Citizen King - Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out)

What this video is

Citizen King's 'Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out)' emerged from Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the height of the late-90s genre-blending moment when rap-rock, alternative, and punk crossovers dominated mainstream radio and MTV. Released in 1999 on Warner Bros. Records from the album Mobile Estates, the song blended hip-hop turntablism, alternative rock vocals, and soul energy into a formula that briefly captured…

Why it matters

A canonical artifact of the late-90s rap-rock/alternative crossover genre, 'Better Days' exemplifies how Milwaukee's underground hip-hop and punk scenes could briefly penetrate the Billboard mainstream. The video's blue-collar performance aesthetic and turntable-forward visual language document…

The director

Lance Mungia (born 1972) is an American film director and screenwriter who studied at Loyola Marymount University. His short film A Garden for Rio (1996) screened at Sundance, leading to funding for his cult feature Six-String Samurai (1998). He subsequently…