Smooth synth outfit MGMT have finally premiered their video for “Kids,” which was initially released in 2005 and was the source of a nice chunk of change thanks to its unauthorized use by French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The clip follows the adventures of a bawling baby who sees monsters everywhere he looks, while his mother (played by Joanna Newsom) hauls him around like a particularly unwieldy handbag–even going so far as to dump him off at one point, which leads to him being placated by the band’s aluminum-foil-plated members long enough to be outfitted with a piece of their merch. Synergy! Clip after the jump.





The animation at the end is very reminiscent of “The Origin Of Love,” although the band’s official statement on the clip is unsurprisingly oblique about it:

Ladies and Gentlemens -


*†ƒ√ MGMT is pleased to announce (finally), from an undisclosed tropical paradise, the bona fide release of the O-fficial video for the authoritative song known succinctly as: “Kids.” This is the first song we ever wrote, on a cold day in February way back in 2003. Yes, “Kids” is an Aquarius, but shows many traits of an Aries. The idea for the video was born about a year ago, at a mock-Italian cafe on Ninth Avenue in bustling Manhattan. We are both animated and stoked to reveal at this time that we once again worked with director Ray Tintori, someone who’s known this song since it’s inception. “Kids” has proven to be some kind of monster with a life of its own, both an albatross and a plate of mac and cheese with fake bacon (Annie’s), and the process of creating this video was nearly as convoluted and veiny as the general style of this here letter of introduction. As Jerry Garcia once rudely remarked about the eventual and unavoidable filling in (with sand) of the historic United States Grand Canyon, “What a long strange rip it’s been.” Without further ado, we give you:
“KIDS”
- MGMT


* Thanks to Thesaurus.com for words of alikeness and interchangeability.
† yes, we are aware that Mark Twain was a satirist
ƒ yes, that is Joanna Newsom
√ no children were harmed in the making of this video

“Kids” Music Video Premiere [MGMT / Buzznet]