Check out the Music Video for ‘Classical Gas’ (Gasoline Version) by AntheriusΒ
Ever since the 1968 release of The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, musicians have been inspired by βClassical Gasβ. Williamsβs Grammy-winning instrumental piece was enormously popular, and itβs easy to hear why β itβs not only compositionally brilliant, itβs catchy as heck, too. βClassical Gasβ has been covered by artists as disparate in style as Les Fradkin of Beatlemania, Larry Fast of the Peter Gabriel band, and the easy-listening Midnight String Quartet, and itβs been licensed by news programs, advertisements, and hundreds of directors looking to add a dash of class to their films.
But thereβs never been a version of βClassical Gasβ quite like the one done by the Texas multi-instrumentalist Antherius. The acclaimed electronic musician has paired his recently released single βClassical Gas (the Victory Remix)β with this new music video entitled βClassical Gas (Gasoline Version)β that cleverly alludes to the conceptual underpinnings of the original recording. Before a printer error prompted an abbreviation, Mason Williams initially called his hit song βClassical Gasolineβ β and Antheriusβs clip is rich with vintage footage of cars, highways, rigs, tankers, and the grimy, glorious infrastructure of the petroleum industry.
As a Greater Houstonian, thatβs something Antherius knows plenty about: the oil industry, for better and for worse, is the backbone of his region. Heβs also been chasing the perfect mix of βClassical Gasβ for awhile, too, and with this new version, heβs arrived at his destination. He cut his version of the Williams classic on the heels of the critical success of the rich, varied, and ambitious 2006-01 and 2008-03 Antherius albums β two sets filled with his own original compositions in a distinctive, personal style that blended the inventiveness of progressive rock with the futurism of electronica and the cinematic color and sweep of ambient music. Antherius applied everything heβd learned while making his own albums to his recording of βClassical Gasβ, and in so doing, heβs both updated and invigorated a piece that has never gone out of style.
Antherius doesnβt appear in the video for βClassical Gasβ, but in a way, he doesnβt have to: itβs immediately apparent that all the images heβs stitched together β chronologically, from grainy black and white to bright modern color β are drawn from deep places in his memory. Ours, too. Automotive machinery and petroleum revolutionized the 20th Century, and they continue to shape, and shake, our understanding of the national experience. To watch this clip is to understand the spell of the open road, the rhythm of the assembly line, and the perils of petroleum dependency. Itβs all classically American, and here, itβs paired with a classic American tune.
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