February 2012

Popeye and Wilco. Even if the connective tissue is merely a love of spinach, there's a certain beauty in this unexpected project between two American icons. Engineered by designer/director/branding specialist Darren Romanelli, this collabo marks a resurrection for the Sailor Man after an eight year hiatus (in fact, the video is the first hand-drawn Popeye cartoon in 25 years). And because there's no reason to contain something so swee' to just a video, there's also a nifty interactive website and a Popeye comic strip that features a Wilco brand spinach that very well may be on shelves soon.

• artist: Cursive
• song: "This House Alive"
• label: Saddle Creek
• director(s): Kevin Slack
• production co: Anthem Films

I wonder how many unsolicited treatments would have starred Linus and Lucy and, of course, Charlie Brown. I also wonder what it would cost to license that Peanuts gang for a music video.

1. A Chevy Sonic driven at exactly the right speed creates a cluttered symphony of a song via custom special appendages — including several retractable pneumatic arms — that trigger perfectly placed instruments along the route.
2. How many instruments? 288 guitars. 55 pianos. 1,157 homemade instruments.
3. It took four months of preparation and four days of shooting to get everything right. OK Go Singer Damian Kulash took stunt driving lessons because safety is always first.