nofx the big drag music video mad twins
[Photo via YouTube]

NOFX explore history in new animated video for “The Big Drag”—watch

NOFX have released an off-the-wall animated music video for the track “The Big Drag,” off their latest release, Single Album. The visual was created by the Ukrainian duo the Mad Twins, also known as Olya and Vira Ishchuk.

The video starts with the members of NOFX cleaning up lead singer and bassist Fat Mike’s room. The frontman is nowhere to be found as his bandmates cry two-dimensional  tears, leading viewers to assume he’s recently died—in the context of the story, of course. 

The rest of the intricate video takes viewers through the many reincarnations of Fat Mike, showing all the ways his past selves have died. Notable mentions include being clubbed with a rock and being crucified with the rest of the NOFX crew. You can watch the music video below. 

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The vocalist was “blown away” by the finished project, according to the Fat Wreck Chords website.

“I’m more excited than… a very excited person would be about this video!” he says. “Why? Firstly, because I didn’t have to do anything but write the song. I asked the Mad Twins from the Ukraine to choose a song from our album to make a video for. They said it would have to be ‘The Big Drag.’ They wanted something very dark… They wrote the treatment for it, and I was blown away. It’s nothing that I would have ever thought of. Well, I threw in a couple of things.” 

The visual is even more impressive when factoring in the fact that Olga and Vira completed the project so quickly while also dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine.

“They said it would take them six months of working 10 hours a day to finish it…” he says. “They also said it sucks balls to live in the Ukraine during COVID in the winter. Well, they finished it in five months!!!! And wow!!!!! They fucking killed!!!”

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NOFX will perform at two upcoming Punk in Drublic Festival dates. They will appear first in Denver, Colorado, July 17 alongside Less Than Jake, Sick Of It All, Get Dead, Potato Pirates and more. Then they’ll head to Worcester, Massachusetts, Sept. 25 with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Pennywise and Get Dead, among others.

They will also perform at Riot Fest Sept. 17, alongside Smashing Pumpkins and Coheed And Cambria, and at the Punk in the Park festival Nov. 7. A full list of performance dates and tickets can be found here.

“The Big Drag” lyrics: 

Before James died, he smiled and laughed
‘Cause he was just photographed for the last time
While it was drowned, the kitten purred
At least that’s what I thought I heard
But maybe that’s ‘cause I need to believe in the absurd

Ashes to ashes after the planet crashes
I trust all dust will turn to dust
I used to think a wasted life was not a crime
That’s before I realized we don’t have very much more time

My melodies are maladies
My poetries are just phonetic
Trying to make sense of this world is preposterous, pathetic

The gods have had their fun playing this world
But now it’s too upsetting
The human race is not worth watching or wagering on
We’re just a longshot, an underdog with odds so bad
Now it’s just a bloodletting
So, every deity with dignity has just stopped betting

So, follow me into a world of anything you’ve ever dreamed
Now that morality is blurred
If you listen really closely
You probably believe in every single word

Mesmerized by rhetorical and memorized historical events
That never actually occurred
We’re not blind, we’re bound and blinded, our minds have been land minded
And I’m so excited! 

Every single person on this planet thinks they are right
‘Cause if you thought that you were wrong
You’d change your mindfuck from black to white
I do believe in true romance
So I’m gonna dance and fight and fuck with every moment
I’ll always have something in my glass to raise
To make a toast for those making the most of the last days

Nothing is ever gonna change, nothing will ever be OK
Nothing is ever gonna change, nothing will ever be OK

There’s only a finite number of tomorrows
And it’s not a lot
But it’s all we really got
It’s all we really got
Live each precious moment that we can manage to carve out of each day
So when it’s time for us to die
We’ll say our short goodbye
There is no sadness if there’s no one left to cry