Silverchair - Freak

What this video is

Released January 1997 as the lead single from Silverchair's second album Freak Show, 'Freak' arrived at a transitional moment for alternative rock — post-Cobain, post-peak grunge, when the genre was mutating toward theatrical alt-metal and post-grunge polish. Silverchair, still teenagers from Newcastle, Australia, had broken internationally on Frogstomp (1995) riding the grunge wave; 'Freak' signalled a…

Why it matters

A landmark document of late-grunge transitioning into post-grunge and alternative metal. The Casale-directed surrealist concept aesthetic — bringing a Devo-lineage art-pop sensibility to bear on a hard-rock performance video — elevated the clip beyond standard performance fare and aligned…

The director

Born July 28, 1948, Ravenna, Ohio. Co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bassist of new wave band Devo, formed 1973. Principal lyricist and director of most Devo music videos from the late 1970s onward. Following Devo's early-1990s hiatus, Casale established a…