Friday, May 28, 2010

Cars

Last night, I went to minor league ball game, and had a good time despite the rain. I had left my car at home since I was riding with other folks, and I had it parked on the street (cause my roommate had her car in the driveway when I came home). I do this because I live on a generally quiet residential street without much through traffic. So I was out late, but came home around 11:30pm and all was fine, quiet, usual...

Woke up this morning to find some hooligan(s) had thrown a beer bottle or two, at least one of which hit my car. Which cracked the windshield. A very large circular web of cracks in the lower left-hand side. Spent the morning at work trying to get in touch with my insurance agent and then they contacted some random auto glass company. Which means I get to spend my Saturday getting a new windshield, not to mention the cost (lower than my deductible, lucky me, all out-of-pocket). It's not a horrific expense, but still. Some drunk imbecile parties, and I have to pay for it. Galling.

Also, this is the first time anything like this has happened to my car. So I was stunned to walk out to find the damage this morning and was not sure what to do at first, too much drama. And I'm not even as emotionally attached to this car yet (as opposed to my beloved old truck), but I was still quite upset. And it's still new-ish to me, so that makes this damage even more annoying.

In honor of this - a few songs about, mentioning, or featuring cars.


"Cars" - Gary Numan: The obvious first choice. Best YouTube comment? The person who said "Gary Numan invented guyliner."
(Digression time, let's discuss how appalling YouTube comments often are. They are the worst! People get INSANE. Over nothing. It never ceases to amaze me. I read a lot of amazingly cruel, crude, pointless comments on the net, it is, after all, the Internet. And one can kind of understand it when people get upset over, say, political posts or something. But on videos of babies and kittens? Frightening/extremely amusing.)



Another obvious choice, though while cars do figure in this video, they are probably not the most memorable part for many people:

"Here I Go Again" - Whitesnake
:



Another classic, and possibly the downright funniest video of this group - "Stay the Night" - Chicago:



The Beatles' classic "Drive My Car" covered by The Hot Rats: On principle I am not a huge fan of people covering The Beatles, but I actually don't hate this. I do rather like what I have heard of their covers album Turn Ons . The video itself I find rather tepid. Not horrible, but not thrilling. Good face-making.



In the part of the previous video where they ride the big wheel down the hill, it put me in mind of this next one -

"Steady as She Goes" - The Raconteurs
: An excellent song with a cute video. Best YouTube comment on this one? "guns dont kill people. people with mustaches kill people."



Cars are so integral to our lives that they feature in a ton of music videos. This is by no means an exhaustive list, nor a best of, just the first few that I thought of tonight. Now I am going to bed early, as I have to be up for the ordeal of getting a new windshield tomorrow.

Do you have any favorite videos that mention/feature cars?

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Friend post

Friends can have a lot of influence in our lives - this post is devoted to Miss Michael, who is currently visiting. I used to be a huge fan of making mix CDs (still am), and I would give them to friends, especially a mutual friend "L" who is the reason I met Michael in the first place. Part of the reason we bonded as teenagers was our shared love of music (specifically the Travis song "Flowers in the Window"). Over the years, this translates to a number of bands/songs that I might not otherwise have heard, and vice versa.

So to commemorate her visit (in-between our discussion of music/TV/movie husbands, watching of Buffy and Hot Fuzz, and our adventuring about town) a post:

First, our shared love of Travis - "Why Does it Always Rain on Me": a classic video, simple, but cute. Two things we love: Scotland, and kilts.


A video from an artist that she introduced to me -

"Black White" - The Raveonettes: (from the excellent Gap "Sound of Color" ad series):



An artist that I introduced her to -

"Strange Powers" - The Magnetic Fields: who need to make more videos, so that we have more to showcase, please! But their musical body of work is magnificent.



Up next, she will guest blog a couple of her notable videos!

*** Following by Miss Michael ***

Shirley Manson & Elijah Wood in "Les enfants s'ennuient le dimanche" [Oliver Peoples 2010 campaign] (directed by Autumn de Wilde):
Okay, I know this is technically an advertisement, but seriously, what's not to love? Music, good. Shirley Manson, good. Elijah Wood, very good. It's very whimsical, but borderline creepy because they almost seem like siblings. Or maybe step siblings a la The Royal Tenenbaums (or Cruel Intentions, if you want to trash it up a little).



"Limon y Sal" - Julieta Venegas:
This video is so charming. I like the song, even though I have little to no clue what she's saying, but I especially like the storyline and the fairy tale qualities.


*** End guest blog ***


Those are two adorable videos, thank you Miss Michael! I could just eat up Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson in that ad.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Puppets!

Somewhere between creepy and adorable, there are music videos that feature puppets.

If you are not a puppet fan, this is not the post for you.

I'm going to mention a few of my favorites, ones that I had seen/thought of prior to digging deeper - unfortunately I discovered my list is not extremely original (a disappointing blow, indeed), as I found out this morning after a little googling, which led me to find there are several other lists previously compiled. And they do include a lot of the ones I will talk about, and some I had not seen before like "Flat Beat". But I hadn't read those before, so LOL. I will cite them for reference: in a 2007 post, Culture Bully listed their Top 5 music videos w/puppets, the comments on the post list several more, which make for a very entertaining click-through). A 2009 Yahoo Music blog had a considerably longer list, which I thought included some great newer ones.

There's probably some kind of deeper analysis to be done of puppet videos, here's a short list of possible topics for rants on the subject:
* Do they do things we can't do/show people doing?
* Do they represent our trapped meaningless lives?
* Is this just a ploy to make a video that people will talk about / is it just an easy way to make your video more 'whimisical' or 'quirky'?
* Are most of these videos made by white rock/pop bands? And therefore, are puppets racist?
* Why do I like puppet videos so much? Am I sucker for adorable things?
Provide your detailed answers in the comments, folks, I'm sure you have opinions.

Let's get to it by starting with creepier ones!

First up, a classic - is this the first puppet video ever? Do we know? "Land of Confusion" - Genesis: Not sure how or where I first saw this, but it is super weird and I think definitely falls on the Creepy side of the spectrum.



"Evil" - Interpol: A little creepy because of the extremely flat affect of the singer and the puppet and the disaster setting. I think it actually matches the song/singer's voice perfectly, and was one of the first videos I thought of blogging about.



"Keep Fishin'" - Weezer: This was on both of the aforementioned lists, and for good reason. It has the actual Muppets. And it's cute, especially because Rivers is cute and muppety himself. Weezer has lots of videos with gimmicks - animals, internet memes, herpes-riddled Southern Californians, etc. Some might say that they often have too much gimmick, not enough song, but I generally enjoy Weezer videos, because they really go for it. No self-important "this video is just us standing and playing our song"... they tend to have a lot going on. Is this selling out, or calculated-selling-in-an-ironic-fashion, or is there a difference? Either way, I think this is a cute video.(I know this also opens the ongoing, "does Weezer suck now" can of worms.)



Slightly less famous - another video that actually used to be on my profile - which features not just puppets, but cute animal ones: "In a Funny Way" - Mercury Rev:




"Sugarbaby" - Morningwood: Puppet boobs, vomit, coke and other things... I laughed so hard when I first saw this. I'm glad to see it was noted in the Yahoo music list. This was another of the ones I saw for the first time and hoped/knew someone would write about.

Morningwood - "Sugarbaby" from Matthew Achterberg on Vimeo.



A more recent one, "Elephant Elephant" - Evelyn Evelyn: just plain super cute, love the toys. Leave it to conjoined twins to make an endearing video!



Finally, "Dog Problems" - The Format: this one doesn't even actually have puppets, just the stripped down, slightly-accessorized hands. This is a nice swingy song, and I loved this video immediately because the hand in the hat is just so sweetly sad throughout - the hand posture/movement is actually strikingly evocative, I think (the backgrounds/lighting contribute a lot). The Format also have another video done in paper/origami.



I feel there are probably at least a few other great ones out there, that I just don't know about. Educate me! Comment with which ones you like, which you think sucked, or ones you think I overlooked. Suggestions for upcoming themes are also always welcome.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Profile songs Pt. 2

This week has been passing much too slowly. But the weather here is supposed to hit 70F tomorrow, and that prospect fills me with delight. I'm exhausted but in a good mood, so here are just a few more previous/current profile videos.

Another profile video consideration: a good mix of simple and elaborate videos. Not everything on one's page should feature monkeys or midgets.


"Lose Big" - Eef Barzelay: Love this song, love this man, love Clem Snide. Hard.


Next, I didn't start out liking Lady Gaga, I thought Poker Face was kind of annoying... but then she made Paparazzi, and it was stuck in my head for a full month (was eventually saved from it by Monsters of Folk). Damnably catchy. And I have to say, I think this is a great video. It's long, it tells a story, there's a lot going on but it's not overwhelming, stylish, and very entertaining. Also: Alexander Skarsgard.



"Thou Shalt Always Kill" - Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip: Another entertaining song. One of the best parts is his beard.



And lastly, "It's Alright" - Echo & The Bunnymen: Between the tinsel and the camera switches, it's not my favorite video... but a great song. (And the video is maybe slightly better than the one for "Nothing Lasts Forever" in which he kinda slowly mopes around in Morocco.)


What is (or has been) featured on your profile(s)?

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Covers: Ben Folds covers Elliott Smith

Since I did just talk about Elliott Smith, here's a little cover action, from a tweet today from The Onion , A.V. Club. They have a covers thing going on, and I'm glad that of all the people who could have picked this song to cover, it was Ben Folds.


Ben Folds covers Elliott Smith

Bonus: a fun site to explore: The Covers Project

Profile songs Pt. 1

What, if any, music videos are currently set to display on your Myspace/Facebook/whatever page? Was it a hard decision, or you did you just know you had to have the song up because it's your jam?

My Myspace page, back in the day, had a long list of bands (alphabetized, naturally) that I was into, with the 'major' ones in bold (Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith, Morrissey, and so forth), with some videos thrown in. I didn't really agonize over the list though, I just put in all the stuff I most often listened to, and tried to pick a good video that showcased a great artist, or a beloved song, or a cool concept.

Later in life, I removed most of that kind of thing, as well as a lot of other personal information. But my Facebook page still has a Music tab, that I don't really pay that much attention to. I say that, yet I have 29 videos on that tab, and have 'iLike'd 120 artists and 99 songs... but I am pretty sure that absolutely nobody ever clicks on that tab, and I rarely add to it anymore.

So does it matter? Does it do anybody any good to have it? I say yes. Music choices on social media let us share a little of ourselves with the public. Whether the public cares or not is irrelevant. If a friend of mine wants to catch a tiny glimpse of what makes me tick, they can click. (This would also apply to things like Goodreads shelves, except I don't use that because I read a lot of everything, and I don't think it would say much of anything useful for people except that I am a giant nerd, which my friends already know.)

Since this project is still beginning, what better to introduce myself with than videos that have been displayed on my profile pages (at one time or another).



Here goes:

"Coming Up Roses" - Elliott Smith: An early song, an early video - nothing too thrilling video-wise, but it has a stripped down charm. Elliott Smith is a huge artist for me. I still count seeing him play live as one of my best show memories (even though, or because of the fact that my concert buddy and I almost didn't make it to the show).




"Apply Some Pressure" - Maximo Park: Again, a simple video. I picked this because at the time they didn't have that much stuff out that I could find in video, and I happen to just adore this song. You might not be able to tell just from his toe-tapping, but this man can *dance* like a maniac.




"Closer" - Travis: This one might be considered trying too hard, as it is a little dreamy and twee, but A)part of the reason I like Travis is for their dedicated earnestness B) who hasn't wanted to dance in a grocery store at some point? And C)I have been in this grocery store!




"Tomorrow" - Morrissey: A lot of his videos are him randomly walking about. Not a thrilling visual, but works considering the theme of most of his body of work (loneliness, etc.). And the young Moz is adorable.



And this post is getting too long, but for last - with more of a theme this time - "Dani California" - Red Hot Chili Peppers: a super fun video featuring costumes! And, *excellent face making* by the band.

Red Hot Cili Peppers-Dani California Music video

MySpace Video



Part two, with a couple more, may come sometime later.


***
Side note related to Elliott Smith - Roger Waters apologizes for his people pasting an ad over Elliott Smith memorial wall. As he should! Even if you don't know the artist, it's clearly a memorial wall and the wrong place for ads.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Dancing!

A nod to Pajiba (Scathing Reviews. Bitchy People.) for having a post today featuring the Hugh Jackman Lipton commercial.

Hugh Jackman Lipton Ice Tea commercial (the comments say the song is "Funky Boogie" by John Ozilla). Mass dancing, catchy tune = great.



A commercial like this is something I enjoy, because basically this is a music video featuring a reasonably attractive man dancing in a suit. Which I kinda love. Also of note - this Diet Coke commercial... (comments say the song is "I like the way you move" - BodyRockers).



Is this a theme for beverage commercials? I could stand this being carried over into commercials for other products.

Anyways, I've seen both of these commercials before, but do enjoy re-watching. Possibly several times. And I don't even drink Diet Coke anymore.

And of course a Pajiba commenter had a link ready to the CLASSIC Christopher Walken dancing Fat Boy Slim video. Which is similar, but better, because: Christopher Walken dancing. The innate creepiness and WTF factor just works so well.

The Fat Boy Slim video is, as I mentioned, a classic, and actually one of the first videos I had in mind for this blog (as an example of sheer awesomeness). Simple concept, brilliant execution.


Saving the best for last, the OG himself dancing: "Weapon of Choice" - Fat Boy Slim

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Earworm: "Send Me an Angel"

Likely to be a common theme for future posts: "that song that's stuck in my head." Today's gem: Send Me an Angel - Real Life.

I really should pick something more auspicious for a first real post, but it's late and I still need to pack my lunch for work tomorrow, and this song has been melting my brain all day.

An 80s hit with a delightful super cheesy epic fantasy thing going on... and I love how ugly the guy is (it warms my soul).

Welcome

Music videos are an often under-appreciated art form. Done well, they are sublime. Done poorly, and you have most of what passes for a video nowadays. Just kidding! I am not that old and cranky (yet).

There's a wealth of great videos out there floating around: I aim to pick a few for discussion on some kind of quasi-regular basis. They might be transcendental, terrible, or just plain weird. They may feature puppets or midgets or animals. We probably won't agree on some. Some are iconic. Regardless, I will probably find something to say about them. And about whatever else I'm in the mood to discuss, from other music-related topics to the occasional overshare or cat photo. 

Feel free to comment, the usual "vaguely on-topic, civil, blah blah blah" guidelines apply.