Children of the corn. Collage courtesy of Harp.
OK, we give – Kanye is still king, especially after we peered at the inspired new, YouTube-y video for his single “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” which was posted this week on his site. Call it “Menace II Future Farmers of America”? Behold comedian Zack Galifianakis – glowering manfully on his North Carolina farm, dancing with John Deere shit and cavorting with fresh-faced milk maids in some St. Pauli’s Girl commercial gone horribly, hilariously wrong. Check musician Will Oldham, aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy, striking gangsta pose on country roads. And naturally Galifianakis’s tummy is a marvel to observe (see more of it on his recent live comedy DVD filmed at SF’s Purple Onion).
Apparently West enlisted Galifianakis after seeing him perform standup in LA, sayeth Billboard. So kudos to Kanye for letting the silly pair undercut the lyrics’ toughness with wit and a little weird, backwoods Old Joy. Expect more when West’s LP, Graduation (Def Jam) – oooh, scary! – emerges in August or September.