New Releases

WATCH IT: Hot Chip "Don't Deny Your Heart" (Peter Serafinowicz, dir.)

You didn't think an English electronic band like Hot Chip would play Madden on their tour bus, did you? Football is Soccer for these blokes and their custom video game concentrates more on the drama than the sport, before rocketing into outerspace (literally) and some passionate gameplay that takes sportsmanship to a new level. --> watch "Don't Deny Your Heart"

Hot Chip "Don't Deny Yourself"Peter Serafinowicz, director

WATCH IT: The Rolling Stones "Doom And Gloom" (Jonas Akerlund, dir.)

Surrounded by gluttony, greed, sex and all the other supposed deadly sins have no effect on The Rolling Stones, who plow straight ahead with their best single in years (and not just because it's their only single in years). While the band are as undeterred as always on the task at hand, director Jonas Akerlund  sets actress Noomi Rapace on a chaotic (and sometime topless) journey that hurtles toward madness and runs the gamut from a Zombie attack to fronting The Stones for a few quick shots. --> watch "Doom And Gloom"

WATCH IT: Kid Cudi/WZRD "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie" (Walter Robot, dir.)

I wonder if it's a coincidence that the two videos that feature Kid Cudi dreaming were both initially shelved, only to leak later on to raves. The last one was the trippy Megaforce opus "Pursuit Of Happiness" and now we have "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie" from his rock project WZRD. Walter Robot mine similar night terror territory — but on a smaller scale — that's typified by a beating heart bed and a chasm in the floor. --> watch "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie"

WATCH IT: Mr MFN eXquire "The Message" (Shane Annas, dir.)

Cudi says, "All my videos will be in a baroque frame. I create art, so it will be presented as such. ART IN MOTION," thus resurrecting the old "Award Tour" vibe. That trend continues with Mr MFN eXquire rocking a  skeuomorphic Gold Frame border. Also a potential trend? Using Al Jazeera instead of CNN as the template for a fake news broadcast.  --> watch "The Message Pt 1 & 2"

WATCH IT: Florence + The Machine "Lover To Lover" (Vincent Haycock, dir.)

In the past few years we've seen more and more "narrative" videos that are shot with a "you are there" documentary vibe, doing away with the old A/B structure interspersing performance around a story. "Lover To Lover" has performance, but it's done in a style that matches the new verite/dogma vibe: Florence Welch doesn't perform to camera; She remains in-character, singing in a way that feels real to this story  of a isintegrating relationship. And director Vincent Haycock never lets the story dictate the flow, smartly prioritizing the emotional heft as she moves from fiery rage to serene release.

WATCH IT: R.E.M. "Blue" (James Franco, dir.)

I think this video has more to do with a Lindsay Lohan comeback than a return from the mighty R.E.M. Or maybe R.E.M. intends to be as idiosyncratic in their retirement as they were as a working band. Why can't they make videos for old songs if the stars align? And they do alighn here:  Actor James Franco directs and co-stars in this blue-tinted and hazy portrait of Lohan in L.A. as she bounces from place to place, including a photo shoot with Terry Richardson. --> watch "Blue"

WATCH IT: Sigur Ros "Valtari" (Christian Larson, dir.)

Can you stand 10 minutes of slow seduction expressed through a painstakingly gorgous modern dance between two lovers in what looks like the remnants of a factory destroyed by the apocalypse? What if I told you they get naked? And, that my friends, is how you lure em in for what's essentially a tribute to telling a story through the art of dance. --> watch "Valtari"

WATCH IT: Win Win "After We Wait" (Bo Mirosseni, dir.)

People from all sorts of weird walks of life come to aid of a stranded motorist in this Win Win video directed by Bo Mirosseni. Is it a metaphor for teamwork or soemthing else? Is the tuxedoed driver some kind of deity? Are people this odd ever so altrustic? The answers are out there.. maybe. --> watch "After The Wait"and check an interview with Bo Mirosseni @ The Creators Project