Whether it’s on the set of a porno or while making a music video, one of the goldenest of rules is simply this: Never make eye contact with the camera.
David Mirabella wrestled with this notion while filming The Rationales’ new music video for “Take A Ride With Me,” an atmospheric clip created by the band that serves more as a backdrop for the Boston quintet’s latest single.
“I will end up cringing that I did the ‘Bono sings to the camera thing’ someday,” Mirabella tells Vanyaland, “but sometimes you just have to say ‘fuck it’ and do what sounds fun in the moment.”
The “Take A Ride With Me” video combines live footage shot by John Doherty at a recent Store 54 show in Allston with images of the road and wide-open expanses of distant land. Calgon hears the call.
“The band really captured the atmosphere I was going for, as well,” Mirabella says. “For the video we were on the fence between my desire for an atmospheric ‘road’ video with overlaid noise and not a lot of ‘us’, or the idea of a goofy, cliche ridden thing with us singing to the camera and being lovable. We decided to do both and mash them together.”
The song itself began as an almost shoegaze-y composition, the band says, but was reeled in a bit and given a Rationales-esque facelift of increased harmonies and slight Americana vibes. “It’s a road song — supposed to bring to mind hot nights, and the call of just getting out there with the person you want to be with,” Mirabella says. “It’s sort of sly in that regard though; the verses are all pleading and lust (‘come with me’) but the turn around (‘time for thinking about myself’) is sort of an ‘all is not well’ sort of hint. I love songs you can take in more than one way — is this guy trying to get the girl on the road with him now to leave the bad times behind, or is the girl history and the road is where he sorts it all out?”
We might know for sure come Friday, December 18, when the Rationales officially release “Take A Ride With Me” at Great Scott in Allston on a killer bill with When Particles Collide, The Static Dynamic, and Stars Like Ours.
Get versed with the idea of escape via the video below — just try to avoid eye contact.
