Portland’s Yacht returns next month with a new album, I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler, arriving on October 16. But with the glut of new albums from a kaleidoscope of artists vying for attention, a standard “here it is” release just won’t do. Rising to the challenge, the duo are presenting the video for their new single “L.A. Plays Itself” in a strange new way: the video is only viewable when Uber begins surge pricing at 1.1x the normal rate in Los Angeles. Check it out here.
Anyone who lives in L.A. can tell you that surge pricing can be relatively constant, so the video should be readily available in no time. But when L.A.’s Uber pricing exceeds 2x the normal rate, riders will gain access to a Darq E Freaker remix of the single. Is that a good thing? We’re inclined to think so. Here’s a video of Yacht explaining the situation:
A commuter gimmick? Only for people who hate remixes AND excess traffic. But it’s a clever social media play, and a pretty innovative play on the multimedia web we’re ensnared in every second of our waking lives. And at least it’s Yacht we’re dealing with – those poor damn Uber drivers have enough to handle in the Entitlement Society grabbing the AUX cord to play God knows what as they sit in the sea of brakelights in Los Angeles.
Just wait until Jack White finds a way to spin vinyl into your dreams, and talks R.E.M. into reuniting for a special sleep-subliminal recording…
