Bob Dylan’s new video for “Duquesne Whistle,” like many of his songs, tells a seedy story.

Directed by Nash Edgerton, who worked with Dylan on videos for “It Must Be Santa” and “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’,” “Duquesne Whistle” is the first video off Dylan’s upcoming album Tempest, out September 11th via Columbia. Watch the dark video at The Guardian‘s website, where it debuted this morning.

The video starts with a pretty girl, as these things often do. A young man is persistent with a lady he sees on the street, staking out her block, getting maced and breaking the law in more ways than one in his quest to get her attention. But he messes with the wrong guys, ends up and jail and as soon as he’s released, gets the crap kicked out of him by guys from the wrong side of town. The grim scene juxtaposed by Dylan’s jaunty old-time track.

So where does Dylan come in? He leads a pack of other hoodlums – a call girl, rough-looking guys covered in tattoos, a Gene Simmons impersonator – on a never-ending prowl of the mean streets of Los Angeles. They don’t even blink when the see the video’s protagonist bloodied on his back. At this point, nothing fazes Dylan – he’s seen it all.

- Jillian Mapes, CBS Local