Ira Glass Is In Yoko Ono's New Music Video

Ira writes:

Okay, this is the most random thing that’s happened to me in a long time. I was asked to dance in Yoko Ono’s new music video. Who says no to that? Here’s what it’s like: a car service picks you up and takes you to a nondescript building that’s set up for a video shoot. Lots of youngish people plus Yoko Ono. Oh hello there most famous person I’ve ever met! She’s gracious, has to be reminded by a handler who in the world I am. Then totally acts nice, says something along the lines of “I appreciate the work you do” which either means she’s heard my work or she hasn’t. Who cares! She’s Yoko Ono! And it’s inherently weird, right? For her too. She’s a lovely, not-terribly tall older woman in really beautiful clothes.

Each performer is called up, one at a time. First they play the song and you dance to it alone. The song is called “bad dancer” so I’m the perfect participant because - though I love to dance, I have no illusions. I’m a spaz. I stand in front of the camera and 20 handlers and hipsters and publicists and crew and Yoko Ono and I think a reporter from Rolling Stone and I tell myself to pretend I can do this and I dance. Then we do a take where I dance with Yoko which they use none of in the video. When the camera starts rolling, Yoko reminds me of other performance artists I’ve known: she’s assured, she’s game to try stuff, she’s a good improviser. We do a slow motion sidestep towards each other and then circle each other. We do a thing where she dances while I gesture towards her like ‘you are the bomb.’ If I knew how to dance I’m sure I could’ve come up with better stuff. The song seems to last a very long time, as we circle each other and improv this and that. I wonder if it’s okay to take her hand or touch her in any way. Somehow, I’m not up to that. I don’t try. I’m a guest here in her world. If handholding or touching is supposed to happen between you and Yoko Ono or you and the Queen of England, they are the ones who initiate it.