, Rickshaw Theatre (CAN)
13th – SALT LAKE CITY, Urban Lounge (US)
14th – DENVER, Bluebird (US)
16th – MINNEAPOLIS, Fine Line (US)
17th – CHICAGO, Thalia Hall (US)
18th – PONTIAC, Crofoot Ballroom (US)
19th – TORONTO, Phoenix (CAN)
20th – MONTREAL, National (CAN)
21st – BOSTON, Paradise Rock Club (US)
23rd – WASHINGTON, 9:30 Club (US)
24th – PHILADELPHIA, Union Transfer (US)
25th – NEW YORK, Terminal 5 (US)
28th – MANCHESTER, UK – Future Everything Festival
March
1st – LILLE, Le Grand Mix (FR)
2nd – PARIS, Cabaret Sauvage (FR)
3rd – LONDON, Electric Ballroom (UK)
4th – BRIGHTON, Old Market (UK)
5th – LYON, Epicerie Moderne (FR)
6th – MILAN, Elita (IT)
7th – BOLOGNA, Locomotiv (IT)
8th – ZURICH, Mascotte (SW)
9th – FRANKFURT, Mousonturm (DE)
10th – COPENHAGEN, Bremen Theatre (DK)
11th – BERLIN, Postbahnhof (DE)
13th – AMSTERDAM, Melkweg (NL)
14th – GHENT, Vooruit (BE)
15th – BRUSSELS, Beurrschwoubourg (BE)