The Directors Bureau

WATCH IT: M.I.A. "Born Free" (Romain Gavras, dir.)

All the opening actions in this forceful new video from M.I.A. are red herrings. Some pun intended. Director Romain Gavras delivers an allegory that perfectly captures the anger and message of "Born Free," while also delivering what amounts to a powerful rebuttal to the anti-immigrant zeitgeist that's now crescendoed with Arizona's "show me your papers" law. A powerful, sure-to-be controversial video. Warning: The video takes a very disturbing turn about midway through. There's also brief nudity. --> watch "Born Free"

WATCH IT: Liars "Scissor"

Liars frontman Angus Andrew is a survivor, floating along in a life raft in the middle of the ocean. Problem is, it keeps filling up with stones that come splashing out of the water and into his vessel. Escaping to a nearby boat doesn't offer any respite from the stoning problem. In fact, things only get much more hectic. Moral of the story: Sometimes you can't escape a sinking ship. --> watch "Scissor" [note: Video Static provides music video promotion services for Mute Records]

NEW RELEASE: Blonde Redhead "23"

After more than a decade away from the video scene, director Melodie McDaniel returns with a trippy, experimental performance video for NYC's Blonde Redhead. Singer Kazu Makino is layered inside smoke, lights and colors  as she asks a friend  to repent any number of times. I'm not sure the number 23 has any significance here, but the video does share some similarities with one made seven years ago for a band with five letters in its name: Doves "Catch the Sun."