Bob Odenkirk vs. Rogue Wave: Pick a side, fast!

Yesterday, I was psyched to discover an email in my inbox from Bob "Mr. Show... but also Mr. Let's Go to Prison" Odenkirk (he directed the latter). Seems he just finished directing a video for PopWatch faves Rogue Wave's new single, "Chicago X 12" — but things didn't end on such a great note. "I will be the first to admit that Rogue Wave and I did not exactly see eye-to-eye," Bob wrote. "Fortunately, it doesn't matter what Rogue Wave thinks. It’s called "Director's Cut" and it's clearly in my contract... I don't want to make a big deal out of this. All I am 'asking' is that you erase any and all traces of the unofficial 'Chicago x12' video and promote the hell out of my version. In conclusion, I would like to remind you of my legal team's 98% success rate in court."

Whoa! You scared me for a split second there, Bob, until I realized that this was all obviously a joke meant to attract eyeballs to the video. That one and only version of the clip (as far as I know) is below, and it's pretty funny. The concept, of course, is that Odenkirk is a terribly mediocre director who tries to sell the Rogue Wavers on a variety of ill-conceived video treatments — one involves some misheard lyrics, one has a karate kid, and so on. In other words, it's basically a 2008 indie version of Phil Collins' "Don't Lose My Number" video from 1985. (Which is not a bad thing!) All in all, a nice way to get people to listen to this excellent dreamy ballad — and a reminder that I really oughta revisit Rogue Wave's Asleep at Heaven's Gate, which I haven't been spinning nearly enough since it came out last fall. The only thing I'd have wished for was a little more karate from that karate kid. How about you?

Bob Odenkirk's - Rogue Wave "Chicago x 12"