Is this metal gone meta? Directing duo Daniels present a series of video mishaps — all under the guise of video "rough cut" — to match this musical tale of Tenacious D and the epic flop that was their movie/sophomore album, The Pick of Destiny. "Rize Of The Fenix" finds The 'D undeterred, rising higher than ever before to battle demons and conquer the rock landscape. Even if nothing goes as planned — there are missing shots, unrendered effects, green screen disasters and in-jokes that won't go beyond the production geek community — it's perfect as it is. --> watch "Rize of The Fenix"
Do you think the big businesses counting on all that Foster The People revenue don't have a back-up plan in case disaster strikes? Of course not. When a lighting rig collapses and knocks out the guys, a gang of silhoutte-suited Kurokos keep them performing. The trick gets refined — a green-screen squad is brought in to be even more invisible, while the band members get new ciruitry and parts — until FTP have been made into a perfectly compliant pop machine. Cool concept. Even cooler execution.--> watch "Houdini"
For anyone not moved by that Karate Kid remake with one of the many Will Smith side projects (aka 'offspring'), The Temper Trap offer up a version that's focused on the old-school 80s vibe of the original. Director Dugan O'Neal starts with the familiar story of waxing off and on, but then takes it to a whole new place. Q: What if Daniel-san were not the hero of the story and the Cobra Kai guy never swept the leg? A: They'd obviously team up and become Double Dragon. --> watch "Need Your Love"
Wild Horses pull away some explosive paint plugs in this surreal Scissor Sisters which mixes slo-mo equine grandeur with a paint dousing section that, depending on your age/sensibility, will remind you of a) Blue Man Group, b) Getting slimed, or c) Carrie.
Jennifer Lopez first worked with director Paul Hunter over a dozen years ago on her breakthrough video (and prescient predictor of Chatroulette) "If You Had My Love." Now they are back with Pitbull, some disco glitter and Lionel Richie's old gimbal from 'Dancing on the Ceiling'. Unsure if the embroidered silk bondage blindfold is product placement, but it should be. --> watch "Dance Again"
Norah Jones is not on a romantic weekend trip. In fact, it's more of a working vacation as Ms. Jones is up to something sneaky that becomes clearer as the video progresses. (In other words: No spoilers). --> watch "Happy Pills"
Screw The Hunger Games. Foster The People frontman Mark Foster, DJ A-Trak of Duck Sauce fame and Kimbra (aka: the chick on that Gotye song who is about to breakthrough as a solo artist) find themselves conscripted into both a wild Lucha Libre wrestling competition and a music/video piece sponsored by Converse/Journeys. The stakes seem pretty high, the fighting is full contact and, yes, everyone wears Converse shoes.
A strange, yet beautiful vision quest that pulls you in with shrieking nuns, evil clowns, disintegrating flesh,baroque setpieces and fire fire everywhere. I'd like to think it's all just a nightmare of three little kids (Cudi The Kid, Travis The Kid and Kid Aoki) who equally hate Catholic School and the circus, but it could just be a very bad Peyote Trip. --> watch "Cudi The Kid"
