The original lineup of Dinosaur Jr. - J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph - have got another new album Farm to promote already, so for single 'Over It' the increasingly mellow trio wisely take it to street level to get the word out.

Affectionately directed by Mark Locke, and beautifully captured by longtime skater/bmx-er/videographer Mike Manzoori, this took me back to more innocent times...






Which made me think about a longtime favourite skate video of mine [N.B. Which doesn't look half as great on YouTube as it did on the treasured VHS I bought in that Covent Garden skate shop with the hot staff, so apologies to Spike Jonze]...






Which made me think about the time I told a regal looking, yet dangerously jet-lagged, Nicole Kidman that BMX Bandits was an honest-to-goodness favourite of mine.

This was at a round-table for To Die For and she'd just earned a heap of critical acclaim as an ac-tor, so I wasn't sure how she'd take this mention of the 80's pulp classic, but as an obviously quite young chap, who'd paid to see BMX Bandits at his local cinema on Merseyside because I was a BMX Bandit, dammit, I really hoped she'd understand that I was genuine. And that the film had earned a very special place in my lil-gay-heart, with its day-glo colours, cheap pop soundtrack, Australian origins (I'd lived down under as a kid and the blue skies and sunny disposition made me nostalgic) and, unknown to me at the time, directed by Ozploitation legend Brian Trenchard Smith who I'd learn to worship properly later. In short, I LOVE this movie. I will always love this movie.

She quickly turned to face me, her accusor, and shot out a lightning fast icy glare right between my eyes that seemed to question my sanity and threatened to have Scientology dispose of me down some LA back-alley all at once. This was in Beverly Hills mind, so it would have been clean at least. That's class. That's Nicole.

But I mean it, I thought, as I held her steely gaze, her forehead scrunched in a way we haven't seen in a while. You can't take that away from me. And Scientology won't erase it either, as you'll discover. And I will later go see the Power Rangers live-action movie, again shot in Australia, at the cinema, twice. Trash is in my bones.

Still, if I offended you, Nicole, I'm sorry. Let's not allow this to become like Perez vs Will-I-Am, because Will-I-Am-Not. I totally respect you, mmm-kay? You were in BMX Bandits for God's sake, I have to. It's in my DNA.

I love this movie. I love the spraypaint graphics on the trailer...






And I love the video I found of Nicole doing TV promotion for it, through seemingly gritted teeth, way before Vanity Fair stylist and future 'Mrs' Mick Jagger, L'Wren Scott got her hands on her, obviously.

Sell it, Nicole!





BONUS BMX BANDIT:





Behind The Scenes of the "Over It" video.