Street art and music? It can work well together, and renowned street artist Shepard Fairey has a long history with music, as he did numerous album covers, but a video? I think it is the first time.
Death Cab for Cutie’s bassist Nick Harmer asked Fairey to collaborate on a video piece for their song ‘Home Is A Fire’, a song in which ‘they evoked the duality of ‘home’ both as a place you inhabit, and also as a place that inhabits or traps you’.
Shepard Fairey, who says he has been a fan of the band for years, thought it was a great idea and put some song lyrics a little bit everywhere in the city, transforming the urban landscape into a songscape. During the video, we see him in his studio preparing his stencils and gluing them in the most intriguing places. This is what Fairey had to say about it:
‘Nick sent me the lyrics to Home Is A Fire and they evoked the duality of “home” both as a place you inhabit, and also as a place that inhabits or traps you. One’s relationship with home might be complicated, but ultimately it can be a two-way dialogue, of which we can at least affect one-way. The city can be an impersonal place, imposing, simultaneously anonymous and claustrophobic. However, there are opportunities for us to affect the city(and life) experience rather than accepting things as passive voyeurs. We all have fears and insecurities about ourselves and our circumstances, but if we have the courage to take risks and participate we can adapt and embrace the flux, rather than fear it. This video is about illustrating these ideas and the multiple dimensions of the city experience by taking the viewer on a journey to encounter the Home Is A Fire lyrics as street art. Street art appeals because it makes the landscape a little less dreary for the viewer, and it is a bureaucracy free creative outlet for the participants. I would say that a street art call to action is “if you don’t like your home… reshape it”.
The power of street art is in its intrigue and authenticity , so it was crucial to actually put all the lyrics and images up on the streets. We wanted the viewer to experience the urban environment in a very real and intimate way that celebrates that one person’s wart is another’s beauty mark. Some of the art was put up prior to the video shoot in places that seemed appropriate to the lyrical themes, while other pieces were put up during the shoot. We filmed the preparation of materials as well to demonstrate the energy and process involved in becoming pro-active. Some of the street art was cleaned within a day. Street art, like everything, is ephemeral but I hope that in watching this video and listening to the song, people see a little magic and potential in the unappreciated details of the landscape of their lives, no matter how fleeting they may be.’
The melancholic music slowly accelerates as it runs through the streets of Echo park and downtown LA, lifting up with vocals and building a more powerful beat over piano chords when it progresses. It looks like a desperate errand through the city, scanning places to find something familiar and comforting.
I recognized one of these stencil-lyrics in my neighborhood, I had no idea it was for a music video, I’m totally taking a picture tomorrow!
Death Cab for Cutie’s album ‘Codes and keys’ will be out on May 31st on Atlantic Records.