TV on the Radio premieres Paul Reubens-starring video on Funny or Die

Pee-wee Herman has finally embarked on another big adventure—and while it may not be be as bizarre as his first one, its still pretty strange. Pee-wee actor Paul Reubens has turned up as the protagonist of the new music video from New York indie rockers TV on the Radio.

The Funny or Die-hosted video is for the band’s fantastic new single, “Happy Idiot.” Contemplating a return to his former glory, Reubens flies through the desert in a sky-blue muscle car and racing helmet, hallucinating TVOTR and Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy). Vocalist Tunde Adebimpe called the video shoot a “full on geek fest in the desert.”
All crunchy guitars and atmospheric synths, “Happy Idiot” is vintage TV on the Radio and marks a departure from their latest album’s more somber aesthetic. The band’s longtime bassist Gerard Smith died after a long battle with lung cancer, just nine days after that album, 2011’s Nine Types of Light, came out.