Pitchfork Forkcast: Video: Ted Leo: "Bomb. Repeat. Bomb."

Video: Ted Leo: "Bomb. Repeat. Bomb."

When we premiered an alternate take of "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb." back in February, we were a bit surprised at the new direction Ted Leo and his Pharmacists had taken. To quote:

"Exploring a more aggressive sound, the track takes obvious cues from the Dismemberment Plan, conjuring Travis Morrison's sing/speak vocal style to front a brutal anti-war tirade. Running roughshod over the barrage of thundering drums, anxious guitar, and the militaristically barked refrain, Leo's light-speed rant ramps up into a soaring stadium-rock chorus that (whoops!) could easily become an unwitting anthem for troops to blast across Fallujah battlefields."

This video, the first from Leo's new Living With the Living LP, follows the song's anti-war message: People with blank protest signs gather in an alleyway before a barb wire fence. The white cards they hold up create a canvas for bits of war footage, deleted government documents, and of course, clips of the band rockin' out. Though the song is partially inspired by the Iraq war, the projected films include previous conflicts. Especially prominent is footage from the bloody Guatemalan civil war, triggered in 1954 by a CIA-sponsored coup. [Via Stereogum]