Live - Freaks

What this video is

Released in 1997 at the commercial apex of post-grunge alternative rock, 'Freaks' arrived as Live was one of the biggest rock bands in America following the multi-platinum success of Throwing Copper. Secret Samadhi debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. The video's surrealist milk-club allegory taps directly into the era's dominant alt-rock thematic preoccupations: social nonconformity, outsider identity, and…

Why it matters

A key artifact of the post-grunge commercial mainstream at its 1997 peak, this video documents how major alternative rock acts were producing fully realized short-film narratives with professional casts and theatrical direction. The surrealist social allegory format distinguishes it from…

The director

Paul Cunningham is a music video director active in the 1990s, credited with directing the 1997 Live music video 'Freaks.' His work on this video demonstrates a command of narrative-performance hybrid structures and theatrical set design within the MTV…