Watch 'Puttin' on the Ritz' as a psychedelic, Mad Men–era fever dream

Watch &#039;Puttin&#039; on the Ritz&#039; as a psychedelic, Mad Men&amp;ndash;era fever dream

(Image credit: Pomplamoose/YouTube)

last updated 8 January 2015

I want to say maybe this is like an episode of Mad Men — or I Love Lucy, for that matter — as reinterpreted by a puppeteer tripping on psychedelics? In what's apparently becoming a trend — a welcome one — the band Pomplamoose just released a visually arresting video for an irresistibly catchy cover version of a classic song as a form of self-promotion. In this case, the song is Irving Berlin's "Puttin' On the Ritz," fair game ever since Taco covered the song in 1982.

Neither cover has much to do with Fred Astair's iconic rendition, but Pomplamoose — duo Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn — do a nice job with the oddly timeless 1929 tribute to gawking at the super-rich:

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Here Taco's version, trippy in its own way. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.