WATCH: Bill Plympton and Jackie Greene collaborate for ‘Modern Lives’ music video
Jackie Greene has joined the pantheon of musicians whose work has been set to animation by independent animation stalwart Bill Plympton, the Oscar-nominated director behind such work as Your Face and Guard Dog. To tie in with Greene’s upcoming self-produced EP The Modern Lives – Vol. 1 (Blue Rose Music/The End Records), a series of animations taking inspiration from the songs featured will be released to make up a short film, beginning with the track ‘Modern Lives’ which can be seen below:
In a recent news report via music site JamBase the artists elaborated on the motivations behind their new collaborative endeavour:
I’ve been a fan of Bill’s animation for some time. There’s a unique, independent quality to his work that is mercurial and thought-provoking. I told him to let his imagination run wild and nothing was off limits. Which for Bill, is a normal day at the office.
-Jackie Greene
I had heard some of Jackie’s music before and loved it, but when he contacted me this spring to create some music videos as a mini-feature film, I was totally elated. Then he sent me the music, and I was knocked out – it was so wonderful! He gave me total freedom with my art and told me to ‘get psychedelic’ with the animation – this is the kind of creative project that every animator dreams about!
-Bill Plympton
Bill Plympton’s animated music videography includes previous work for artists as varied as Kanye West, Peter Himmelman, Parson Brown and “Weird Al” Yankovic. Recent projects by the ever-proactive Plymptoons studio include the feature films Revengeance and Hitler’s Folly, a limited edition Blu-ray anthology and a newly-announced upcoming couch gag segment for The Simpsons.
Follow the ongoing project at jackiegreene.com and see more of Bill Plympton’s work at plymptoons.com