How Spike Jonze's scrappy 'Praise You' video beat the pop promo machine (interview)

The promo had to stand apart in an era of glossy pop videos — and it was made in 1999, before the term 'flash mob' was even part of the cultural lexicon.

A 30-year-old Spike Jonze stars as alter ego Richard Koufey, dancing outside the cinema; a confused security guard cuts the boombox mid-routine and is mounted by Koufey until he relents; the real crowd's bemusement is half the performance.

The video went down in legend and helped usher in a new lo-fi approach to production that still resonates; the flash-mob format it predated became a cultural staple — and eventually a cliché of slick ad campaigns.

In an oral history published by Creative Review in August 2023, Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) and his then music video commissioner John Hassay recount the making of 'Praise You', directed by a 30-year-old Spike Jonze and first released in 1999 — before the term 'flash mob' was part of the cultural lexicon. The pair explain why they hated the traditional pop music video and how the promo got made.

The promo centres on an impromptu performance by the fictional Torrance Community Dance Group, led by Jonze's alter ego Richard Koufey, outside a cinema in LA. The bemused crowd queuing for movie tickets becomes as much a part of the performance as the dancers themselves — as does the unsuspecting security guard who turns off the boombox halfway through and is mounted by Koufey until he relents and the chaotic routine resumes.

Hassay — originally Cook's tenant before becoming a commissioner — and Cook built a body of work together that also includes Traktor's Charlie's Angels-inspired 'Ya Mama', Hammer & Tongs' surreal evolution take on 'Right Here, Right Now', Roman Coppola's 'blow shit up' approach to 'Gangster Trippin'', and Jonze's follow-up 'Weapon of Choice' with a tap-dancing Christopher Walken. 'Praise You', they argue, helped usher in a lo-fi approach to production that still resonates today.

One of the most imitated music video formats — the flash mob — traces back to a promo made before the word existed.

The chaos is the craft: real bystanders and the security guard's interruption are load-bearing parts of the piece.

Artist and commissioner tell the decision trail themselves, from hating glossy promos to backing Jonze's lo-fi approach.

Production value can be the joke's enemy: one camera, real bystanders and a security guard's interruption beat choreography money.

The video remains a reference point in video culture; flash mobs became a staple — and, as Creative Review notes, a cliché of overly slick ad campaigns — while the lo-fi production style it helped usher in still resonates.