Shamir | photo by Jason MacDonald | courtesy of the artist
Watch Shamir pay tribute to his heroes in the new “Larry Clark” video
Shamir‘s new video for “Larry Clark” does not shy away from revealing the songwriter’s biggest influences, but rather embraces them full-on. The song, as its title suggests, pays tribute to filmmaker Larry Clark, who is known for his documentation of teen culture. But the Philly indie rocker gives a nod to another personal hero in the song’s video form, folk singer and civil rights activist Odetta, referencing her 1959 performance of “Waterboy” with startling accuracy in its simple, grainy footage.
“Larry Clark” is the closing track off Shamir’s recent album Resolution, which he self-released in August. Shamir talked to PAPER about his vision for the song and video.
“The song to me is about how Clark’s films makes me feel better when I’m down. His films contain so much angst and sadness in such a bold way that it makes me feel less alone. Feelings of angst always feel so alienating in so many ways, so there’s something comforting for me to see some of it played out on a screen without all the fluff,” he says. “As a Black artist myself, my sole and main ambition is to be as genuine as I can in hopes I can inspire someone in the way Odetta inspired me, despite being underrated and underrepresented.”
Watch the video below and listen to Resolution here.