Mere days ago, we got to hear Dan Deacon’s “Why Am I on This Cloud?,” a bite-sized remapping of the lengthy “USA” suite found on his 2012 album America. That newish song arrived as part of the jam-packed Adult Swim Singles Series (see other entries by METZ, Run the Jewels, and Kitty), and now the Cartoon Network offshoot is repaying the favor by sharing a nearly 23-minute short film that includes every last second of the “USA” series. The four tracks include “USA I: Is a Monster,” “USA II: The Great American Desert,” “USA III: Rail,” and “USA IV: Manifest.”
The video follows those themes to some extent, compiling footage of nature, industry, urban development, space exploration, and a dance troupe wearing anatomically correct nude fat suits. Some of the most arresting imagery is of wildlife running through a forest while fluorescent colors and unnatural patterns explode around them. Adult Swim director/editor Dave Hughes put the thing together using works from artists all over the world. Like Mondo Cane and Baraka before it, the film seems tailor-made for late nights in haze-filled dorm rooms.
