Today is the 82nd anniversary of John Steinbeck’s classic Dust Bowl epic The Grapes of Wrath. To honor the occasion, Weezer have shared a new music video for their OK Human ode to literary excellence, “Grapes of Wrath”.
The song doesn’t just shout-out Steinbeck, it also finds time for some of the most famous creations by Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, Joseph Heller, Herman Melville, J.R.R. Tolkien, and more. But the music video, which was directed by Brendan Walter and Jasper Graham, is less concerned with exploring these fictional worlds than the real-world problem of finding time to read.
The video begins with Rivers Cuomo, who is currently rocking long hair and a mustache, complaining about the weekly Weezer Zoom call. “I just don’t know why we have to do these calls every week,” he said. “You know, I got this giant list of books I want to catch up on.” Then, perhaps inspired by his literary heroes, he comes up with a simple subterfuge: he places a cardboard cutout of himself in front of the screen. This frees him up to do all sorts of things, from yoga to gardening to ships in bottles. Meanwhile, the rest of the band goes from wondering if “Rivers is still frozen,” to finding doppelgängers of their own. It’s a fun exercise in wish fulfillment, and you can check it out below.
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With OK Human in the rearview, the band is planning a four-album concept series, including a project inspired by Elliot Smith and a “Weezer-inspired Weezer album,” based on the band’s classic sound. Last month, the rockers contributed “It’s Always Sunny in Bikini Bottom” to the soundtrack for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. On April 16th, Weezer will be streaming OK Human Live and tickets are available through the event website.
