(Ed Note: The Black Keys are playing the Firefly Music Festival this weekend in Dover, DE. Get your tickets here now!)
One of my favorite shows I’ve covered this year was hands-down The Black Keys, if for nothing else than the fact that they’re so flawlessly professional without losing the fun of a live show. From their expert abilities writing the catchiest riffs on the radio at any given moment to the seamless execution of lighting, sound and stage design during their performances, you know these men are here for business. They play their hearts out with very little stage banter because they’re here to play; they take their music seriously.
Yet somehow, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney retain some of the best senses of humor in the industry. They get mock-abducted by Anthony Bourdain for his tv show. They play the trite engagement party Q&A “what’s your significant other’s favorite thing to do before bed?” game about each other in interviews. They pause to joke about the ridiculousness of music videos and lip syncing while they’re doing it in their own video (meta).
So it should come as no surprise that their latest video–“Gold on the Ceiling,” directed by Harmony Korine–is humorous though it’s funny in the most terrifying way possible, challenging the standards of music videos and the viewer’s ability to comprehend whatever the fuck is going on (which of course only continues to augment the over-all hilarity). In all its terrifying glory, here’s something to give you nightmares but keep you singing throughout the evening. Until you try to sleep and all you see are plastic masks and baby bjorns.
