With garage rock superhero Courtney Barnett’s rise to indie stardom since her 2015 debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit, it was only a matter of time until she put out something with an ensemble cast. This week, a comically induced music video for the track “Elevator Operator” has hit the internet, and it’s who’s who of talented individuals.
Directed by Sunny Leunig, the son of legendary Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig (who also appears briefly in the video), Barnett shares scenes with the legendary Sleater-Kinney, Joanna Syme from fellow Australians Big Scary, and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer. And that’s just to name a few of the roughly 30 or so cameos.
There are also a few literal metaphors relating to the lyrics in the song as well, so the whole thing demands several re-watches. Live the life of an elevator operator’s below, and catch up with Barnett through our Boston Calling interview with her from a few weeks ago.