Waterwings (And Other Poolside Fashion Faux Pas)

"Waterwings (And Other Poolside Fashion Faux Pas)" is the third single from Alexisonfire's debut album, "Alexisonfire" (2002).

The song is widely regarded as the most upbeat and punk-rock sounding song on the album, with a fast three-chord guitar riff played throughout most of the song. The song begins with a quick drum fill and a three-chord guitar progression in E flat. Wade and Dallas do guitar harmonies throughout most of the song and sing some back-up vocals while George does his trademark screams. The song has an odd structure, featuring no chorus, but rather a few verses and an interlude. It ends as Wade and George scream over a fast guitar riff.

Video Information

The music video for the song is based on the 1979 film, "The Warriors" and consists of the band playing in a music competition between five rival gangs, introduced by vocalist George Pettit:

* "The Geraghtys" (Wade's group), a group of tough looking men with combed back hair, wearing leather jackets and blue jeans. They most likely represent the rock 'n' rollers of the 50's, similar to Fonzie of "Happy Days".
* "The Butterscotch Boys" (Steele's group), a boy band wearing butterscotch colored sweaters and pants.They represent the boy bands (the name resembles The Backstreet Boys of the late 1990s.
* "The Roller Girls" (Jesse's group), a group of girls (with the exception of Jesse) wearing black tops, shorts, and rollerskates. They bear some similarity to The Spice Girls.
* "The Lower Eastside Splatter Punks" (George's group), a group of guys wearing black t-shirts with spray-painted lines. Seem to closely represent ravers of the 90's and early 2000s.
* "The Daggers" (Dallas' group), a gang of street punks with torn jean jackets and skateboards. Seem to be like the skateboarders of the 1980s. A good reference would be the characters of Thrashin'.

Video Details

* The video was directed by Marc Ricciardelli.
* George Pettit changes his black and white wrist bands in different points of the video.
* George Pettit does the introduction to the video in Latin.
* Guitarist and vocalist Dallas Green plays a B.C. Rich Warlock guitar in the video.
* Dinosaur Jr lead singer J Mascis appears in the video as a member of the Butterscotch Boys.
* Members of the band Moneen appear as the rest of the Butterscotch Boys
* The "Butterscotch Boys", "The Lower Eastside Splatter Punks" and "The Roller Girls" represent social groups that occupied the late 1990s and early 2000s; The "Geraghtys" and the "Daggers", however, do not.

Personnel

* George Pettit - Vocals
* Dallas Green - Guitar/Vocals
* Wade MacNeil - Guitar/Vocals
* Chris Steele - Bass
* Jesse Ingelevics - Drums