“Annie” is unquestionably one of the standout tracks of Neon Indian’s excellent third LP VEGA INTL. Night School, blending the perky bounce of Matthew Wilder’s untouchable classic “Break My Stride” with Alan Palomo’s own chillwave cool and synth mastery. (BTW if you’re not familiar with Wilder’s song or the linked-to video for said song you have to get involved for the mullet and the music ASAP.) There’s a yearning in Palomo’s melody here that I’d like to make human and cuddle all night. “Annie” would be the perfect soundtrack to Tony Montana and Elvira Hancock driving through Miami with the topdown, all blissful and in lust—you know, before the coke rotted their love and their brains.
Anyway, below is the premiere of the video for “Annie”—directed by Palomo—and it’s got a complex storyline all its own. It seems Alan “Sax-ist” Palomo has lost his girl, the titular character in this tale. He’s bereft, he’s stuck in a karaoke video, he’s looking for his lady like Harrison Ford was tryna find his wife (and or his family) back in the 90s. He’s on a public phone, he’s on a cell the size of my apartment. It’s interspliced segue skits, like your big booty 80s TV is all out of whack ‘cos there’s a cat playing with the antenna on the roof and it’s flicking through channels of its own accord. He sings: “With the brush you left / I combed the alleyways…” Sigh. Will he ever find her?!
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“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to tell a narrative story inside the universe of a chintzy karaoke video,” explains Palomo. “As it turns out, the results are pretty weird.”
Watch below and watch ten times more.
Neon Indian Tour DatesVideo Credits:
Directed by Alan Palomo
Cinematography by Dustin Reid
Executive Producers Alan Palomo and Dustin Reid
Color Corrected at Prime Focus Technologies
Cast:
Annie – Leanne Macomber
Cops-
Danny Mendez
Lanneau White
David Salinas
Night School Host – Luke Wyatt
Ric – David Anthony Tassy
Special thanks: Pam Garber, Jorge Palomo, Barkode Props INC, Robert Beatty