OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR WIFE #4: Ranking All The Cars in Wednesday’s “Quarry” Music Video
Hard-hitting, intrepid music journalism from the great state of North Carolina
I’ve been singing the praises of Asheville’s finest band of rat bastards since the release of their 2021 record, Twin Plagues, and now that they’ve become one of the most buzzed-about bands in indie rock with 2023’s Rat Saw God, my love for them has only grown. In my glowing review (Rat-view, if you’re nasty) for The Alternative, I talked about how the visual companions to Wednesday’s music are an essential component of their musical worldbuilding and of singer/songwriter Karly Hartzman’s creative vision. I became enraptured with Wednesday’s sludgy southern rock in tandem with Hartzman’s idiosyncratic visual art style. The band’s heartfelt, homespun approach is apparent not only in their gutsy brand of slacker-country, but in the visual fruits of Hartzman’s artistic labor– her upcycled merch, her hand-drawn tour posters, and of course, the music videos that act almost as mini-documentaries chronicling the happenings of the Wednesday universe.
The first Wednesday song I really fell in love with was “Handsome Man,” and a big part of what initially hooked me was watching the band members turn the parking lot of an abandoned K-Mart into their own personal practical space, all while sipping Cookout milkshakes and shredding with ringpop-adorned fingers. With Rat Saw God’s promotional cycle, Wednesday have continued to prove themselves as one of the most visually (as well as sonically) compelling acts, whether they’re paying homage to PJ Harvey, recreating scenes from home videos, or dropping Uncanny Valley-style renderings of themselves into a surreal video game town.
The music video for Rat Saw God’s final single, “Quarry,” perhaps best encapsulates the quirks that make Wednesday’s songs and overall aesthetic so memorable. Bouncy and bittersweet, “Quarry”’s verses consist of Karly describing the small town scandals of an unnamed working class suburb, punctuated by fuzzy, first-person plural choruses. The music video features a series of fabulously pimped rides, and I thought it’d be fun to rank all of the vehicles that make appearances.
Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about cars. In fact, I don’t even have a driver’s license and my permit expired last summer. I can count the number of times I’ve been behind the wheel on one hand. I’m not gonna be able to tell whether something is a 2012 Toyota Sienna or whatever, but I will be able to say things like “that’s a white car” and so on. I’d like to think that my extensive knowledge of countrygaze and silly little music videos more than makes up for my lack of automotive expertise.
Now that I’ve established my qualifications, let’s begin!
Honorable Mention: Jake & Karly’s Shopping Cart
The opening shot of the “Quarry” music video has Karly singing while lead guitarist Jake Lenderman pushes her through a field in a metal shopping cart. Yes, I know that a shopping cart is not a car, but since it has four wheels and its use in this context is to transport a person, it gets honorary car status. Plus it provides the set-up for an adorable exchange between Karly and lap steel player Xandy Chelmis, in which he plops a grocery bag filled with fresh produce into the cart. Karly turns her nose up at the veggies in disgust, only changing her tune when Xandy presents her with a box of red, white, and blue popsicles just moments later.
#7: This little blue-gray number that appears to be transporting two captives as well as Xandy’s grocery haul
After Xandy unloads a few bags of groceries from the trunk of this car, there’s a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of two people in the backseat with their hands and blank faces pressed against the window. The camera moves on pretty quickly and not much else happens with this car. Some say the two prisoners are still trapped inside it to this day. Free them.
#6: The asbestos removal van
After our dedicated essential workers hop out of their van in matching hazmat suits, we don’t actually see them remove any asbestos, but we do see them remove what looks like copious amounts of candy from the pockets of Karly’s silver puffer jacket, before they hop into…
#5: This silver minivan with whimsically painted windows
The hand-painted decor on this whip is fairly minimal compared to the other instances of ride-pimping in the “Quarry” music video, but it still deserves a shoutout. Its personal touches give us a clue into what its passengers are thinking about– some have love on the brain, others, pizza. Bonus points for the googly eyes painted onto Jake’s window. When you pause the video they seem to follow you around the room. Much like the song itself, the effect is cute but a little creepy.
#4: Popcorn hotbox
Kicking off a partially-animated drug trip and/or dream sequence, Karly gets into the backseat of a car whose floor is covered with popcorn kernels that get cooked by the hot red lights on the ceiling. By the time the colorful animations have dissolved off the screen, the car is so full of popcorn that there’s no room left for anyone or anything else, thus Karly is forced to find a new ride.
#3: This TP’d U-Haul that doubles as a secret Wednesday show
Seeing Wednesday live for the first time is one of the things I’m looking forward to most in the next few weeks, but after watching this video I am a teeny tiny bit disappointed that I’ll be seeing them perform in a normal venue instead of in the back of a U-Haul-turned-party bus. Luckily, this scene during the final chorus gives me at least an idea of what that’d be like.
#2: The Stickermobile™
Few images feel more on-brand for Wednesday than a joyride in a car whose interior is entirely covered in stickers, balloons, and puff paint. I’m pretty sure I’d seen photos of this car on Karly’s Tumblr before, but was still delightfully surprised when it made an appearance in the “Quarry” music video. It perfectly encapsulates Karly’s signature visual style (like Lisa Frank if she shotgunned a few beers and played a couple rounds of Stump) as well as the band’s sense of tacky, affectionate chaos.
#1: Ball Pit Pickup
To quote the immortal words of Wednesday’s own Jake “MJ” Lenderman on his breakout 2022 solo record, “Jackass is funny like the earth is round.” My personal favorite Jackass stunt of all time happens to be The Anaconda Ball Pit. What Wednesday’s ball pit lacks in large South American serpents, it makes up for in riffs and impeccable vibes. In addition to catchy melodies, sludgy distortion, and clever songwriting, part of Wednesday’s appeal is that listening to their music or seeing them goof around with one another makes you wanna hang out with them, and this scene is no exception. Few activities seem quite as fun as chilling with Wednesday in a pickup-truck-turned-ball-pit. Nothing but little rainbow plastic orbs, rockin’ tunes, and good times. Hell yeah.