Spoon - ＂The Way We Get By＂

AUG 20 2002 · 12:00

Spoon - ＂The Way We Get By＂ (2002) Director: Steve Hanft Era: Post-Punk Revival / Indie Rock Breakthrough (2002) - Early-2000s American indie underground, lo-fi aesthetic meets NYC street realism, aligned with the garage rock and post-punk revival moment preceding mainstream indie crossover. High curatorial value as a period document of the early-2000s American indie rock breakthrough moment, directed by Steve Hanft, a key figure in 1990s-2000s alternative music video history. The video's raw, location-shot Lower East Side aesthetic, fast editing rhythm, and minimalist production philosophy visually enact the sonic values of Kill the Moonlight, making it an ideal case study for the intersection of indie rock ideology and music video form. Its renewed cultural visibility through high-profile sync placements also makes it valuable for research into the extended afterlives of music videos beyond their original release windows. Context: Released in 2002 as the lead single from Spoon's critically acclaimed fourth album Kill the Moonlight (Merge Records), 'The Way We Get By' arrived during a pivotal moment for American indie rock, as post-punk revival acts gained critical traction before mainstream crossover. The song's lyrics reference Iggy Pop and The Stooges, grounding it in a lineage of proto-punk apathy and street-level hedonism. The video's Lower East Side Manhattan setting places it squarely within the geography of early-2000s indie rock's cultural epicenter. The track's subsequent ubiquity on TV shows including The O.C., Shameless, and Hustle, and in films including Stranger Than Fiction, transformed it into a defining sonic marker of the era. Director notes: Directed in 2002 to accompany Spoon's lead single from Kill the Moonlight (Merge Records, August 20, 2002). Filmed on location at Forsyth St & Grand St, Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City. Spoon's official Facebook page credited Hanft directly when the band sought out a preserved copy of the video after its placement in the Showtime series Shameless renewed public interest. The video's raw, documentary street aesthetic is consistent with Hanft's established low-budget, performance-driven visual language developed across his extensive indie and alternative music video catalogue.