My favorite music videos traffic in fantastical depictions of youth, with teenagers rocking their high schools, taking over malls and throwing wild pool parties. Another enduring meme is skateboarding—because, really, what's more youthful than skateboarding?—which is why I can't stop watching the new Dinosaur Jr. video. Like the band's sound, the video for "Over It" is a welcome throwback to the early '90s, with the group zipping around on bikes and a skateboard, attempting tricks they don't always land, trashing a (modest) party and getting pulled over by the cops. The band is acting like teenagers, but the twist, of course, is that they're middle-aged men, their hair grayed and their bellies padded.
Yet they act like they don't have a care in the world. When they all wipe out, they rally together in friendship and get back on their bikes and boards again. It's a sweet sentiment—a testament to the escapist power of music videos made stronger by the fact that off-stage (and off-screen), these guys don't usually get along so well.
