The Vines - Ride (video)

2004

The Vines - Ride (video) (2004) Director: Michel Gondry & Olivier Gondry Era: Post-Millennial Garage Rock Revival (2004) - Peak of the early-2000s garage rock renaissance; Australian indie rock breaking internationally alongside the broader Strokes/White Stripes-era wave, with major-label budgets applied to raw, energetic performance aesthetics. High curatorial value as a documented co-direction credit between Michel and Olivier Gondry, a relatively rare event in Gondry's filmography. Captures a specific convergence of peak garage rock cultural moment, auteur visual direction, and Partizan production infrastructure. The video's concept, a band alone that multiplies into a crowd, is a visually clean and memorable Gondry-trademark idea, making it an exemplary teaching text for the study of concept-driven music video production in the early digital era. Context: Released in early 2004 at the height of the garage rock revival, 'Ride' represents The Vines' second album cycle following their acclaimed 2002 debut. As an Australian band achieving international crossover success, their MTV-era visibility was central to the global reach of the post-millennial indie/garage rock wave. The commissioning of Michel and Olivier Gondry, at the precise moment Michel was also completing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, signals significant label investment and cultural prestige. The video's communal-performance concept, in which more and more musicians populate the performance space at the chorus, functions as a visual metaphor for musical community and infectious energy, themes resonant with the collaborative spirit of the early-2000s indie rock underground. Director notes: The video was produced by Partizan Entertainment and premiered February 18, 2004. It was produced by Haley Moffett. The concept involves The Vines performing alone in a large hall until the chorus, at which point additional bands appear from everywhere to join them, a classic Gondry-style practical illusion and multiplicative staging trick. The video is co-directed by Michel Gondry and his brother Olivier Gondry, one of a number of collaborative projects between the siblings. The video was released as the second single from the album Winning Days (2004) and charted in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.