(Sandy) Alex G - "Poison Root" (Live Performance)

Rocket, (Sandy) Alex G's newest album-length masterpiece, sees the 24-year-old songwriter meandering betweens sounds and styles, from old-school country to industrial rap. But the whole thing kicks off with "Poison Root," a woodsy psych ballad that features a dog and a banjo. It's a gorgeous and freaky track, and a perfect introduction to a record that is very much both of those things.
Between recent performances as a key member of Frank Ocean's live band, Alex and The FADER visited an eerie old puppet house. There, he played a new, scaled-back take on "Poison Root." Like the album version, this one features Molly Germer, whose violin playing adds an unnerving texture to some of Rocket's best moments. Watch the new video above.
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Director: Scott Perry
Producer: Madison LaClair
Associate Producer: Patrick D. McDermott
Executive Producer: Rob Semmer
Executive Producers: Rob Stone, Jon Cohen, Andy Cohn, Anthony Holland
Director of Photography: Mikey van Beuren
Steadicam Operator: Peter Keeling
Assistant Camera: Jonathan Cortizo
Gaffer: Lori Dinsmore
Sound Recordist: Miliken Gardner
Editor: Sam Balaban
Sound Mix: Aaron Bastinelli
Colorist: Carlos Flores
Thank you: (Sandy) Alex G, Molly Germer, Domino, and Puppet Works, Inc.

[@ilyfrankh]

Not enough praise in these comments for the camera work. From the slow approach, to the 180 pan revealing Molly just as the violin becomes a bit more prominent... all one shot.
Phenomenal sound engineering and song arrangement as well.

[@austintannenbaum2717]

Alex has such a gift for phrasing. So beautiful.

[@versnellingspookie]

Musically or lyrically?

[@Isaac-jd6vr]

versnellingspookie in my opening both but more musically, his lyrics are catchy and can be meaningful but the progressions and melodys are just beautiful on their own with or without lyrics

[@pinkpalace-yx2ew]

@@Isaac-jd6vr yes thats why hes one of my favorite artist,his progressions alone

[@__q_______.24]

@@versnellingspookie both, definitely lyrically

[@Alan-ro5ls]

molly goin hard af

[@honeydewsoo8397]

the violinist is a magician, she hit every harmonic like a champ!!!!

[@pwarner]

this is the most beautifully staged/shot live performance I have ever seen

[@feverdream]

reminds me of alex g

[@maxpainter33]

fever dream lolll

[@anaisagarcia9207]

*sighhhhh people man

[@golden-sun]

When will Alex g do a face reveal

[@britneywolfe9792]

lolololololololol

[@dikke_kk484]

Lolll hahaha legend

[@CaptainGalacticMusic]

Can we please give it up for the violinist? She's got mad skillz

[@treedrama]

2px it’s not it’s his girlfriend molly

[@shay2396]

thats his girlfriend! :)

[@dilute734]

when i think of molly

[@iridescentowl6150]

​@@dilute734 I think of you

[@MischiefMemoirs]

That camera pan was a nice intro

[@whitetpoison]

Mischief Memoirs I agree.

[@Okie_Dokie1111]

Camera dude got off to that

[@jstn9914]

Such incredible texture coming from Molly.

[@Hidden_Egg]

This is a weird choice of his songs to perform live, but that makes it all the more cool.

[@theivories5458]

His voice sounds so good here

[@sambrettell_639]

the banjo and dog at the start really make me wish i was walking up mountains and hills like the cover. and it makes me sad that i can’t :(

[@davidanderson1679]

this video never gets old. so good.

[@marshallfladd4469]

reminds me of nirvana, elliot smith, and moldy peaches. this dude is awesome killing it with simplistic originality, raw!!

[@zigravos]

It's called cognitive dissonance. Shit can glow bright AF

[@regicks]

nirvana?

[@urineanxiety]

afterlife yeah totally

[@muhammadhodgson3827]

i mean he was pretty heavily inspired by elliott smith

[@syl5047]

@@regicks in some of his songs you can definitely catch a little, not really soundwise but if youre looking at songwriting
and also people describe both alex's music and nirvana's music as raw so i guess that makes sense

[@Nodsbane]

I couldn't get into this song the first few times I listened to it but it really grew on me. Good stuff.

[@matteroftaste1445]

The G strikes again

[@iwsatchmo]

OH LOOK

[@Daneh97]

I was slowing the speed of the video to see what the chords were, and it turned out to be sort of hypnotizing... i recommend it..

[@matejamatic1329]

Dane H did you get them lmao? if so could you share

[@xevelio]

Matt Matic they’re on ultimate guitar, check there

[@Isaac-jd6vr]

Is it just me or is that ending just beautiful period

[@gergermagge]

fuck, i can't stop watching this

[@user-uo2ww2co4s]

this is gorgeous. love how he looks up at molly at the end

[@kewpiescannoli]

Lost for words. I broke down in tears watching this for the first time just now. Something about this song feels childish yet transformative…?

[@mayac3712]

I still come back to this video multiple times a day

[@jordans.b4629]

holy shit Alex G on the Fader?? Props 👏

[@dasdead]

jordan he was on Fader for a while.

[@agneebags]

extremely underrated song, beautiful and haunting

[@maxpainter33]

I feel it right In my heart. thank you Alex. thank you fader. perfect version.
a way into my heroin addiction, circumvented.

[@stella-vu8vh]

I wish heroin made me cool, but im too busy stealing car batteries and spanging for a pack of cleans to think about being cool

[@wishingwell_333]

we stan an incredible musician

[@Exp.LJ1223]

Favorite song on the album.

[@IAMTRASHMAN]

i cried

[@zigravos]

Youaretrashman indeed, heres sum TP

[@maxpainter33]

IAMTRASHMAN 1989 same

[@ephemeral783]

ME TOO IT WAS SO AMAZING WHAT THE HECK 🤧🤧🤧🤧

[@16o6oo]

favorite alex g song

[@yungwae431]

this is the best music video I have ever seen

[@skee4life]

He looks like me when my mom asks me about my grades

[@kikisgarden5541]

what a perfect match

[@yungmors2933]

This looks like an intro to a 90's/early 2000's movie.

[@scottbrennan6450]

Minimalist classic genius.

[@mimi123b]

wow this was everything.

[@GavGreaves]

Awesome tune, awesome video really beautiful acoustics on the violin. Lovely

[@butterknifelife]

reminds me of Eric's Trip, kinda like magical forest vibes or something.

[@389MRS]

i love this man so much

[@benkiely4426]

This is the greatest video of all time

[@localmeat4572]

this is soo good i fucking love you alex g

[@nostalgicallyhip]

my man playing a Martin

[@versnellingspookie]

nuance he finally moved up from the $150 fenders didnt he?

[@piecemealpact]

apparently it's his friend's (he mentioned it in his New York Times livestream) but it would be great if he ended up owning it lol

[@nostalgicallyhip]

my dad works for Martin. I'm tryna hook him up with that gud discount

[@poppunkaleks452]

yeah its an hd 28

[@adrianlacy3164]

ayahuasca ?

[@haydenmoore2503]

That stare at the end tho

[@GriimX]

Molly on lead violin.

[@bobbobly8766]

This was fucking awesome

[@yeahbank0d699]

Omg the ending sounds magical ASL omg -3:03 pm SEP 11

[@gooosi8863]

This song amazing

[@brendanjaymesthecuriokid6747]

Violin!!!!!!!!!!!

[@flamingswordsman6001]

perfection

[@luisjurado766]

increíble canción acabo de conocer

[@leoelliondeux]

I'm glad this kind of music is being pushed out. It's a nice balance to all the electronic music that's everywhere.

[@WeirdGirlSafeSpace]

I LOVE POISON ROOT

[@stella-vu8vh]

my boy got a martin

[@kyra7428]

Germer is a freak of nature

[@phill4096]

This is such a very song

[@quintjohnson7462]

this vid is so beautiful

[@TM-vx9xs]

Anyone else think it could be about Datura?

[@slawssson9447]

i was thinking more ayahuasca, datura is usually either the seed or flower while with ayahuasca it’s brewed using acascia root (i definitely spelled that wrong lmao)

[@mikogale]

i love this song and i love him

[@jala1081]

Hypnotic

[@iwearshoes]

ALEX FUCKING GGFG GOD DAM

[@joshuawilson8564]

Grungy

[@sinisterbotanist]

those violin harmonics tho

[@yeahbank0d699]

10:10 pm I'm so sleepy SEP ,29 2022

[@renatinho182]

Nice one Alex

[@jackmillar6989]

We like it

[@ilikeponie]

That s his girlfriend

[@marcobazan4187]

ilikeponie I think they're married now

[@drainclerk993]

This is drained

[@ebonylightrainvampire6894]

take a root and drain your boot

[@stan_dinghere]

OOMPH

[@__q_______.24]

The lyrics are almost biblical in a way

[@teresaovermier767]

How?

[@ggoty]

I think it's about Ayahuasca

[@__q_______.24]

@@teresaovermier767 poison root being the forbidden fruit or the curse of man’s consciousness, hence now I know everything

[@mari_shirley]

cool

[@chrisirado]

fucking awesomeee

[@piecemealpact]

is anyone gonna talk about how this man is playing a Martin

[@CoyoteSinbad]

Why does that matter?

[@piecemealpact]

Brance Pena it's just a big upgrade from his usual Fender, and it's in a way a sign of moving up from humble lo-fi roots I guess (but he did borrow it from his friend though)

[@cammejia5665]

@@piecemealpact how do you know he borrowed it just curious

[@Beatboxbizboy]

Amazing.

[@hihello-sx1sx]

alex g

[@user-jm8bw9jb5e]

진짜 미쳤냐 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ개돌았네

[@oddblood-1823]

I am guessing this song is about ayahuasca

[@johnnywilliams8655]

I was just about to comment that!

[@haydenhoyl701]

I thought it was about hemlock

[@IAMTRASHMAN]

ayahuasca isnt made from a root

[@randallabracadabra]

Yes, it is. Mimosa Hostilis Root Bark is the part that contains the dmt and they brew it with an MAO inhibitor, like Syrian Rue. There's different versions though. Some are made with Banisteriopsis caapi.

[@GavGreaves]

bark

[@cronologia348]

Please, someone. What are the chords that begin playing at 2:20??? Thank you so much...

[@vlvvv2064]

P Chord. Incredibly Rare

[@cronologia348]

@@vlvvv2064 What is a P Chord??? Dude...

[@vlvvv2064]

@@cronologia348 czcams.com/video/EyCrmk9c3H8/video.html&ab_channel=Poppy here's a tutorial

[@cronologia348]

@@vlvvv2064 Thanks mann!! But, why she seems so dumb aahaha

[@nasseryousif1222]

@@vlvvv2064 damnn

[@mtilde9797]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🥵

[@MitchHicksDrums]

what are the chords though

[@whatarewaves]

Mitch Hicks a then g and back. There's a weird looking chord after g but I think it's just barring the 3rd fret which doesn't make a chord or maybe it makes a dissonant g chord varient.

[@lukesheehan89]

@@whatarewaves nope

[@onlinerealdoll]

[@trash5694]

Does anyone know what guitar he is using??

[@louisblenkinsop]

So gud

[@Spacegeezer]

Shrooms

[@sethprops4404]

How do you play this?

[@dasdead]

czcams.com/video/XnNxiqM0f6s/video.html
The chords are pretty simple, like most of his songs.

[@HeyImPeterRS]

the video is close, but not that close. the fingering isn't what you see him play in this video, and it misses a lot of the little nuances of the original part
source: I'm also trying to figure this song out. if i pick it out ill letcha know

[@cjournalism]

Mimosa??

[@MrStufflebean]

yung dave grohl

[@yespls4184]

Lol def see it

[@dasdead]

Dude.... he literally sounds like Elliott Smith reincarnated everytime I watch this performance

[@archerlacrosse2376]

I don't see it...

[@dasdead]

@@archerlacrosse2376 yeah ngl that was a stupid ass comment i made 4 yrs ago

[@miccityson]

@@dasdead Nah I definitely see it

more Tim Rutili tbh

[@chase2032]

What tuning is this?

[@treedrama]

DGDGBD

[@HYPESAGE]

Uhm cool...

[@marcobazan4187]

HYPESAGE! very cool*

[@ephemeral783]

marco bazan Thank you Kanye

[@tokyolizy383]

I found you

[@petepete9831]

Meth will catchup with you

[@javiertrevino5535]

this sucks

[@magicalwizard99]

thanks for your opinion Javier, now please go back to the damp trench that you call "home"

[@cg-fl8fc]

u suck

[@hihello-sx1sx]

magicalwizard99 I see u everywhere lmao

[@imanoakyboy]

Goddamn...how is this guy not bigger?

[@hi-zi7ml]

3 years later…

[@beenhere_]

Poison = fungus
Fungus = mushrooms
Mushrooms + Tea = know everything