Band of Horses - The Great Salt Lake

What this video is

Released in September 2006 to accompany the second single from Band of Horses' debut album Everything All the Time (Sub Pop/Columbia), this video arrives at the apex of the music blog era, when MySpace and Pitchfork were primary tastemaking vectors for indie rock. The song — despite its title — is not about the Great Salt Lake, but draws on imagery from South Carolina and Salt Lake City social circles, reflecting…

Why it matters

A key artifact of the mid-2000s American indie rock video canon, this production exemplifies the guerrilla, low-budget aesthetic that defined Sub Pop-era music video culture. Whitey McConnaughy's DIY approach — naturalistic light, handheld movement, outdoor Americana settings — helped establish a…

The director

Rob 'Whitey' McConnaughy is a Cannes Lion-winning DGA director based in Portland, OR. His career began directing over 16 best-selling snowboard and skateboard films. He helped shoot the Jackass pilot and wrote/shot the first two Jackass movies. He has…