Synopsis
Veruca Salt perform "Number One Blind" in a playful, deliberately off-kilter video that favors odd visual details and whimsical imagery over a conventional narrative. The band appears amid stylized settings and exaggerated situations, giving the clip an eccentric, dreamlike quality that contrasts with the song's sharp alternative-rock attack. Its loose, surreal presentation makes the video feel more like a strange visual collage than a straightforward performance piece, with the musicians' energy anchoring the otherwise unpredictable imagery.
Factoids & Trivia
- "Number One Blind" was written by Nina Gordon and drummer Jim Shapiro and first appeared on Veruca Salt's 1994 debut album, "American Thighs."
- The song became the album's second single in January 1995. It reached No. 20 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart, but did not approach the impact of "Seether."
- The chorus references Levolor, the window-blind manufacturer, giving the song its unusual title and central wordplay.
- The video was made during the band's rapid transition from Chicago indie act to major-label alternative-rock success. Its whimsical style was considered a poor fit for the band's image by Gordon and Louise Post at the time.
- Veruca Salt withdrew the clip from MTV after it had reportedly aired fewer than five times on "120 Minutes." The band later described the decision as a panic reaction.
- The production was expensive for a group still building its audience. After the video was pulled, Geffen reduced its promotional push for "American Thighs," making the incident a notable setback in the band's early career.
- Gordon later said that she had changed her mind about the video, even though the band initially felt it was not something they could confidently put on MTV.