Foster The People‘s new video for “Call It What You Want” is the most lavish of their young career. Since their humble beginnings with “Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster The People have been featured as a You Oughta Know artist, and now are on the fast track to superstardom with their quirky brand of infectious electro-pop. We’ve been bopping our shoulders all morning at our desks as we listen to the new single, so one thing’s for sure — we absolutely love “Call It What You Want.”
The video, on the other hand, is a little bit more interesting and requires more than just a toe tap to decipher. Set in a lavish mansion akin to the Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters, the video also has a decided Gossip Girl vibe, what with all the gilded, ornamental decadence and the striking resemblance of front man Mark Foster to Chace Crawford. Add some hallucinogens and the video descends quickly into madness while the band experiments with all manner of wet, exploding and popping things, while ignoring the scantily-clad female fans screaming beneath their balcony.
And not only are the fans ignored, they’re shot at with Mark Foster’s finger gun, exploding blue paint from their chests in a gruesomely vibrant simulation. We can’t decide if it’s a thinly veiled metaphor — Foster The People’s priority is to experiment and create rather than to lavish in fame — or if it’s just a super fun, tongue-in-cheek kitschy kind of video. Either way, we hope the fish flopping on the floor towards the start of the video made it back into its tank alive…
