The Motherload

Album: Once More Round the Sun (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The song's music video features plenty of shots of twerking half-naked women. It's original concept was a parody of a 1990s heavy metal video. Drummer Brann Dailor explained to Pitchfork: "All those videos from the early '90s had that same look: some kind of esoteric imagery, sort of out of focus, something creepy or weird. Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Nirvana, they all had the same kind of look to their videos."

    "We wanted to do that, and I guess I thought that maybe people would be concerned that it wasn't very imaginative if it was some kind of sh---y '90s video," he continued. "Then all of a sudden, twerking started happening, and it kind of went from there. I just wanted to make something that was bizarre—that would confuse people. I also thought to myself, what's the most bizarre thing, or what's something people would say completely does not belong in a Mastodon video? And the twerking was sort of what I came up with. I had a bunch of music video ideas but this was the one we were able to do in like a day, because we didn't have a massive budget and we couldn't pull off some of the other concepts I had."

    "We live in Atlanta and we wanted to be kind of all-inclusive and support the hometown," Dailor added. "We thought it would be a fun video to make; there wasn't any high concept, it wasn't really parody. We weren't trying to make fun of hip-hop videos. It was a fine line, because I didn't want it to come off being sexist, so I thought that maybe the females took center stage and looked powerful and had this dance battle. It really blossomed and turned into this dance video, and I was like, holy s--t, we have a dance video! That's amazing. Some amazingly talented dancers showed up, so it turned into something else."
  • The video's use of semi-clad twerking girls provoked criticism from several media outlets, but Dailor denied there being any sexism in the clip. "I know there's half-naked women that are shaking their butts," he said. "For some people it's titillating, but for me it just looked amazing. I thought the girls were awesome and talented, and I thought it was amazing to watch. I love when it turns into that kaleidoscope effect thing; it brings the video to a whole new level."

    "But it's gotten people talking obviously, you know. I figured that would happen, you know what I mean. I knew there was going to be some negativity," Dailor added. "But we do that; we're that kind of band. It hadn't been done before, and we were kind of looking for something that hadn't been done before because it's hard to come by these days."

Comments: 1

  • Wolf GulleyThis was the first metal music video I saw with twerking, I believe I could say the last as well lol
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"They're Playing My Song

With the band in danger of being dropped from their label, Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith co-wrote the song that started their trek from horror show curiosity to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")Songwriter Interviews

Inspired by his dear friend, "Seasons in the Sun" paid for Terry's boat, which led him away from music and into a battle with Canadian paper mills.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.