WATCH: A music video filmed on top of the Empire State Building

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New York's own indie rock heroes Yeah Yeah Yeahs released a dizzying new video Monday for "Despair," a track off their latest album, Mosquito. The video, which happens to be the first-ever music video shot atop the Empire State Building, follows band members Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase on a gloomy New York night that ends triumphantly with Karen O prancing around atop the 1,454-foot-tall landmark. Directed by Patrick Daughters, the video was filmed from the wee hours of the morning until just after sunrise, before the observation deck typically opens to the public.

The uplifting video ends with striking helicopter shots of the band against the city's skyline — a fitting metaphor for Yeah Yeah Yeahs' enduring rock career. As Karen O told The New York Times: "It's like the American dream for us, singing your song on top of the Empire State Building. It's hard to do something like that and not feel like it's symbolic."

In a closing shot, "the camera pans out," says RJ Cubarrubia at Rolling Stone, "and it's clear just how far Yeah Yeah Yeahs have come." Watch the video above, if you're not afraid of heights.

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