Instagram is kind like of like nicotine or coffee: lots of us indulge in it, though we know the adverse side effects it brings. One of the worst symptoms of Gram dependence (or any social media dependence, really) is the effect it has on users’ communication skills. It too often keeps us from participating in that old-fashioned practice of actually holding a meaningful conversation with another human being IRL. It’s hard to talk about anything too deep when you’re checking for new comments on that Throwback Thursday post every five minutes.
Local pop duo The New Schematics understand this problem all too well. On their new single, “Small Talk,” singer Cory Bishop drops all-too-relatable lines like “Green eyes glazed over / Soft glow on your face / As you gaze down your nose / It’s a slippery slope / I wish you’d look at me the way you look at your phone.” Combine that with a groove that’s equal parts The Cars and Foster the People, and you’ve got the kind of refined pop that’d be at home in Rivers Cuomo’s catalog.
For the song’s video, Bishop and Michael Bare teamed up with Spirit Airlines, director Mika Matin, assistant Clay Mortensen, and photographer Graham Dodd to embark on a shoot that spanned thirty-five locations across three cities (Atlanta, Miami, and San Juan, Puerto Rico). Ironically, it’s the kind of jet setting trip that’d make any Grammer green with envy, and maybe that’s the point: What’s the use of flying across multiple countries and seeing some of the best sites in the world if the person you’re traveling with does nothing but post about it between bits of “Small Talk”?
If you came to our Green Room party earlier this week, you might have already peeped the video. But in case you didn’t, check it out above!
