Lit - Zip-Lock

What this video is

Released in autumn 1999 as the follow-up single to Lit's number-one rock hit 'My Own Worst Enemy,' 'Zip-Lock' arrived at the apex of the late-90s pop punk wave when bands from Orange County, California were dominating MTV and mainstream radio. The video's deliberate homage to Twisted Sister's 1984 'We're Not Gonna Take It' — with Dee Snider himself reprising the 'angry authority figure' role — signals a self-aware…

Why it matters

A textbook artifact of late-90s major-label pop punk video production: high-saturation color, rapid MTV-optimized editing (avg shot length under 1 second), comedic narrative scaffolding around a band performance, and intertextual genre homage. Reached #11 on Modern Rock Tracks and #34 on…

The director

Los Angeles-born director (b. 1970) who studied film at Hampshire College, Massachusetts. Began directing indie rock videos in college; became youngest director signed to Satellite Films (Propaganda division) at age 21, directing over 250 music videos.…