Written by Kat Manos
Jimmy Eat World Releases Fittingly Gritty Video For Integrity Blues’ Moody “Get Right”
Jimmy Eat World usually means one of two things to people who know them: either they’re the band that you thought was really good in middle school, or they’re the band that never stopped being good — even when no one else was looking. Last October, Jimmy Eat World released Integrity Blues, the band’s ninth studio album that (as the title suggests) is equal parts introspective and decidedly melancholy. Most known for being one of the few remaining bands to seamlessly transition from late-90’s punk, to early 2000’s pop-punk, to the late 2000’s whatever, Jimmy Eat World has been around for 20-something years with the same lineup. Impressive, to say the least.
On June 29th of this year, the band released a music video for “Get Right” in anticipation of their North American Tour with alt-rockers Incubus starting on July 6th. The track was previously first released in August 2016 with an accompanying lyric video, but the band decided to give it its due with something a bit more cinematic and fitting of its tone.
“Get Right” is strongly representative of Integrity Blues with darker, moodier lyrics that hint at a deeper pain of a man growing older. Much like the lead single “Sure and Certain,” “Get Right” both has anxiety and resentment toward the idea of settling down. As lead vocalist Jim Adkins sings, “I’m destination addicted / I just gotta be someplace else / Never good time, never feel the space to get it right,” we feel his need to run away and avoid his problems. The driving bassline and distorted guitar propel the song into its sordid but catchy chorus.
The music video, directed by Christopher Townsend, manages to be darker and edgier than Jimmy Eat World’s previous clips without being overdone or pandering. Stylized lyrics appear in gritty filter that overlays the band playing a live show. Muted grays and deep green-blues saturate every image of the audience and performance. Occasionally, a layer of red highway lines on a map ink across the frame, evoking the song’s need to travel and get away. The video’s style brings nothing but more substance to the already rich track.
The montage of ripped road maps, highway signs, and other indicators of travel interspersed with live performance provides an interesting meta-commentary on Jimmy Eat World themselves. Do Jim and the band find solace in touring? Are any of them “destination addicted”? The hopeful turn in “Get Right” that says, “Maybe if I stand up straight / One small thing I can change,” shows a desire to transform and become better — perhaps even facing fears as they come. With such solid musicianship in this album and song – such integrity – it’s clear that Jimmy Eat World has repeatedly transformed into the group they always were: really, really good.
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