November 2012

WATCH IT: How To Destroy Angels "Ice Age" (John Hillcoat, dir.)

There's a series of collisions in this beautiful new How To Destroy Angels video, even if you never see any of them on-screen. There's the modern electronic rhythms of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, finding expression on acoustic instruments and old-school floppy-disc tech; There's waves of analog static and digital distortions rippling through the other otherwise pristine, classical cinematography; And then there's the memories flooding singer Mariqueen Maandig's head, even as tries to freeze them out and look out into the infinite sea.  --> watch "Ice Age"

WATCH IT: 50 Cent f/ Adam Levine & Eminem "My Life" (Rich Lee, dir.)

Confucius allegedly said no matter where we go, we cannot escape ourselves. 50 Cent, Eminem and Adam Levine try to to do just that in this clip from director Rich Lee. The performers are caught in a moody world of sweeping searchlights and unseen observers where they cannot leave behind the truth that is their lives. Also, from the looks of this edgy nocturnal world, the paparazzi have militarized. And perhaps Fiddy, Em and Adam need to read the truth about black heliopters. --> watch "My Life"

WATCH IT: The Zolas "Knot In My Heart" (Sean Arden, dir.)

This stop-motion clip picks up momentum as it progresses, bouncing back and forth from photo strips to the real world while retaining a magical vibe.

Sean Arden, director: "In the end we shot over 3,000 frames at night, each one a long exposure. All of the location shooting with live characters took six grueling nights, from dusk 'til dawn... There was a moment I remember standing on the street at 4 am knowing that I just had to get ten yards ahead but knowing that it would take three hours to do that. It was a bit excruciating … After four hours of shooting we'd have ten measly seconds of actual footage but the worst part was that those ten seconds looked so beautiful we couldn't even whine about it."

--> watch "Knot In My Heart"

Director Ryan Hope on Wiz Khalifa f/ The Weekend "Remember You"

A countergirl gets lured into an erotic underworld from which there's no escape. Unless a future installment offer a ray of sunshine, perhaps?

Ryan Hope, director: "Working with Wiz and The Weekend was great. Its rare these days for artists to put 100% trust in your creative, but when we spoke about ideas Wiz said as long as I'd be happy to put my name on it I could do what I wanted — which I thought brave to have faith in an Englishman he's never met.  We shot the video in Toronto as part of an extended narrative for the whole album."

--> watch "Remember You"

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