Reunited alternative rockers Ben Folds Five premiered their new video for their new single “Do It Anyway” on the Nerdist Channel (youtube.com/nerdist). The single is on their newest album, The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind out September 18th via ImaVeePee Records/Sony Music.
The video features the Fraggles (Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober, Red and Uncle Travelling Matt), from The Jim Henson Company’s “Fraggle Rock” series, who join the band (Ben Folds, Robert Sledge, Darren Jessee) in the video. Making cameo appearances includes Academy Award-nominated actress Anna Kendrick (“Up In The Air”), comedian Rob Corddry (“Children’s Hospital”), and Chris Hardwick, the founder of Nerdist Industries.
Hardwick spoke about how this video came together.
“In a meeting with Lisa [Henson, CEO, The Jim Henson Company], she casually said, ‘Next year is the 30th anniversary of ‘Fraggle Rock.’ Would you want to do anything with the Fraggles?’ ‘WHAT THE [expletive]?? That’s an OPTION?!’ I loudly replied. I think I scared her a little. I knew Ben had a new album releasing in September so I threw his name out. Lisa said ‘that would be amazing‘ without hesitation. It was beautifully serendipitous. It seemed like a no-brainer to me, but I still cautiously pitched it to Ben, not really knowing his relationship with the show. I think I just spit words out, ‘YOU. VIDEO. FRAGGLES. ME PAY FOR!'”
On how they chose the song:
“When Ben sent me ‘Do it Anyway,’ I knew within the first five seconds that the song was perfect-the bouncy piano… the dancing bass …it actually sounded like it was intentionally written for the Fraggles. I can never fully express the amount of nerdy joy that I felt on set seeing Red Fraggle jump around on Ben’s piano. And the fact that I was able to weasel my way into the video was a dream come true.”
Red Fraggle also commented on working with Ben Fold Five:
“We had a great adventure in Outer Space! Ben, Robert and Darren love music as much as Fraggles do, so we had lots of fun. It would be wonderful to have them come play more music in the caves with us, but I am not sure they can fit through the hole in the floor!”
Watch the video below.
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