Carmela Makela

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Paul McCartney "Early Days" (Vincent Haycock, dir.)

First off, don't pay attention to the bullshit headlines about Johnny Depp being in the new Paul McCartney video. Not that they aren't true — he has a cameo in a performance set-up with Sir Paul and some blues musicians — but we've been there and done that. Go watch "My Valentine" which is All Depp, All The Time, or the star-studded "Queenie Eye" video. In this case, Johnny Depp is the least notable thing about this video, which I mean as a compliment to all involved.

"Early Days" imagines the story of a rock band from the roots-up, sprouting to life far away from money and fame — and far away from The Beatles' Liverpool hometown. We're down in The Delta, circa the late 1950s, where a mixed-race band is defying all kinds of odds to reach a level of purity, success and maybe even a little peace.

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Spiritualized "I Am What I Am" (AG Rojas, dir.) [viewer discretion]

Director AG Rojas has discovered another America... Focusing on towns and people and situations you'd likely rather ignore, but need to be seen. "I Am What I Am" is set in Taft, CA, which he previously introduced us to via the short film "Cody," coincidentally shot in the immediate wake of a school shooting and concurrently with this piece. 

"I Am What I Am" stars Rory Culkin as a young man very much in need of transcendence. And he eventually achieves liftoff, but I don't know if it leads to a better place.

It's a powerful short film, even if it's likely a tough watch for most people, but one that needed to be seen.

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Atmosphere "Ain't Nobody" (Carmela Makela, dir.)

Atmosphere - Ain't Nobody

In an ideal world, the two cold vixens in this video would become a new generation's version of the "Addicted To Love" babes. If anything, these ladies seem a lot easier to hang out with than the Palmerettes, happy to lounge and spread their legs while the boys do what boys like to do. Which is much more chaste than it sounds.