Prism Prize Eligible Video: Anyway Gang - Eyes of Green

By External Source

The 2020 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Peter Huang, for his clip for Jessie Reyez's Far Away. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos that were eligible for the prize, including this one from a Canadian rock supergroup.

Anyway Gang - Eyes of Green

Anyway Gang may not have been in the music scene for too long as a band, but this Canadian "supergroup", comprised of Sam Roberts, Chris Murphy (from Sloan), Menno Versteeg (from Hollerado), and Dave Monks (from Tokyo Police Club), has been making music individually for many years prior. It wasn’t until 2018 that the four members decided to get together to create Anyway Gang. With each member bringing his own unique sound and talent to the group. 

Their latest single and accompanying video for their Eyes of Green song, animated and directed by Anne Douris, touches on different aspects of capitalism and the downfall of humanity as they see it today. Talking about the concept for the video, Douris states, "It's suicidal to pursue endless growth. A capitalist succeeds by cutting costs and gaining wealth. Workers are treated as disposable. The environment becomes collateral damage. When we're poor, sick or dead (and probably underwater), who will be left to buy the latest birthday cake-flavoured breakfast cereal? It's not just that capitalism can't survive itself (it can't). Civilization cannot survive capitalism. (We need to) democratise the enterprise. We're f*cked otherwise."

The visuals follow a village of sea monsters working day in and day out to get their job done, to please the boss. The title, Eyes of Green, seems to be a metaphor for eyes full of money. They are working toward this goal that won’t serve them, but will serve the money hungry boss of their corporation.

Animated and Directed by Anne Douris