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Decemberists release powerful new music video for “Once in My Life”

The Decemberists

Via Red Light Management


Tuesday the Decemberists released a poignant new music video for “Once in My Life.”

“Once in My Life” is the second single off their 8th and latest album I’ll Be Your Girl, released in March via Rough Trade records. This anthemic and synthy track is paired with a video centered around ideas of self-love and physical acceptance. Autumn de Wilde, a veteran rock photographer and old friend of the band’s, directed the video as a love letter to her learning-disabled brother, Jacob, who is the star of the video.

The video opens with a monologue of Jacob explaining that he is 7’2″, wears size 22 shoes and is learning-disabled as he eats alone in a restaurant trying to ignore people’s stares and laughs. When the song plays, Jacob is seen defiantly dancing through the streets of Los Angeles and helping cheer up some disheartened people along the way.

Decembrists’ vocalist and guitarist Colin Meloy said in a public statement that de Wilde’s video transformed “Once In My Life” into something “more than just a ‘celebration of sadness,’ but suddenly a longing holler to the universe against one’s perceived otherness.” This song, in particular, is very close to the heart of the band’s frontman as his son is autistic. It is through Jacob’s joyful and intransigent movement that the audience can see someone breaking through the societal constraints of what it means to “look normal” and reveling in his own skin.

The Decemberists are currently on their 2018 tour and coming to The Fox Theatre in Oakland July 27. Make sure to get your tickets and check out the music video below!

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