Michael Lawrence, director: "David (from Levek) and I spoke for months about the meaning behind the album, "Black Mold Grow" in particular. Similar images kept on coming into both of our heads - a gauzy, transcendental view on a young woman's struggle with her psyche. Creating the film was an organic process - everything from the original script to the end product was guided by the nature surrounding us. The locations and environments added a large scope to the film — but, more than anything, created a backdrop for a character-driven story to unfold in a spontaneous, genuine way."
"I've always been suspicious of TV, I've always found music and video to be an unhappy marriage." — Keith Richards
I really like this new Rolling Stones song. I also really like the lyric video, which was a nice Banksy feel to it. But what I like best is that somebody probably had to explain what a lyric video is to Keith Richards, which was probably an amazing conversation. --> watch "Doom And Gloom"
Dugan O'Neal, director: "Who doesn't love awkward family photos? It is a
cultural pastime that has had long lasting power. It's something that almost
everybody can relate to and understand. For the last several years, I have
had a folder of awkward family photos on my computer that I continuously add to.
I always knew somewhere in the midst of all that awkwardness was a really fun
video.
Rik Cordero, director: The blaxploitation genre has been parodied relentlessly over the decades so it was important for me to not only watch key films (Superfly, Black Ceasar, Bucktown, Hell Up In Harlem, Velvet Smooth) but also to create a narrative script treatment that followed a traditional three act structure. I felt it would make it easier to create an actual movie trailer and we would be able take snippets from those acts to show the progression of the character and make it feel like a legit attempt at a low budget movie rather than just a parody.
Three legitimate contenders for Baddest Man Alive + One Fortune Cookie = Total chaos.
RZA and The Black Keys square off against each other, causing much damage to a restaurant and lots of bodily harm to anyone that gets in their way. You'll need to stick with this kickass clip until the end to see who reigns supreme, but it's not who you think. --> watch "The Baddest Man Alive"
Although Breakin' meets Slumdog Millionaire sounds like a crazy film pitch, it works just fine in this cinmeatic video tale about real-life dancer B-Boy Mouse who escaped a rough life Manila to become a UK breakdance champion. Director Josh Cole structures things well, first showing the harsh reality of Mouse's childhood home, before zooming out with swirling Octocopter camera moves that make the byzantine mess of crime and chaos of Manila readily apparent. --> watch "Not Giving In"
Director Nicholaus Goossen engineers a series of magic tricks for this dubby cut from Cisco Adler featuring G-Eazy and Don Carlos. If only there was a magic trick to get Google's AutoComplete from prompting you with the word "balls" every time you search for Cisco Adler. --> watch "Boom Boom Boom"
Cisco Adler f/ G-Eazy & Don Carlos"Boom Boom Boom" (Bananabeat)Nicholaus Goossen, director
How's this for irony: A music video originally banned by MTV's legal department for directly mocking many of their corprate sponsors, wound up winning the VMA for Best Video of the Year.
