Aesop Rock and Blockhead have returned with an animated music video for “All The Smartest People,”  the pensively reflective centerpiece of their full-length 2021 collaboration album, Garbology. The psychedelic visual strings together nearly 1500 illustrated stills of Aesop Rock delivering his verses, all illustrated and animated by Aesop himself, with dozens of subtle notes, clues and references throughout. 

Speaking on the video, Aes offered: “I heard a calling that said ‘you should draw 1,500 selfies,’ and I answered that call on some ‘hold my Bubly.’ I had been messing around with some short animations and decided to take a crack at something a little longer. The process made my eyes hurt, and now your eyes can hurt too. Some days it felt therapeutic, but a lot of days I was pretty over it. I would get about 6 seconds a day on average. Lots of repetition. Ultimately I’m glad I was patient enough to see it through – and thankful for those around me with the ‘keep going!’ attitude. This song is one of my favorites off the  Garbology project. It’s fun when these weird ones work out.”