Synopsis

In a bleak futuristic city, workers travel through a cluttered landscape of miniature streets, factories, and buildings while snow falls through a heavy red haze. Their routine is controlled by an unseen authority represented by Donald Fagen's watchful face. One worker is punished for falling asleep, but the punishment sparks a revolt. After confronting the figure above the city, the worker takes his place as the new overseer. Amid the mechanized daily grind, two workers find a small measure of companionship as they return home together.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video combines stop-motion animation with live-action footage. Human heads, including Fagen's, were filmed separately and composited onto miniature figures and vehicles.

• Its miniature city, oppressive red atmosphere, and mechanized workers visually extend the futuristic world introduced on Fagen's 1993 album "Kamakiriad."

• The clip was filmed on September 6, 1993, at C.J.S. Film Studios in Avondale, Arizona, during the Steely Dan tour supporting "Kamakiriad."

• "Snowbound" was featured in the "Madame Blavatsky" segment of "Beavis and Butt-Head," giving the unusual video an additional television afterlife.

• The song was co-written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, with Becker also producing the recording.