Thursday, March 30, 2006

Longwave: "Tidal Wave"



Longwave's "The Strangest Things" album was a highlight of the year 2003. It has the emotional sincerity of Nadasurf's "Let Go" album while retaining pop sensibility. In one of the more original concepts for a video that I can imagine, we join Longwave in their journey on a roller coaster. It's that simple. But what makes the video so fantastic is that it seems that when the coaster is hitting its best spots, the song is as well. I also have to wonder how many takes this took - and if the bands got sick eventually. I think my favorite part of the video is how the guy sitting next to the singer reacts to the various turns and twists on the coast - he acts so happy and so giddy at parts that it makes you recall the fun you've had on a roller coaster in your life.

Also, I've always wanted to throw confetti from a roller coaster. It just seems like it would be really fun.



Video: [iPod Compatible]
"Tidal Wave" - Longwave
{Director: Tomorrow's Brightest Minds}

Final Fantasy: "The Dream of Win & Regine"



While this video came out in September of 2005, I just discovered it. Let me go back to... February 2005 for all of you. It was a cold and snowy here in the Hub of the Universe and I was freezing my nips off waiting outside for the biggest indie rock show in a long time here in Boston. I had a bunch of beers over at a local watering hole near the Roxy (where the show was). Before I was going to be emotionally smashed to pieces like a 13-year old who had just been dumped by his two-month girlfriend by the Arcade Fire, Final Fantasy took the stage. You see, I had not heard of them, and was completely unaware of how fucking good Owen Pallett was at the violin. After his 30-minute set (or so), I immediately went and bought his album and haven't looked back since. His music is so tremendously different than most that it's hard not to get hooked.

Now then. This video looks like it was shot for about $5,000, with most of those expenses being spent on film and camera costs. The plot is simple - girl works job she hates, wears headphones listening to this song on it while serving, and imagines animated unicorns, dragons, and such around the restaurant. While it's a simple concept, it works so well with the music of Final Fantasy, and specifically this song.

Do yourself a favor and wake up to this song one day. You can't go wrong with that.



Video: [iPod Compatible]

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Eagles of Death Metal: "I Want You So Hard"


The Eagles of Death Metal are what goddamn rock and roll should be. They're loud and classic sounding - as I wrote on my site, "i love the bluesy-rock sound that they absolutely nail perfectly without sounding fake." A lot of their music sounds like classic Rolling Stones in that sense. Now, onto the video. "I Want You So Hard" is freakin' hilarious. The video guest-stars Jack Black and Dave Grohl as a bartender and a patron, suggesting to a sexy lady that the lead singer of EODM is in fact "bad news". We follow the lead singer as he uses his guitar to apparently create strong winds to blow various people's clothes off.

Yes, it makes no sense, but if it isn't a fun video, I don't know what would be. Thank you commenter Nick for providing the name of the director of this video, Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island and Saturday Night Live fame.


Video: [iPod Compatible]
"I Want You So Hard" - Eagles of Death Metal [highly recommended]
{Director: Akiva of The Lonely Island}

Monday, March 27, 2006

The Streets (Nearly) Complete Videography

IMPORTANT UPDATE: We're using Ezarchive instead of Rapishare now, woooooooo!

UPDATE TWO:
This is pretty funny. Apparently, The Streets have another video - one that they released today. So, here's another video by The Streets - the Professor Green remix of 'When You Wasn't Famous'. Oh, sweet irony.

The Streets, are, if you didn't know, pretty much my favorite music act on the planet. I've written about them many times over on my other site pretty often, to the point where if I met had Mike Skinner, I might go bananas, and not Gwen Stefani-levels of bananas, well beyond that.

All that aside, as far as I can tell, The Streets have thirteen videos. And I think I've collected all but one of them, but it would be nice if someone would tell me, "Ben, they have fifteen. You must not have seen the videos for 'Sharp Darts' and 'Empty Cans'." The one video I don't have is the Streets Remix of "Banquet", which is less of a video anyway and more of a documentary. It's on the Bloc Party "Two More Years" disc as an extra.

A few of these videos I have for you people are in iPod format, but the rest are in .wmv, and directly from the wonderful people at Warner and Atlantic -- in fact, you can't convert, burn, or do anything to them. Just watch. Hoo-rah.

One of the reasons I think I've become such a fan of The Streets is that Skinner refuses to hold himself back in his music; the same goes for his videos. Unlike some artists who show up for a video shoot and just star in a short movie, Skinner puts himself into the videos and you get a good idea of his personality. When he's upset over the loss of a girl in "Dry Your Eyes", you feel for him. When he's thinking about secret celebrity girlfriend while in rehab, you giggle along with the lyrics. When he's complaining about the drugs he's taken in "Blinded By The Lights", you join him in his lament. That's been Skinner's strength all along - while the beats are sometimes harsh, he's always listenable - you don't just want to listen to the music, you want to hear what his story is.

I guess I should also mention that any iPod-playable video is also at a quality well below of what you can buy from the iTunes store. In terms of music and video. And I should also mention that every single one of these videos was found SOMEWHERE on the web, all I did was just compile them.

Videos (via Rapidshare): [some are iPod Compatible]
"Blinded By The Lights" - The Streets [iPod Compatible]
{Directed by Adam Smith}
"Could Well Be In" - The Streets [iPod Compatible]
{Directed By ??}
"Don't Mug Yourself" - The Streets
{Directed By Rupert Jones}
"Dry Your Eyes" - The Streets [highly recommended]
{Directed By Johan Renck}
"Fit But You Know It" - The Streets
{Directed By Dougal Wilson}
"Fit But You Know It (MC Remix)" - The Streets
{Directed By ??}
"Get Out Of My House (MC Remix)" - The Streets
{Directed By Alastair Siddons}
"Has It Come To This?" - The Streets
{Directed By Nick Wood}
"Let's Push Things Forward" - The Streets
{Directed By The Snorri Brothers}
"The Irony Of It All" - The Streets
{Directed By Adam Smith}
"Weak Become Heroes" - The Streets [iPod Compatible] [highly recommended]
{Directed By Dawn Shadforth}
"When You Wasn't Famous" - The Streets [iPod Compatible]
{Directed By ??}