This week on the show, we dip into emo’s Neon Era, covering the timelessly catchy “The Great Escape” from Boys like Girls, which was likely your ringtone at some point in time.
This week on the show, we dip into emo’s Neon Era, covering the music video for timelessly catchy “The Great Escape” from Boys like Girls, which was likely your ringtone at some point in time.
Let’s run back through the video and see who came out a winner, and who did not.
Spoiler alert: spaghetti.
WINNER: Kids in classrooms not learning anything
A music video that opens on a shot of a kid in a classroom not learning anything? Sign me the hell up. A few seconds in, this could be any blink-182 music video and that’s fine by me. So far so good.
WINNER: Spaghetti
Scene: Kids passed out throughout someone’s home. These guys must have partied hard. Look at all the red Solo cups and half-eaten plates of spaghetti. A party definitely happened here.
LOSER: Toothbrush shots in music videos
Why set up the partying rockstar thing but also display the dutiful oral hygiene? This has always bugged me. Looking at you, Phantom Planet.
WINNER: Spaghetti!
Back it again. New day. New spaghetti. These bitches love spaghetti. Is it the same spaghetti?
WINNER: The first note the lead singer hits in the chorus
Kind of demands your attention, doesn’t it? I mean, damn.
LOSER: That poor three-legged dog
At one point in the video the band stops for a breather, only to be visited by a three-legged pup. They engage, presumably to strand that poor thing on the road as they continue on to their gig.
LOSER: Maps
Our teen concertgoers do not appear to be phased by the map that flies out of their convertible on the way to the show. Sorry, maps.
LOSER: The mechanic
Our teen concertgoers have car troubles, stop by a roadside mechanic slash diner, which to me feels like pretty amazing luck, and are picked up by a new group of teen concertgoers, leaving the mechanic with the junker. Will the pick it up later and pay the good man for his services? Who is to say? Will the three-legged dog wander by and become his new friend? We can only hope. Perhaps it’s his dog to begin with. Wouldn’t that be nice?
LOSER: Escapes, as framed by this video
This video depicts a band that does well to brush their teeth and eat a good spaghetti dinner before their show, as well as some teen concertgoers who wait until school is officially out to depart for a nighttime concert. They all seem to have a nice time. At no point does anyone in this video appear to be escaping from anything, let alone in great fashion.
BONUS: Oh, right, the costume change
At some point in the song the lead singer puts on a form-fitting sweater. Everything’s magic! Thanks for being here everybody.
-download or stream the full discussion on ‘The Great Escape’ below-
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