Hardcore has a way of making you feel like partying. Is it the vibes? The repeated rhythm of head banging until your brain feels like it’s rattling around? Whatever it is, its essence has been captured in several music videos over the years. Here are just four that will make you yearn for the days of weird, crowded house parties.
“Party Hard” — Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K.’s philosophy of enlightenment through partying is embodied nowhere else as well as it is in “Party Hard,” the first single off his debut LP I Get Wet. The song is to the point and so is the music video, featuring W.K. and his band headbanging away in an empty warehouse. The iconic album cover serves as a backdrop—W.K. smashed himself in the face with a cinder block during the photo shoot—and the lights are kept grimy and unsettling. The environment is simultaneously too bright and poorly lit, a creepy effect that’s offset by the stirring and uplifting vibe of the lyrics. Who doesn’t feel empowered when hearing “So let’s get a part going (let’s get a party going) / Now it’s time to part and we’ll party hard (party hard).”
“Unspoken” — The Ghost Inside
The Ghost Inside’s “Unspoken” music video features a rowdy gathering complete with all the tropes of a neighborhood block party. Bring all your friends around to my house and we’ll have a rager in the middle of the day, it says. Yeah, your brother’s band can set up on the back deck, that’s cool. For me, it’s the little details, like a Where’s Waldo? of music videos. The red Solo cup balanced on the crash cymbal, for example. Or the guy dressed up as a lizard creature just chilling in the pergola. It’s a feast for the eyes, as I’m sure the actual experience was an assault on the senses.
“Decayin’ WIth The Boys” — Every Time I Die
The music video for “Decayin’ With The Boys” sure is interesting (if you know you know and if you don’t know then be prepared to find out). It’s wild to say the least, and if you watch it please don’t call the police on me. But, really, that’s part of its charm. The house party setting is in its purest and most unhinged form here. There’s no lingering feeling that it’s about to get broken up by someone’s mom coming home early. This is a party thrown by the five weird guys who live in the grossest house in your neighborhood, who probably dropped out of high school or went to trade school or something. The place constantly smells like weed and the yard is full of empty beer cans. But the parties there always go the hardest.
“Major Rager” — Dead To Fall
Dead To Fall’s “Major Rager” music video has a bit of a “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” vibe to it. A nerdy, unpopular dude throwing an absolute rager at his house that gets completely out of hand. A classic trope, and one that is executed well paired with the unexpected lyrics. While it’s hardcore all the way down, the song continually narrates the events of the party in a way that’s absolutely charming. Especially in the interlude, which goes, “Listen up! Every single one of you kids listen up! This party is out of fucking control! My mom is going to kill me when she gets home! Are you serious!? WHAT THE FUCK!!!”
Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images
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