Jason Yarger of HUNNY picks 6 movies to pair with ‘SPIRIT!’
In Pairings, artists and creators pick the movies that complement their latest work.
Hunny is an indie pop band fronted by Jason Yarger whose new album SPIRIT! is out now wherever you get your music.
We asked Jason to pick a few movies that pair well with SPIRIT!
The New Guy (2002)
I was flip-flopping between this one and Bring It On for the obvious 2000s high school cheerleader vibe of it all. Classic underdog story. I cannot tell you how many times I watched this movie in middle school. In the simplest terms, the whole thing is about this “nerd” who goes to a new school and tries to be the cool guy and eventually realizes he just needs to be himself. This theme is resonating with me quite a bit recently as I’m learning to stop trying to be a “cool band” or fit into any kind of mold. SPIRIT! is a lot about me letting go of what the world thinks and just having fun with my music. They don’t make movies like this anymore. Plus you get bangs-less Zooey Deschanel playing guitar in a funk band.
Mallrats (1995)
I just love this movie so much, and I would hope that if I had put this album out in 1995 it would’ve made it onto the soundtrack.
High Fidelity (2000)
I guess this seems like an obvious choice but whatever. Pivotal movie for me and my taste in music. I sit and wonder what Jack Black’s character would think of Hunny if someone threw it on in the record store. I like to think he’d fuck with a few tracks. We’ll never know, but fingers crossed.
FLCL (2000)
Admittedly this is not a movie but hear me out. This show is only six episodes at half an hour each, and if you watch them all back-to-back like I exclusively do, it’s basically just the length of any MCU movie nowadays. I saw FLCL when I was probably twelve years old on Toonami and have not been the same since. I was a fan of anime before but this one hit different. This show changed me on a molecular level. It is the most important piece of art made in our lifetime, full-stop. The whole show is soundtracked entirely by The Pillows who shockingly became my favorite band. There’s an FLCL reference somewhere in most music I make (see: title track) and The Pillows’ influence has probably never been stronger than on this album. This show inspires me so so much and I don’t know who I’d be without it.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
I would hope this one is self-explanatory. I sampled this movie on our last record, but I think SPIRIT! fits into its universe better. This is another movie I saw as an impressionable teen that became deeply embedded into my personality. The music is incredible, the steez is immaculate. So funny, so emo. It’s just an absolutely perfect film. I pulled a lot of its garagey trash rock energy for this album.
Hook (1991)
This is probably my favorite movie so it kinda had to make the list. Maybe there’s something to be said here about the journey to rediscovering your inner child and the connection that has with this album to me. I’m sort of reinventing this band in a way right now and learning how to crow again. Bangarang!