The Pains of Being Pure At Heart exploded out of the late 00s Brooklyn indie scene with bright, distinctive sound that paid tribute to everything from C86 to early Slumberland, Sarah and Creation label pop, but with a distinct American flavor drawn from groups like Smashing Pumpkins and The Exploding Hearts. Their 2009 self-titled debut is rightly considered a classic and was reissued earlier this year, accompanied by the rarities compilation Perfect Right Now: A Slumberland Collection 2008 – 2010.
The band has also shared a new video for classic single “Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan,” which combines footage taken by Shannon McMahon (My Little Underground zine, WNYU DJ) and live footage of the band playing in Nottingham in 2008. It’s directed by Art Boonparn, who also directed previous videos for “Everything With You,” “Young Adult Friction,” “Say No to Love,” “Kelly,” “Anymore” and many other PAINS videos over the years.
While talking about the video, the band’s Kip Berman says: “We first met Shannon and James when we did a session at their college radio station WNYU. Afterwards, Shannon interviewed us for her zine, and we bonded over a shared love of the great new indie pop bands like Sharp Pins, Lightheaded, and Good Flying Birds (she actually turned us on to GFB.)”
The artist adds: “In the interview, she asked about our song Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan, and I talked about how even before we wrote the song, that phrase was really a mantra to us, as we probably would have never gotten into the things we love if it wasn’t for Kurt telling all his 13 year old fans to ‘go check out The Vaselines, Beat Happening, and Teenage Fanclub’ – bands that have a pretty different sound to Nirvana, but shared a similar spirit.” So later, when we saw the super 8 footage she made with James, it felt really perfect for that song’s video.”
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
Leave a Comment