The Dandy Warhols - Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth

What this video is

Released June 16, 1997, during the peak of post-grunge alternative rock's commercial era, the video arrived at a moment when 'heroin chic' — the gaunt, pallid aesthetic promoted in high fashion — was at its cultural apex. The song and video perform a direct, ironic critique of that trend, reframing heroin use as uncool and passé rather than glamorous. LaChapelle's surrealist, humor-driven visual language —…

Why it matters

A pivotal artifact of mid-90s neo-psychedelic indie rock, the video represents the first instance of David LaChapelle's pop-surrealist visual language applied to the music video format — establishing a template he would deploy across the late 90s and 2000s for major pop artists. It also marks a…

The director

David LaChapelle (b. March 11, 1963, Hartford, CT) is an American photographer, music video director, and film director. Discovered by Andy Warhol as a teenager and hired at Interview Magazine, he developed a signature 'kitsch pop surrealism' style described…