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First Watch: Lord Huron, 'Lonesome Dreams'

Think of Lord Huron as an imaginary world as much as a rock band. Bandleader Ben Schneider has created characters and stories that fit together within an entire narrative filled with mystique. It's a bit dreamlike. To get an idea of how many layers there are in Schneider's invention, look at this website for author George Ranger Johnson. According to the site, George Ranger Johnson lives in Tuscon, Ariz. and writes adventure novels whose titles are identical to the song titles of the band Lord Huron. Of course, neither Johnson nor his books really exist.

But this is a wonderful fiction for Ben Schneider to write his songs around, and a rich world in which he can set his band's music videos and films. According to Schneider, the new video for the song "Lonesome Dreams," the title track from Lord Huron's latest album, is "based on the first installment of George Ranger Johnson's adventure series of the same name. It chronicles Huron's first encounter with Admiral Blaquefut and the beginning of their epic journey and friendship. We tried our damnedest to capture the themes and the spirit of the novel." The film was directed by Los Angeles-based filmlmaker Evan Weinerman, a.k.a. Arms Race, who has made videos with Superhumanoids, We Barbarians and Local Natives.

The video, which opens on the rocky coast of an island, feels like another chapter in a story that began in a video we premiered last summer. And as Schneider begins to sing his song, suddenly I'm in front of a small TV in the early days of color. I love going along for the ride. Pass the popcorn, please.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.