Idolator: videodrone

Radical Mormon Cult Financed By Selling Of Bob Dylan Bootlegs

Maura Johnston — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Oh, wait a second—you mean that Bob Dylan's video for the 1997 track "Dreamin' Of You," which stars Harry Dean Stanton as a roving salesman of rare material from the singer, wasn't crafted from footage from the upcoming season of Big Love? My mistake. (The melancholy, piano-tinged dirge is still a pretty good song, though.) [Amazon]

Taylor Swift May Want To Rethink Her Hierarchy Of Musical Role Models

Maura Johnston — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EDT

I don't know if I'm the only one who's alarmed by fresh-faced teenage country singer Taylor Swift's latest semi-incongruous cover, in which she apparently tries to muddy up her image by covering Amy Winehouse's ode-to-inebriation "Rehab." Sure, one could take comfort in her choice to make the cover one of those "stretch out the chorus for as many times to ensure maximum singalong time, and then maybe throw in a line or two of the bridge" semi-superficial reads, but just remember, folks: If she goes down, she may take at least one Jonas with her. [YouTube via ONTD]

New Kids On The Block Are Looking For Love In This Club

Maura Johnston — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:30:00 EDT

New Kids On The Block's collaboration with Ne-Yo, "Single," now has a video, and while the concept department is little more than the old "club stocked with hot women and lots of champagne" storyline but sorta sadder, it is kinda eye-opening as far as seeing just who sings what. I really swore that the first verse was sung by Ne-Yo, but it turns out that it's Joe McIntyre! Danny Wood and Jonathan Knight are given almost nothing to do! Someone still thinks that the middle of an economic downturn is a good time to start a song with the old "If you ain't got no money..." insult! Donnie Wahlberg is the rapper! (OK, OK, I probably should have figured that last bit out on my own, but I was really hoping for Danny to shock the world with his ability to spit.) [YouTube]

Kanye West Is Apparently Refashioning Himself As A Crooner

Maura Johnston — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:30:00 EDT

The "bandleader" part, however, needs almost as much work as his pitch control. [YouTube via Musicology 101]

Metallica Return To The Trenches

Maura Johnston — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:30:00 EDT

All I can say is that the video for Metallica's "The Day That Never Comes," with its bleak fog-of-war atmosphere and its suspended tension, really does stir the imagination of what a hot, seemingly endless day on the front lines of battle is like. Of course, the part of me that had to pause the video about three times in order to slog through all of its eight minutes wonders if that's due to the song being kind of overlong. (I mean, shit, even the similarly themed, much more depressing "One" video had a radio edit for the short-attention-spanned, and that was back when our ability to focus on things hadn't been moth-eaten by the Internet, you know?) [YouTube]

Hinder Give Themselves Four Minutes To Save Every Butt-Rock Cliche In The Book

Maura Johnston — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Scarves. Scantily clad ladies. Flashy cars. A strategically placed woman on a pool table. Andrew "Dice" Clay as a leering bouncer. Yes, Hinder's video for "Use Me" brings back all the good-time video tropes of 20 years ago—but if that description entices you, you'll have to click through to see it, since it's sprung from the bowels of Universal Music Group, which apparently needs every last bit of banner-ad revenue it can wring out from the sidebars of YouTube's pages. In an effort to provide a contextual embed, after the jump please find a clip of Skid Row performing "Big Guns" at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in 1989. Seriously, "Use Me" is little more than a slightly updated, less hooky rewrite of the opening track from that band's debut album, and I'm kind of surprised Sebastian Bach hasn't taken to the blogs to complain about this fact yet.

Hinder - Use Me [YouTube]
Skid Row - Big Guns [YouTube]

Young Jeezy Doesn't Melt In The Summer Sun

Maura Johnston — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Sadly, the tableau of babes and bottles in the video for Young Jeezy's "Vacation" ends badly for the Snowman, with the final shot of the clip's "conceptual" side showing him being strong-armed out of a club by FBI agents. But mostly I'm impressed by how this video brings together the time-honored concepts of "scantily clad ladies on a beach" and "scantily clad ladies in a club" in a way that actually makes sense when put together with the track's lyrics—or, at least, the lyrics that weren't bleeped out in favor of letting the crisp piano hook shine through. We don't see unified vision like this often enough in pop music, and for that, I say, God bless. [YouTube]

"Can You Believe It? I'm Actually Flying Commercial"

Michaelangelo Matos — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

For two and a half minutes, Diddy (who abuses the ~~first~~ third-person like he was Suede or something) laments rising gas prices by (a) flying American Airlines instead of his private jet and (b) giving "a shout out to all my Saudi Arabian brothers and sisters, and, all my brothers and sisters from all the countries that have oil—if you could please send me some oil for my jet, I would truly appreciate it. Can you believe this? I"m actually flying commercial. That's how high gas prices are, OK? So I feel you." The phrase "read it and weep" comes to mind, but Diddy's genuine incredulity that he might have to act and be treated as a normal person and not a demigod make it more like, "Watch it and vomit." [YouTube]

ZZ Top: The True Idea Men Behind "What Not To Wear"

Maura Johnston — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Idolator film-music critic Andy Beta places the videos for "Gimme All Your Lovin',": "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs" under his critical microscope: "Under such pressure, these blue-collar boys encounter their fairy godfathers, ZZ Top (who appear like a mirage in the Texas Panhandle landscape), via a set of magical car keys with the ZZ logo and 'The Eliminator' herself, a customized two-door, cherry-red 1933 Ford coupe. Attended by a triumvirate of hotties decked out in halter tops, fishnets, leather minis, studded belts, and red pumps, these modern-day Fates arrive just in time for the makeovers (seriously, in the intervening decades, how did no one at Spike TV conceive of Skank Eye for the Straight Guy?) and triumph." Andy, I hope you put a patent on Skank Eye For The Straight Guy right after you file your review, so the good people at Spike pay you the cash you deserve. [Village Voice / YouTube]

Alejandro Escovedo Gets To Play On The Big Stage

Dan Gibson — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Austin legend Alejandro Escovedo has (sadly) mostly dwelled in alt-country obscurity, despite an impressive solo catalog and a number of famous fans. Tonight, though, Escovedo will get some airtime on national TV; he's scheduled to perform "People (We're Only Gonna Live So Long)" from his Tony Visconti-produced album Real Animal as a warmup act for Hillary Clinton's appearance at the Democratic National Convention. A few clips from Alejandro's career after the cut.

"Castanets" turned up on George W. Bush's iPod somehow, which prompted the song's removal from Escovedo's setlists until recently:

"Always a Friend", with Bruce Springsteen:

"Juarez" and "Rosalie":

Alejandro Escovedo [Official site]

Cassie Is A Fast Sing-Talker

Maura Johnston — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Cassie's new single, "Official Girl," eschews the icy minimalism that made "Me & U" such a success, and forces the poor thing to cram as many syllables as possible into each line she sings. It's a tactic that shows off just how reed-thin her voice is, a curious choice given that much ado has been made about her, shall we say, lack of vocal prowess in the past. Disappointing! At least the shot that makes it seem like Cassie's looking in a mirror when she's actually—surprise!—staring down Lil Wayne is a nice touch. [YouTube]

Leona Lewis: Almost As Competent As David Coverdale

Maura Johnston — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EDT

I'm guessing Robert Plant got a bit of a chuckle from the Olympics' closing ceremony yesterday, which featured his former bandmate Jimmy Page performing "Whole Lotta Love" with British semi-superstar Leona Lewis in honor of China handing off ownership of the Summer Games to the UK. While Lewis' Aguilera-like run through the song was decent, if fairly predictable, one commenter on a fake YouTube clip of the event pointed out that "You have to admire the subtle genius of choosing a song about the size of Robert Plant's dick as the theme for the handover to London 2012." Although given all the speculation about Michael Phelps this year, maybe the song choice was super-appropriate? Anyway, for the fashion-conscious among you who are wondering just what on earth Lewis is wearing at the outset of the song, I've posted a better-resolution shot after the jump.

I was hoping she'd get to move around while wearing that big mess of ruffles—it would have looked like an animatronic wedding cake!—but alas, she was merely standing in a structure that was designed to look like her outfit. Oh honey, Mariah would have absolutely figured out a way to make the skirt walk with her.

Leona Lewis & Jimmy Page. Live. [Dailymotion]

Ne-Yo Is An Interoffice Male

Maura Johnston — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:30:00 EDT

The video for Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent" brings us to an office where women are in charge, dress codes are relaxed enough for some workers to flaunt their backless outfits next to the watercooler, and well-dressed male employees have nothing better to do than sit around and dream about the power ladies surrounding them all day. While this clip was certainly nice to look at (and the song is sumptuously great), I'm looking forward to the sequel, in which all the employees are forced to sit through what may be the awkwardest—yet most well-soundtracked, no doubt—sexual-harassment seminar of all time. [YouTube]

Pink's "Super-Literal First Single From The New Album" Route Continues

Maura Johnston — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EDT

The last time Pink went down the "let's talk about my life in very plain terms over an irritating beat" road, with "Stupid Girls," things didn't go so well; the track stalled outside the top 10 on the Hot 100, and got an even cooler reception from the hot-AC stations that made later singles like "Who Knew" playlist staples long after I'm Not Dead first arrived in stores. But while driving around fiddling with the car radio last weekend, I realized that "So What" is probably going to outshine "Stupid" and be a huge, monster hit.

It has the annoying vocals and thuddingly relentless beat of Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl," the gossip-page-quoting lyrics, and some GarageBand-sourced keyboards that pow-pow-pow in the background unendingly. The video is pretty much more of the same, only with a cameo from the ex-husband she's lyrically complaining about. What if the whole breakup was actually a setup, you guys? I feel so violated by the celebrity-industrial complex!

[via Music Is The Heart Of Our Soul]

Sanjaya Brings Back The Ponyhawk

Maura Johnston — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:45:00 EDT

Given that this was the haircut that rocked the world (or, at least, the living room of my old apartment) nearly 18 months ago, I kind of had to post this Nationwide ad starring Sanjaya Malakar, who's following in the footsteps of luminaries like Kevin Federline and MC Hammer as a pitchman for the insurance company, and his seven-teased-ponytails 'do. Those of you who got golden tickets from American Idol's most recent crop of auditions: This could be you in about two years or so! (Take that as you will.) [YouTube]

Soulja Boy Is Not Really A Boy Of The People

Maura Johnston — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EDT

In the latest video from the ceaselessly self-promoting vlogger/sometime musician Soulja Boy, the kid wakes up on Gucci sheets, blows his nose in money, and reads his YouTube comments. It's breathtaking if only because of its naked depiction of Soulja Boy as the ultimate Bubble Boy, someone who's the last person to realize his ever-growing irrelevance. I mean, here's someone whose dance is still being performed by kids in my neighborhood en masse and instead of trying to strike while the iron is hot he's unironically riding a Segway around the basement of his awkwardly designed McMansion? Sweetie Soulja, you know that the Gob Bluth character on Arrested Development was supposed to be a joke, right? [YouTube via the listenerd]

YACHT Gets Caught In A Freeze Frame

Maura Johnston — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EDT

The electro wizardry of YACHT has found a home at DFA Records, and its first release on the label is, somewhat appropriately, "Summer Song," which is a booty-shaking love letter to the label's flagship band, LCD Soundsystem. The attached video is pretty enjoyable, too, but then again, I can always appreciate a clip that can combines the meta-tastic "making of the making of the video" plotline with some budget-conscious pyro and a shoutout to the J. Geils Band. [Vimeo via Team Yacht]

An Irony-Free Moment Featuring A Cute Couple Playing Country Music

Dan Gibson — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

I assumed I was probably the only person on earth following CMT's pairs-skate version of American Idol Can You Duet, so there wasn't really anyone around to share my pain when Joey & Rory, an adorable married couple comprised of a farmer/songwriter husband and his restaurant-owning wife, couldn't quite pull out a victory. Thankfully, they've bounced back from their crushing defeat to release a single, and while the track doesn't quite capture what I liked about them on the show, it's still a nice flashback to the pre-Toby Keith country music era. [Joey & Rory]

Oasis Would Like To Take 120 Minutes Of Your Time

Maura Johnston — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Collage art, rapidly blooming flowers, repurposed stock footage, a Stones homage to go along with the lyrical referencing of the Beatles: If I didn't know that the band was just that steeped in the past, I'd think that the clip for Oasis' "The Shock Of The Lightning" was expressly designed to not look (or sound!) out of place when it was aired during a "Classic/Current" then-and-now video two-pack on VH1 Classic. [Dailymotion]

Linkin Park Apparently Thinks Bret Michaels Was The Singer Of Guns N' Roses

Maura Johnston — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Mope-rockers Linkin Park's show at Alpine Valley on Saturday night was notable because one of the dudes took a break from whining about the world and his place in it to tell the crowd that people shouldn't always take themselves so seriously. The band then went on to don blond wigs (??) and perform what may be one of the worst covers of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" that I've heard in the 21 years since the song was first released. (And I've seen my share of GN'R cover bands, so I feel comfortable making this statement.) That guitar solo, oy! Maybe this melodic ignorance is why they have a DJ? [YouTube]

Solange Reigns Supreme Over Her Elephant-Filled World

Maura Johnston — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:30:00 EDT

The clip for Solange's "Sandcastle Disco" premiered on FNMTV Friday night, and while I take issue with the idea that "no one else" out there is making music like this right now, which one of the show's panelists espoused—the fact that Amerie's Because I Love It never came out over here doesn't mean it doesn't exist!—the track, with its lighter-than-air girl-group harmonies and organ filigrees, is pretty irresistible in a hooks-all-over kind of way. [YouTube]

The Videodrone Extra Reminds You Of The Greatness Of Squeeze

Maura Johnston — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Squeeze's Chris Difford told Billboard.com that while he's been enjoying his recent reunion shows with Glenn Tilbrook, there are no plans for the two pop geniuses to collaborate on a new album at this time. (Difford just released a solo album, The Last Temptation Of Chris, while Tilbrook has a record of his own coming out in the near future.) While this is a bummer, it also provides an excuse for me to post a few videos of my favorite Difford and Tilbrook compositions; they've written enough beautiful, witty pop songs for me to probably fill a day of Idolator posts. (Also, it should be noted that can still burn it up live, and if you can see them on their current tour, I highly recommend it.) "Up The Junction" is above, and a few more selections are after the jump...

Hourglass

The first Squeeze song I heard. This is what a Video Of The Year nominee should look like, ahem.

Cat On A Wall

The A-side of their first 7-inch.

Another Nail In My Heart

Some of you out there might enjoy this alternate clip.

Slap and Tickle ("live" from Top Of The Pops)

Walk Away (acoustic)

An "I can't quit you" lament that's one of my favorite later Squeeze tracks. This stripped-down version takes away some of the anthemic aspects of the one that showed up on Ridiculous, but it still packs a punch.

God, I could spend all day searching various streaming-media sites for more Squeeze, but I have other stuff to take care of. Feel free to add your own in comments.

Squeeze [Official site]
Difford: No New Squeeze Album In The Future [Billboard]

No Age Prove That Post-Apocalypse Fishing Will Clothe You, Not Feed You

Maura Johnston — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EDT

I suspect that the video for No Age's "Keechie" is something of a sequel to the '90s revivalists' backyard-party-gone-awry clip for "Eraser," with one man fishing through murky, shallow waters and finding a bloated, sorta-decomposed... No Age shirt. Perhaps this clip is truly intended to be an ode to a bygone merch cycle? [Pitchfork]

Videodrone Presents A Drum & Bass Revival

Michaelangelo Matos — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:45:00 EDT

No, the genre formerly known as jungle isn't staging any sort of chart takeover. (Though d&b singles do pop up pretty regularly on the BBC Radio 1 Independent Label Top 30, not that this is any sort of real-world indicator of anything.) Nevertheless, this brief video places two latter-day drum & bass favorites (Konflict's "Messiah" segueing into Bad Company's "The Nine") over shaky videocamera footage of a Holy Ghost Revival meeting. That footage, with its original soundtrack, is embedded after the jump, but the above remix is definitely the winner here, thanks to the dancers' spirit-feeling moves not all that dissimilar to those of actual d&b ravers. Not to mention the awesome word balloons that pop up about halfway in.

Messiah Remix Goes Off!! [YouTube] (HT: Tricia Romano @ Pop and Politics)

The Academy Is... Throwing A House Party In The '70s

Maura Johnston — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:53:00 EDT

I've spent the last five minutes trying to figure out how, exactly, one would make the name of the bubblegum-punk outfit The Academy Is... into a possessive. "The Academy Is'..."? "The Academy Is...'s"? "The Academy Is...s'"? It's starting to break my brain a little bit, which is why I'm glad that their video for "Summer Hair = Forever Young" isn't much of a mind-bender—just some dudes having a party, and a girl taking Polaroids (aww, nearly-obsolete technolgy!), and a pillow fight. I'll just leave this on in the background while I consult the various style manuals laying around my house. [YouTube via AbsolutePunk]

Kanye Goes For The Gold

Maura Johnston — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:53:00 EDT

Between this puppetastic Olympic-themed clip for Kanye West's "Champion" and that Morningwood clip I posted yesterday, it would seem that puppetry is the new "flashing your phone just long enough so that everyone can see you made an endorsement deal with Blackberry." (And really, that's a trend that has been way, way too long in the offing.) [OnSmash via kanYe West: Blog]

This Santogold Video Is Not Brought To You By Bud Light Lime

Maura Johnston — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:45:00 EDT

The effortlessly breezy "Lights Out" is one of my favorite tracks on Santogold's self-titled debut, and I haven't gotten sick of it yet even though its presence in the commercial breaks of baseball games is near-constant. The above clip is pretty basic, with Santi White and her background dancers getting green-screened into increasingly eye-popping patterns. What I want to know is how the people behind the video got the green-screen effect to work on the backup dancers' lips. Is this the real use for that green lipstick that I always see overflowing from the Wet N' Wild counter? [Pitchfork.TV via MOKB]

I Am Terrified That This Morningwood Song Is Going To Become A Hit

Maura Johnston — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Longtime readers may remember that I am not a fan of the New York ensemble Morningwood, thanks to their being a generally obnoxious, yet somehow "poppier" version of the Gossip. And now they are back with "Sugarbaby," which actually uses the term "American Apparel" in a lyric. While watching its video the other night, I was struck with a terrifying thought: What if this song is the natural successor to "I Kissed A Girl"? It's got the same clunky lyrics and hit-you-over-the-head production on the chorus, only the main beat borrows heavily from "Don't Stand So Close To Me" by the Police instead of "Rock & Roll, Pt. 2." And both Perry and Morningwood singer Chantal Claret are similarly infatuated with the edginess they think they have. Plus: Both Perry and Morningwood are on Capitol Records, so one would think that the few people remaining in the marketing department there would be more than happy to roll out a marketing campaign identical to the one that's already worked. Crap, you guys. We are so doomed. [YouTube]

T.I. Is Much More Generous In Your Dreams

Maura Johnston — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:45:00 EDT

Tell me that the scenes of over-the-top extravagance and spending-sprees weren't a huge sign that there was a "twist" ending coming to close out this fairytale of T.I. and an innocent chicken-wing-slinger, what with the tough economy, T.I.'s legal woes, and Paper Trail being pushed back. (Although to be fair, at least she got a good tip for her troubles.) [YouTube]

N.E.R.D. Get Extra Nerdy With Kanye West

Maura Johnston — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Kanye West, whose blog has become my go-to source for new videos over the past few days, posted the above clip for N.E.R.D.'s remix of "Everyone Nose" with the simple declaration "THIS IS WHY I FUCK WITH HYPE!!!" I'm guessing "This" in the previous sentence means "His willingness to blend characters from Space Invaders and Donkey Kong with a dancing bathroom-sign lady, which make for a much better video tableau than American Apparel model rejects. And also, me me me me me in 8-bit mode." [OnSmash via kanYe West: Blog]

Courtney Love Throws Herself Up On The Cross

Maura Johnston — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Courtney Love is apparently quitting music after her forthcoming album Nobody's Daughter comes out, if this Nylon TV clip—which includes a snippet of the album's title track and her talking about how she watched her former husband, Kurt Cobain, write "Dumb" in five minutes—is to be believed. Sadly, "vlogging" is not on the list of things she says she might do once she gives up the whole music-business ghost, but perhaps we should just give it time. (Also, the chyron referring to one of her new cohorts as "a member of the new Hole"—does this indicate Love's new/old branding, or just some sloppiness on the part of Nylon's editors?) [YouTube]

Carrie Underwood Brings Us The Year's Most Depressing Video

Maura Johnston — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:45:00 EDT

At first, the clip for Carrie Underwood's "Just A Dream" seems like it's going to be an homage to Paula Abdul's "Rush Rush," with its '50s-style fashions and semi-audible conversations layered over the music. (Also: eyelashes. Crazy eyelashes.) But then, as Underwood is walking down the aisle in her wedding gown, the dress—and its attendant veil—crudely morphs into a dress that's more suitable for a funeral. And the whole tone of the clip shifts, and the reason for the video being set in a more "innocent" moment in this country's history—i.e. the war in which her beloved is killed in isn't the current conflict, because setting it in the present day might cause the more lunatic fringes of this nation to think that Underwood's love song to a fallen soldier is actually a statement against the current war, the troops fighting it, and the mere notion of America—is made crystal clear. And that only serves to make the clip even sadder. [YouTube]

Van Morrison's "Love" Is A Bit Out Of Sync

Michaelangelo Matos — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:30:00 EDT

About a year ago, I came across this Van Morrison performance while dinking around on YouTube. I hadn't thought about or listened to Morrison in a long time, but I suddenly got an acute craving. This lean (keyboards-bass-drums, plus Van on occasional sax) version of "Warm Love" was filmed for German television about 1974, apparently with very little rehearsal. Since then, it's disappeared from YouTube, and I've only been able to find it via the Italian site Italian site Libero Video. (You know, Italy, the country hundreds of bootleg albums were "imported" from in the '80s and '90s.) The downside: the sound and video are waaaaay out of synch. Still, if you want you can listen to it on its own—it's a killer performance—and amuse yourself by watching Van and his splendid sunglasses and wardrobe do their downer-charisma thing on you. [Libero via Truveo]

Appreciating The Chills: Or, Alan McGee Has A Point For Once

Dan Gibson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Former Creation Records boss Alan McGee's blog the Guardian isn't what I would describe as a must read, between recent posts calling for a Cult revival and taking time out for an extended appreciation of the Waterboys. But the man did sign Oasis, as he would be happy to remind you—so perhaps he merits a little slack. Especially on days when he wants to champion the Chills.

First of all, it's important that McGee mentions why you've heard of the Chills in the first place.

I didn't get into the Chills until long after I released Kaleidoscope World on Creation in 1985. That record, and in particular the song Pink Frost, keep giving and grow in iconic status as each year passes, sounding ever fresher than fresh and more relevant.

Regardless of McGee's rampant self-absorption, "Pink Frost" will always be a great song.

The Chills made a brief return to music in 2004 with an EP, and McGee drops a rumor of new material into the end of his post, but it would be nice (as former Idolator editor Brian Raftery mentioned on this site awhile back) if their albums were actually available here in the States in a non-pricey import way. If the Shins, Grizzly Bear, Peter, Bjorn, and John are all paying tribute to the band, as McGee says, surely someone could get on some Stateside reissues of their albums that were released here on Slash, right?

"Heavenly Pop Hit"

An interview and "I Love My Leather Jacket"

"Wet Blanket"

The Chills: ready for a comeback? [McGee on Music]

Grizzly Bear Find Their Essence On The Streets Of Paris

Maura Johnston — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:15:00 EDT

As longtime readers well know, Idolator has an unrivaled commitment to what's new in indie rock, which is why I'm here today discussing a two-year-old Grizzly Bear video. I don't much care for the much-blogged-about band, although for much of 2006 I was convinced Yellow House was a grower and I needed to give it more time to let my appreciation of the album as a whole match that of just Ed Droste's voice. (What else could explain all the acclaim?) But I adore the above video of the band's a cappella performance of their single "Knife" on the streets of Paris, mainly because it strips "Knife" down and reveals that it's in actuality a really great doo-wop song.

Why do good pop songwriters hide their hooks behind baroque instrumentation? This is something Fluxblogger and Idolator guestblogger Matthew Perpetua has asked numerous times in the past, largely about noisier bands who embrace a self-consciously lo-fi aesthetic (No Age, Times New Viking). But the question holds just as true for the hyper-orchestrated music of bands like Grizzly Bear.

I'm not speaking as a mere poptimist strawman—for three months this winter one of my most-played records was Sonny Sharrock's Black Woman!—but I wonder why so many musicians needlessly decorate their songs in this way, and why indie rock kids who would never listen to doo-wop fall all over themselves praising Grizzly Bear.

Maybe indie rock kids just hate fun, which is the other element of the Blogotheque video that's missing from the recorded version; on record, "Knife" treats itself like it's the most important thing in the world. But the band's impromptu performance is positively joyful, with the band members smiling and snapping their fingers in such a way that the song turns leisurely instead of plodding.

(A moment for a coda: I do not enjoy Zach Condon's similarly stripped-down Blogotheque cover of "Knife," because the last thing the song needs is showoffy vocal runs from a sometime songwriting talent who is at his best with a trumpet to his mouth.)

Grizzly Bear - The Knife [YouTube]

Against Me! Hold A Listening Party

Maura Johnston — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

In keeping with the minimalist spirit of this clip (and its antecedent), I'm just going to say, "Awesome." [MySpace via MOKB]

Coldplay's Extra-Credit Ploy Revealed

Maura Johnston — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Not content with the fact that the title track from Viva La Vida already kind of has a video—albeit one that's for a truncated version of the song—the gents in Coldplay have commissioned not one, but two videos for it. And they got big-name directors, just to show the world that they're that good: Hype Williams was behind the camera for the above clip, which swaps Williams' normal fisheyed worldview for Photoshop's "cracking paint" filter; Anton Corbijn took charge for the clip after the jump, which references a video that will probably be familiar to most of the Idolator demo. (I suspect that also may be why it's the "alternate version.")

Coldplay - Viva La Vida [YouTube; HT kanYe West: Blog]
Coldplay - Viva La Vida OFFICIAL ALTERNATE VERSION [YouTube]

Dolly Parton: Burnin' Through The '80s

fluxington — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EDT

God bless YouTube user AngelTini23, who found the time to splice together footage of Dolly Parton performing her country/R&B/disco hybrid hit "Baby I'm Burnin'" at several different concerts—and more importantly, in several different outfits—over the course of the '80s. The transitions in the clip can be a bit rough, but it's a thrill to listen for the variations in the arrangements, and of course, to take in those amazing, high camp costumes. YouTube

It took me a while to realize the woman lipsyncing ...

Maura Johnston — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT

It took me a while to realize the woman lipsyncing the words in Lykke Li's new video for "Breaking It Up" was, in fact, the coolly spunky Swedish singer, and not a wayward Olsen twin. The song is fantastic, the clip attached to it filled with melancholia both pre- and post-coital. Bonus fact: the video's director, Sarah Chatfield, also was behind the camera for the color-coordinated video for Annie's "I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me" and Lily Allen's puppet play "Alfie." [Shots Ring Out]

Electric Six In Cheap, Goofy Video Shocker

fluxington — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Most of the Electric Six's music falls into the category of over-the-top satire, but all of their videos are full-on low budget camp. Actually, it's hard to imagine that there was any budget at all for the above clip for "Formula 409," the lead single from their forthcoming album Flashy. I suppose that they had to buy some gas for that van, and maybe they actually purchased those velociraptor masks for the purpose of filming this video, but otherwise, this is the cheap, strong stuff. [YouTube]