Think Tree — Rattlesnake

JUL 01 1992 · 12:00

Think Tree — Rattlesnake (1992) Era: Alternative/Indie Boom — Early MTV Era (1992) - Peak of college-radio alternative culture, pre-grunge mainstream saturation; Caroline Records indie ecosystem; MTV 120 Minutes late-night alternative showcase period This video is a rare surviving promotional artifact from one of Boston's most critically distinctive underground acts of the late 80s/early 90s. As Think Tree's most commercially visible release — their only charting promo single and a fixture of MTV's 120 Minutes — the 'Rattlesnake' clip documents the precise cultural moment when experimental electronic-alternative music briefly intersected with mainstream promotional infrastructure, before grunge's dominance foreclosed that space. High preservation priority for college-radio and early-90s alternative historiography. Context: Think Tree occupied a singular niche in the early-90s alternative landscape: a Boston-based five-piece whose synth-and-electronic-drum architecture drew comparisons to Nine Inch Nails and Ministry, yet whose eccentric humor and pop accessibility — evident in 'Rattlesnake' — set them apart from the nihilistic industrial mainstream. Released as a promo single from 'Like the Idea' (Caroline Records, 1992), 'Rattlesnake' was the band's most commercially oriented work, receiving airplay on Boston alternative giant WFNX and MTV's 120 Minutes. The song arrived just as the grunge wave was about to displace the college-radio underground that had sustained bands like Think Tree, making the 'Rattlesnake' video a capsule artifact of a brief window when avant-garde electronic acts could access label promotional resources and MTV alternative programming simultaneously. Director notes: The video was produced in support of the 1992 promo CD single 'Rattlesnake' on Caroline Records, drawn from the album 'Like the Idea' (Caroline Records, 1992). The track received promotional rotation on MTV's 120 Minutes. Per a 1992 Harvard Crimson interview, vocalist Peter Moore described 'Rattlesnake' as a deliberately pop-accessible song — described as 'Beatle-esque' — chosen by the label as the most marketable single from the album. No production house, director, or cinematographer credits have been located for this video in any publicly available source.