Kirin J Callinan might have already won 2020. Technically, even before the ball dropped in Times Square. Our favorite Aussie gonzo musician had a busy New Year’s Eve. He shared a stunning, orgasmic video for “The Homosexual” (see below), and shocked revelers at Barclays Center as a surprise addition to The Strokes concert, which Mac DeMarco also opened. Kirin is on a fast track to winning over new fans and influencing people in the year ahead.

2019 was not too shabby for our boy Kirin. He released his third solo album, Return to Center, in June via Terrible Records. Essentially a covers LP, Kirin recorded Return to Center in 2018 in an east LA garage using equipment he bought at Guitar Center, and later returned for a full refund. Which meant the store’s 14-day return policy dictated the parameters of his recording schedule. The entire thing is like a performance artwork. You can see how he pulled it off in Return To Center – The Making Of. Kirin toured extensively around the album’s release.

Kirin also teamed up with Mac to produce some songs for Julian Casablancas’ The Voidz. So far, the band has released two songs that he co-produced, “The Eternal Tao,” and “Did My Best.” And there is that video game that Mac designed that features Kirin.

His close relationship with Mac and Julian is likely what landed him on the Barclays Center New Year’s Eve bill. Kirin’s performances have an Andy Kaufman-esque quality to them. At Barclays Center, he delivered two mini sets. He came out before Mac DeMarco’s band and played “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “The Homosexual,” and “Big Enough.” He also did a bit where he pretended that he dropped his plectrum into his guitar and tried to shake it out. Eventually, he smashed the instrument.

On his second visit to the stage, before The Strokes performed, Kirin played a rousing rendition of his cover of Opus’ “Life is Life,” and crowd favorite, “The Toddler.” (If you haven’t seen him perform “The Toddler,” check out a video we shot at a show in 2017).

As for the video for Kirin’s cover of Momus’ “The Homosexual,” it’s the most ambitious of the four visuals Kirin’s made for the new album. Shot in Italy on 16mm, Michael Hili, AKA Mickey Ratman, who also worked on Kirin’s “The Whole of the Moon,” directs. In the video, Kirin plays a series of characters, the artist, the sailor, the officer, the executioner, and the devil. The video introduces these characters via a foreword that Kirin has written and added to the song.

The video, beautifully shot by Alana Mejía González, is suggestive with a lot of thrusting, grinding, and nudity. And, the video even has a patron saint, Maddalena de Sipicciano. However, that doesn’t make it safe to watch at work.

If you need some catching up on the other videos from Return to Center, you can visit Kirin’s YouTube Channel. He has videos posted for “The Whole of the Moon,” “Signed Curtain,” and “You Weren’t In Love With Me.”