POPSCREEN: Chester French

It’s hard to make fun of people who display immense earnestness. Hurling well-aimed boomerangs at themselves in an attempt to make others laugh with them rather than at them, Chester French pulls no punches in their premiere music video. Unfortunately, it seems like people will be laughing, heartily, at Chester French while watching their video.

In “She Loves Everybody,” D.A. Wallach ’07 couldn’t possibly have looked nerdier—he sports a curly Jew-fro and bowtie—while singing about having safe sex with a cheating girl. Bandmate Maxwell C. Drummey ’07 seems to embody the rocker spirit with shoulder length hair and the stony, “I don’t give a damn” look. However, his style must have been too hip a statement as both Drummey and Wallach get brutally beaten in the music video by a girl half their size.

As the song kicks into higher gear, the blows on the duo continue and Wallach, in particular, can’t seem to get enough. Looking hopelessly pathetic, Wallach smiles through the punches, helplessly devoted to his vicious attacker.

The viewer can’t help but be reminded throughout the video of the turbulent and short-lived romance between the long-haired Drummey and his boo, Peaches Geldof. While the song was written before the rise and fall of their relationship, which was all of about half a year, the video vixen and her actions seem symbolic of how the 19-year-old Geldof walked all over Drummey’s heart. The song feels a bit too autobiographical, as even the protection bit seems plausible—honestly, would you have unprotected sex with a girl named Peaches?

With their star on the rise, these guys should not feel the need to beat themselves up or brood over past losses. In the end, they’re too hip for their own good and their sound is much sleeker and smoother than their image intimates. So hopefully next time they’ll be able to think of something fresher than just getting walloped for four minutes.

—Edward F. Coleman