Hey, Imagine Dragons, I know you're busy hawking your music to any brand that will play your song in their foot odour advertisement, but there's other things going on in the world than commercialised arena pop rock. While your song "Believer" was playing in two Murder on the Orient Express trailers—and a Nintendo ad, Riverdale, Inhumans, Dancing With the Stars, a Jeep commercial, an Acura ad, and a WWE documentary—there were actually three massive hurricanes that devastated parts of the United States and other countries.
The first was Hurricane Harvey, which blasted Texas, caused 82 confirmed deaths in the United States and floods that resulted in more than 30,000 people displaced. Two weeks later, Hurricane Irma hit parts of the United States, which resulted in 69 deaths in the eastern part of the country—specifically Florida and Puerto Rico. And less than a month ago, Hurricane Maria caused a major humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico that has completely destroyed the United States territory's electrical grid and an estimated $95 billion in damage. It will take years for Puerto Rico to recover, and in the immediate aftermath, the president has spent his time blaming the shattered population and done little to help their flattened infrastructure or looming debt. You at least were aware of one of these events, though, because you tweeted about Harvey victims back in September.
But, do you know what all these disasters have in common, Imagine Dragons? Water and destruction and flooding.
So, maybe now wasn't the best time to release a video in which flood waters destroy your shitty practice space and drown the entire band? Seems like a bad call. But, I get it, you gotta keep selling your highly marketable money rock. Even then, there's literally nothing unique about an underwater music video. But, remember, while Imagine Dragons can walk away from their destroyed gear at the end of a video, real people are actually struggling.
You can donate to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund here and learn about the ways to help Puerto Rico here.
