Exclusive: Watch David Messier Sing TV’s Praises in “Television Is Better Than Love” Video

Austin-based singer-songwriter and producer David Messier has released the music video for his latest single, “Television is Better Than Love,” premiering exclusively at Paste.

Serving as the lead single from Messier’s sophomore album Time Bomb, the track is full of cheesy, TV-influenced puns juxtaposed with the harsh realities of modern dating (in a world where “Netflix and chill” is considered, by some, the epitome of romance). This, along with its catchy, generally carefree rhythm, creates a quirky and infectious track—served well by its equally entertaining video, directed by Teresa Jolie.

“I forget where we were going but my wife and I were in the car, so I was of course complaining that we had to go somewhere. I just wanted to stay home and watch television. Making my case, I started singing like a nursery rhyme type thing about how television was better than going out,” says Messier. “It morphed into a comparisons list of all the things I thought television was better than. I’m singing: ‘Television is better than going out, television is better than our friends, television’s more important than blood, television is better than love.’ We were laughing at it all but that particular line ‘Television is better than love’ really stuck with me … It rattled around my brain for a while until I finally got to an instrument and then the thing kind of wrote itself.”

The video opens on a motel, first looking in on a steamy scene before shifting focus to a lone man, generally uninterested in his companion for the night. He turns to the vintage TV in the room, focusing in on its rapid-fire channel changes and the TV salesman (played by Messier) tasked with serenading the viewer. His companion sleeps on as the song progresses, with characters—such as a news anchor, an ‘80s-reminiscent fitness instructor and game show participants, to name a few—joining in on the vocal performance.

“When it came time for the video … I remembered getting a television fixed at Bond’s Television in Austin. The showroom at that store is a television museum. They have a TV from every decade on display. It’s really pretty cool. I thought maybe I could use the store and be a ‘used car salesman’ type character and try and sell these televisions infomercial style,” said Messier. “That evolved into I could control the universe with a TV remote and change all the channels. From there Teresa took over and next thing you know there’s like 13 different sets, God knows how many costume changes, two and a half days of shooting and we had to call in every favor we had with anybody to get this big production done.”

Check out the video below, see Messier’s live dates—including a hometown Time Bomb release show, during which he’ll perform his new album in its entirety—further down and find more information on the album, scheduled for release on Nov. 2, on Messier’s website.

David Messier Tour Dates:

November
02 – Austin, Texas @ Waterloo Records
03 – Austin, Texas @ One-2-One Bar