Kennedy

Do you think Over the Hedge was a perfect movie, or was that just me?

Hello and welcome back to another concept post about a cool-cover-rock-girl/nb-garage band singing a cool rock song. Each music video is on a set that looks like a lightly cluttered garage.

By reading past this line, you are acknowledging that the ideas below are mine. This is a space to share and collaborate, not to steal concepts. As if anyone would want to steal this, but I still feel like I should say it. Thank you.

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Over the Hedge (2006) was another early 2000’s children’s movie centered around animals with a shocking line up of well-known celebrities (see: Shark Tales & my all time favorite The Country Bears). Good humor, a great soundtrack, and (arguably) surprising commentary on White Flight, capitalism, and deforestation aside, “Rockin’ the Suburbs” by Ben Folds is literally a superb song.

Let’s get into the looks! For this cover song music video, the band are dressed in varying Wall Street, water cooler, ~office siren~ costumes (emphasis on the pinstripes). CEO by day and HOA by night. Monogrammed leather briefcase and car phone not included. Bonus points if the costume is deconstructed or revamped in some way. See below:

On to the set. I was inspired by those kid rugs that look like roads in a town where you can drive your Hot Wheels over. Rather than staging the garage as an office, why not be giants stomping through a pristine suburb (with their careers in the city buildings in the back corner)? I had a light bulb moment of Lana Del Rey’s cover of “Doin’ Time” by Sublime. The entire music video was her leisurely walking through LA, dressed in the undeniable 2014 mini sundress and braided sandals, while she was as tall as the skyscrapers.

During the intro synth of “Rockin’ the Suburbs”, the camera is still on one of the buildings with the windows gleaming and reflective. The drummer slowly, like a giant, walks up to the buildings to assess their makeup– using the building as merely a compact mirror. By the time they are done licking their teeth of lipstick, the song begins, and the camera switches to the regular wide shot, where you can see that the band are among the paved roads and fenced backyards of a suburb. Each house looks exactly the same, from the bright green shrubbery to where the front door is positioned. Nothing is allowed to be out of place. Even the lighting on set is fluorescent and white so that, along with the grins on the band’s faces, makes the whole thing seem a little bit creepy. There can be no imperfections here (there is no war in ba sing se)!

It’s not in the film, but at the end of the song there is a guitar & drum solo for twenty seconds. Right before this moment, the lights will turn out suddenly, not like the natural movement of the sun, but rather an artificial, cookie cutter, office– blah blah, you get the point. The end of the work day in the office. As the guitar solo continues, a projector will begin playing a series of statistics and images about: stolen land, the impact of deforestation, unoccupied residences in comparison to the unhoused crisis, etc. It will all be cohesive, cited, and relevant to the suburbs (maybe with commentary on how a lot of white people are moving back into the cities again, which will in turn push everyone else back to the suburbs).

The song is upbeat and satirical. I’ve loved it for years and am so glad it is on Spotify. I enjoyed developing this concept, and in an alternate reality I would have the voice and skills and money to start a band and create this set! I’ll keep dreaming.

Sleep tight,

K