Locust Guitarist's Band INUS: See Trippy "We Are Our Computers' Genitalia" Video | Page 3 | Revolver

Locust Guitarist's Band INUS: See Trippy "We Are Our Computers' Genitalia" Video

Human transforms into computer in wild clip

INUS, a.k.a. The Institute for Navigating the Universal Self, is a self-described "pre-post-apocalyptic, post-honky-tonk-prog-skronk, space Tropicalia, math-lounge powerviolence trio" from San Diego, California. Naturally, members of the Locust are involved — namely, Bobby Bray (on vocals and guitar) and Justin Pearson, whose record label, Three One G, released the group's debut LP, Western Spaghettification, last summer. (You can order it now.) Today (March 9th), INUS — rounded out by bassist Chad Deal and drummer Brandon Relf — have teamed with Revolver to unleash the synapse-frying new music video for Western Spaghettification standout "We Are Our Computers' Genitalia." The trippy, spasmodic clip was directed by Hoyote/Gummy Lagoon and filmed by Deal and Omar Sanchez. Watch above.

"The video was created by Hoyote, a San Diego-based muralist, illustrator, and mixed media artist," Deal tells us. "His 2-D animations were projected onto a variety of 3-D surfaces spray-painted white: an outdated computer monitor on a lazy Susan, thrift shop tech offal, a Styrofoam skull, myself and our buddy Omar in a body suit and VR mask. We filmed over multiple sessions in Jamul, In-Ko-Pah, and on Hoyote's rooftop. Then he added another layer of 2-D animations over the footage. The video tells the story of a person's anatomy being spontaneously taken over by computer parts: a joystick phallus, laptop speaker breasts, vein-like wires, etc., until they are fully transformed into a computer. Considering the amount of time most of us spend interfacing with laptops and mobile phones every day, it makes sense to view technology as an extension of our own bodies. Squint your eyes, and the concept inverts. Are we the organic appendages of our digital commodities? What function do we serve for them? Are we our computers' genitalia?"

Bray adds, "Let's face it, sometimes your computer is a dick. But it's a two-way street. We humans can also be the genitalia and this is precisely what artificial intelligence relies upon — humans to be their genitals so computers can reproduce. So while selfies and memes contort the thinking of our modern generations, we are really participating in a training exercise that will benefit our future robot overlords, as we remain in the cross-hairs of autonomous flocks of drones. But our signifier yields another signified. Being online and in-line for life is what living through this pandemic is like for many, and what it's like to get a COVID-19 vaccine in many places. It can be particularly difficult for older and more vulnerable generations who never acclimated to the digital age in which we live. The institute urges alums and non-alums alike: Consider helping older people in your life get vaccination appointments via the computer."