Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead”

Of course, no conversation about Boston music success stories can be had in this day and age without mentioning Passion Pit. Passion Pit started as a one-man band at Emerson College not long ago and has been taking the world by storm of the last couple years.  Unfortunately, this kind of fame usually comes with a relocation to NYC or some such, and after extensive research I realized that while the music may have originated in Beantown, the official music videos for the songs were produced elsewhere (damn you, New York!).  However, in the course of my search I did find this delightful rendition done by two Boston locals, Eli Stonberg and Drew Daly. According to a profile of the video on Eli’s company site, it was just their luck that they happened to befriend their neighbor, Ian Hultquist, the man who would become keyboardist for Passion Pit.  After hearing “Sleepyhead,” Eli and Drew knew they had to make a video for it.  Unfortunately, once the band made it big the powers that be rejected this video for the band’s first major hit single, choosing instead to release a completely new one.

Years later, this clip leaked.  At this point, it has been covered by an impressive list of blogs, including but certainly not limited to: VideoStatic (“simple and fun that would probably fit just as easily into a childrens TV as it would in a hipster’s video collection”); Hipster Runoff; Stereogum; Pitchfork; for a list of the others, check out the profile on the WeAreTheMasses site.

Here it is for your enjoyment.  I love the simple, playful feel of it.  I mean, I dig the “official” version, but this one feels more Passion Pit-y to me.  I always imagined their songs in my head as using lots of bright colors, with lots of people participating in the fun.  I also dig the low budget feel, which one of the other bloggers pointed out is fitting seeing as “Sleepyhead” was the only song off the Chunk of Change EP, which was recorded for pennies on a laptop in a dorm room, that made it to the Big Time Important LP Manners.

Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead” Dir. Eli Stonberg + Drew Daly from Eli Stonberg on Vimeo.

PS: Keep your eyes peeled for a Q&A with the directors soon!