Update 1/20/23: this article was written before the actor’s transgressions came to light. We do not condone such actions in the slightest. For more information, I highly recommend reading this article by our own Rachel Ulatowski.
While watching Wednesday, I was initially captivated by how surprisingly charming it was. I didn’t have particularly high expectations for a Tim Burton production after all this time, and past Addams Family reboots haven’t really hit the mark.
Then, a certain “artsy loner” named Xavier Thorpe started featuring more prominently in Wednesday’s life, and I had to look him up because he reminded me so keenly of two of my favorite musicians: Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, who make up the punk band The Garden. No, they aren’t related to the actor who plays Xavier (Percy Hynes White), but the resemblance is uncanny. They have the same sort of face and hair and that “pretty yet disaffected white boy” look, yet every time he’d come on screen, I’d have to tell myself I was reading into it too much and projecting based on my music taste. Surely something as mainstream as Wednesday, a Netflix show, wouldn’t know what the hell I was on about.
Then the house rowing competition happened, and, I mean. The sky is blue, cats have paws, and The Garden LOVES jester motifs. Observe this song from their latest album, “HORSESHIT ON ROUTE 66”:
And this ain’t the first time the clowns pulled up to the rodeo in full clown getup. They tend to get experimental with their outfits in most of their music videos, sporting a sort of comedic-carnival look in several of them. Hell, even their album art for Mirror Might Steal Your Heart is just the twins in full-on jester gear.
Therefore: if Percy Hynes White isn’t a Garden fan, then either this was one hell of a coincidence, or I’m losing my grip on reality.
I mean, look at this shit and tell me I’m wrong:
Yes, “TikTok cringe,” etc. etc., but the fact that all these fans are backing me up on this makes me feel vindicated. Like how on earth was this a coincidence? Even though The Garden is still somewhat esoteric, they’re big enough as indie and punk artists that if you’re even slightly tuned into those scenes, you’d know who they are. Hell, I only got into them myself because they gained some fan accounts on Vine all those hundreds of years ago.
So hey, um, Percy? If you had any say in this decision, and it was, in fact, intentional? That’s cool as hell, and your self-awareness gives you major credit. Keep it up. You made many fans’ days with that getup.
(featured image: Epitaph Records)
Published: Dec 2, 2022 05:41 pm