Calpurnia Stars in Nostalgia-Inducing Weezer Video for "Take On Me"
Borrowed nostalgia seems to be a never-ending craze. Truth be told, although I was born quite some time after where it was acceptable to wear neon fishnet gloves and a Moog synthesizer made for a GRAMMY-nominated song, like many, I still feel a certain kinship with the likes of Duran Duran, vintage arcade cabinets, and everything that screams '80s. Maybe that's why Calpurnia lip-synching to a music video of Weezer covering a-ha's "Take On Me" sparks joy.
Vancouver-based indie rock band Calpurnia, which consists of Finn Wolfhard, Ayla Tesler-Mabe, Jack Anderson, and Malcolm Craig, first made their admiration for Weezer known last year, covering the Weezer hallmark "Say It Ain't So." That appreciation clearly runs both ways, with Weezer enlisting the Vancouver indie rock band to pay tribute to the '80s and a-ha in a video dripping with nostalgia.
Opening on Wolfhard playing a young Rivers Cuomo, the frontman for Weezer, in 1985, the music video for "Take On Me" sees Calpurnia jamming in the Cuomo living room "as loud as they want." Lip-synching to Weezer's cover of "Take On Me," taken from the living meme-turned-cover-album, Teal Album, the video switches between VHS footage and the rotoscoping originally used in a-ha's music video for their hit song. Speaking on staring in the music video, Wolfhard shared,
"This video was an absolute blast to film and I'm so excited for everyone to see it. Calpurnia has covered Weezer in the past and I'm really honored that they asked us to do this."
This is nostalgia done right. Equal parts brilliantly self-aware and a thought-out tribute to the original stylistic touches that made "Take On Me" such a resounding hit in the first place, we could watch Calpurnia jamming out while filming a Weezer music video any day of the week.
Watch the video for "Take On Me" below:
For more from Calpurnia, revisit our review of the Vancouver indie rockers debut EP, Scout.
