Limousines have a long and proud history in music videos. The stretch limo has been a staple of countless hip hop videos, and of course there’s also Aphex’s Twin’s mega-limousine in Chris Cunningham’s, um, memorable “Windowlicker” clip. Brooklyn quartet Pajama People continue this noble tradition with the video for their debut single “Thank You Limousine,” which Flavorwire is delighted to premiere.
The transformative power of this most louche form of transport is clear in the video, wherein the band board a white limo that transports them from the backblocks of Bushwick to some sort of magical disco (and switches out their everyday clothing for some impressive white leisure suits en route). “The video tells the story of an otherworldly limousine driver,” the band tell Flavorwire. “His powers bring chosen wanderers to their destiny. In this case, that destiny is a glorious pizza disco. He is God in our strange world.”
The video is very much a band production — it was directed by percussionist Joseph Schulhoff, a professional video editor by day, and produced by bassist Luke Alvine. As such, it ties in nicely to the band’s mythology and the songwriting process. All of which is to say: why exactly is the band thanking a limousine in the first place? “We are thanking the limousine because when the riffs were conceived, that’s exactly what they sounded like. The limousine represents a celebration of life’s rare blessings.”
Pajama People’s debut album Leave Yourself Alone is due out this fall.