Foster The People - Call It What You Want

What this video is

Released in November 2011 at the height of Foster the People's breakthrough year, following the global success of 'Pumped Up Kicks,' this video arrived when blog-era indie culture (Pitchfork, Hype Machine) was still the dominant discovery engine before Spotify's algorithmic playlists took over. The surrealist opulence of the visual — a band depicting decadence and psychological unease in a mansion — mirrors the…

Why it matters

Represents a high-water mark of the early-2010s indie pop music video aesthetic: surrealist narrative concept over pure performance, warm filmic grading over digital clarity, and rapid editing that reflects the compressed attention economy of YouTube-era viewership. The video's visual language —…

The director

Ace Norton is an Asian American filmmaker born and raised in Venice Beach, California. He attended USC's School of Cinema, where he co-founded Commondeer Films. In 2007 he signed to Partizan, later adding Prettybird. He has directed over 80 music videos and…