November 2012

4x3: The Replacements "Bastards Of Young" (1986)

Imagine coming home from school, turning on MTV and seeing this:

A perfect Replacements video, even if I wish it were for their all-time great anti-video screed, "Seen Your Video" —

All day, all night, all music videoSeen your video, the phony rock 'n' rollWe don't want to know, seen your videoYour phony rock 'n' rollWe don't want to know

WATCH IT: Rihanna "Diamonds" (Anthony Mandler, dir.)

Rihanna continues her blistering music video pace, delivering a hypnotic, soaring clip that could almost be in competition as a Bond theme song. Director Anthony Mandler's clip hints at a film trailer for a sexy action movie no one has ever seen. Rihanna loses her grip on a tattooed arm, runs away down a nocturnal road and ends up in the midst of a violent urban uprising, all while floating away on a mysterious sea and singing about sky diamonds. --> watch "Diamonds"

Director Scott Cudmore on Metz "Wet Blanket"

Scott Cudmore, director:

"When writing this video I needed a technique that could visually articulate what METZ sound like, which is where the combination of stereoscopic imagery and extreme slow motion came from. I felt like the dynamic of those two techniques put together could maybe get at that sound in a visual way.

I knew that I didn't want to make a completely abstract video or some kind of super low-fi, grainy video because that all seemed far too obvious an approach and we knew that we didn't want to make a performance video. I knew that I wanted it to be big and cinematic  — the song is big and cinematic to me.

WATCH IT: Amanda Palmer "Do It With A Rockstar" w/ Stoya + Wayne Coyne

This is what a rock 'n' roll video should be. Even without the nudity, the lesbianism, the porn actress guest star and the indie rock royalty cameo. And even if this is meant to be a parody. The basic construct is simple: Trannies and trendsetters lose themselves at a catharctic Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra that makes the wildest Hedwig show look tame by comparison. Nearly everyone gets together in the end — Amanda in bed with porn star Stoya [NSFW], the prudish hipster with the drummer and his big sausage — except for Flaming Lips mastermind Wayne Coyne, who's uncharacteristically the only one who can control his urges. 

WATCH IT: Tame Impala "Feels Like..." (Joe Pelling & Becky Sloan, dir.)

I wish Tame Impala were New Zealanders so I could do a big riff on how this video reminds me of the great animation work of Kiwi indie rock icon Chris Knox, who directed some great DIY clips, including "The Joy Of Sex," "Half Man, Half Mole" and lots more. Alas, Tame Impala are from Australian and one mixes up those two countries at their own peril. Yet, one should never pass up a chance to turn people onto Chris Knox. So there. --> watch "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards"

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