"Real Thing" - tUnE-yArDs [YouTube Official Music Video]

Merrill Garbus' tUnE-yArDs released Nikki Nack earlier this year, and they're still releasing new music videos. Today, they premiered a whimsical video for "Real Thing," which you can watch above.

The clip sees a trio of mannequins trying to box up a disembodied Merrill Garbus with limited success. The bright, zany video contrasts the darker subject matter of the lyrics, but this is no accident. Garbus told NPR that she never intended to make a video for this song in the first place, but the director's vision allowed it to work:

It has too many images of its own in the lyrics, and could mean so many different things for different listeners. I love leaving room for audiences to paint their own mental pictures. What changed my mind is wanting so much for this particular song to be heard by more people.

We chose Tom Jobbins' idea because it framed the sometimes heavy lyrics in a Charlie Chaplin-like, humorous idea of me being a box of body parts in a factory. A simple and light-hearted backdrop for some complex and weighty ideas.

Jobbins explained how the song inspired him:

Hearing the song made me think of bright patterns and dancing hands! With these initial thoughts in my mind and the song on repeat I envisaged a madcap story about three plastic sisters and an all-singing, all-dancing Merrill.

You can buy Nicki Nack now on Amazon, or stream it in full right here on Zumic. For more music, videos, news, and tour dates, check out tUnE-yArDs' Zumic artist page.

Source: tUnE-yArDs YouTube Channel