American rock musician and actor Chris Isaak is no new kid on the block in the music industry. With a 4 decade long career and still going, this singer/songwriter is certainly considered one of the greats. Chris is known for his signature 1950’s rock & roll/reverb-laden rockabilly style and crooner sound and is often compared to Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley. His love for performing began after college when he began playing music with his band Silvertone which became the name of his first ever album in 1985. Members James Calvin Wilsey (guitar), Rowland Salley (bass) and Kenney Dale Johnson (drums) from the early years are now and have been his permanent supporting band. After several years of song writing and a few albums releases, Chris and his team finally finished and released what would become his greatest hit, ‘Wicked Game‘. By 1991, it was a global phenomenon, topping the charts in North America as well as the UK. To date, Chris has 350 million plays on Spotify with over 3 million monthly listeners. His music has stood the test of time and continues to impress.
In August, Chris released his newest hit ‘Pandemic Blues: I Can’t Take It!‘ which really resonated with fans. On his Instagram page he says, “This one’s for everyone that has been pacing around the house, zoom call after zoom call and talking to their dog for the past year and a half.” A theme that most people can certainly relate to. On September 23rd, Chris accompanied his new single with a professionally animated music video. It’s important to note that this video is heavily inspired by drawings that Chris drew himself. These drawings, including the single artwork, were crucial in bringing this animation to life, down to the smallest detail like the name of the cereal ‘Crazy Puffs‘ and the ‘2 Year Supply Toilet Tissue‘.
The animation style is really fun; it’s very School House Rock meets Nickelodeon with the classic thick-line animation similar to our favorite cartoons growing up. Thick-line animation became popular in the 50s and is characterized by visible heavy black outlines around characters and objects. The color palette is bold and vibrant, using lots of blues, reds and yellows and with the shading, it really brings the cartoon to life. The video starts off with a happy animated version of Chris Isaak (I love the hair), at home playing his guitar with his dog. The song tells the story that throughout the weeks, it gets harder and harder to be at home. In the video we see Chris and his dog doing different activities like puzzles, puppet shows, cleaning, sleeping in and even snacking on what appears to be dog food together. My favorite part in this whole video is how the dog steals the show completely. He becomes this comedic side kick, and seems to be the only character keeping his wits about him, which I find absolutely hilarious.
There’s a scene where Chris is dressed up in front of the mirror, ready to go outside with all of his pandemic gear on (mask, face shield, robe and rubber gloves) and the lyrics pop on the screen and he sings, “I can’t take it…” The dog is seen on the side laughing at his friend and those little laughable moments through this whole pandemic are exactly what we need to get us through another day. In other scenes, the dog is caught raising his eyebrow and making charming little faces at his owner, wearing a sleep mask as he sleeps away the day and is even there to support Chris at the doctor’s office. At the end of the video, the dog is seen dragging his reluctant owner out of the house by his pant leg outside where the pandemic is over and their neighbors are out chatting and playing happily again. Instead of making this video a whole lyric video, I think choosing to only highlight some key lyrics was a great choice as it really allowed the viewer to focus on the story being told and frankly just enjoy the show.
Lockdowns and pandemics are generally a serious matter but this animated music video really puts such a fun and bubbly spin on a life that we’ve all been living for the past 2 years which is why I think that this song and video will resonate deeply with his fans. The cartoon illustrations in this music video are eye-catching and classic. Animated music videos are trending hard right now, and this video is a perfect example as to why that is. You can follow Chris on multiple social media platforms @chrisisaak or check him out live at one of his many shows in the US over the next few months.
Check out the animated music video for ‘Pandemic Blues: I Can’t Take It!‘ on Chris Isaak’s official YouTube channel here: