Grouplove inspire peace in North Korea in their "Ways To Go" video. (We know. WHAT?!)
Some bands shy away from controversy (ahem, Beyoncé), and others fully embrace it (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young circa "Ohio," M.I.A. circa "Born Free," Courtney Love circa EVERYTHING). And some bands don't feel it's their place to comment on polarizing world conditions, like, say, North Korea's totalitarian leadership. But Los Angeles indie-pop collective Grouplove is not one of those bands. Not only are they perfectly OK with depicting a young Kim Jong-un going around his mansion/castle spreading peace, love, and understanding in their new video, "Ways To Go," but lead singer Christian Zucconi also seems to have no problem wearing Kurt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" striped T-shirt/scraggly hair look. Which is controversial in an ENTIRELY different way.
Watch Grouplove's "Ways To Go" video after the jump.
Directed by Cameron Duddy, "Ways To Go," the lead single from the band's forthcoming Spreading Rumors album, features Grouplove rocking out in a mansion, where a young Kim Jong-un is just waking up to start his day. As Grouplove's electro-pop chorus plays in the background (and Zucconi dances emphatically in a Nirvana-inspired getup -- #subtext?), Kim searches for a shirt to wear. Should he grab the military shirt, a military shirt, or a military shirt? Hey, how about a HAWAIIAN shirt stuffed in the back of the closet? YEP, that's the one.
In fact, Kim seems so engulfed in Grouplove's good tidings, that he spends the rest of his day promoting peace: He shakes his groove thing down the halls, he unshackles three frightened captives, and he even pulls a classic hippie move of placing a flower in a soldier's rifle. See how music can change the world? Maybe Grouplove should think about storming the United Nations building like P***y Riot did with that Russian cathedral? Er, as long as no one gets arrested, of course.
Grab Grouplove's Spreading Rumors album when it streets on Sept. 17.
