In almost every description of this video I’ve seen, someone uses the word “hypnotic”, and that’s precisely what this video is. Directed by the always-awesome Michael Gondry, everything in the video syncs up to something in the music. I’ve watched this video dozens of times and still catch something new each time.
Watch this video, be completely hypnotized by it (see what I did there?), then watch the making of video to see just how intricate this video really is.
This track was a B-side on Hot Chip’s single Ready For The Floor. It’s a little different from the usual Hot Chip electro-pop fare; more of a distorted, quirky dance track. A little more bouncy than you might usually expect, fittingly. Make sure you stick around for the last minute, which is almost another song all to itself.
This is Robyn’s cover of that Teddybears song that everyone has heard at some point in their lives, whether they realize it or not — “Cobrastyle” — which probably came about due to her working with Klas Åhlund, a member of the Teddybears, in production of the album.
Robyn puts her own cute spin on the Jamaican vernacular (courtesy of Mad Cobra, originally) that made the original so catchy and fun to tap your foot to to and leaves a song that is still fun and catchy, but with a sizeable injection of silly and sexy. It practically demands repeat plays.
Continuing the mashup theme from yesterday’s post on the Kleptones, here’s Girl Talk. Probably better known than The Kleptones (outside the UK, at least, where they come from), and very well known for his live shows, which frequently end up with half the audience in attendance on stage dancing along in various stages of undress. I haven’t had the pleasure myself, but I hear it’s a hell of a live show.
Anyway, Girl Talk is the stage name of Greg Gillis, who hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He makes his music almost completely by mixing samples from other artists’ songs, running the complete gamut of genres — from Black Eyed Peas and 50 Cent, up to Jefferson Airplane, The Pixies, and Britney Spears. In the liner notes for the album this track comes from, Night Ripper, he thanks over 100 artists (most of which haven’t actually give him permission to use their music).
It’s pretty hard to pick out one track from the album, since they all blend in to each other, but this one stands out pretty well on its own. You can try and spot all the samples used — which range from LL Cool J to Neutral Milk Hotel, and Juelz Santana to Steely Dan — but with at least 14 of them, I bid you good luck. (When you give up, here’s a list of them.)
Cristina Monet recorded this cover of the Peggy Lee classic way back in 1980. Although it wasn’t realeased for some time, after the song’s original composers, apparently rather offended at Cristina’s judicious alteration of the lyrics (“And then I fell in love with the most wonderful boy in Manhattan, we’d take long walks down the river, and he beat me black and blue, and I loved it”), sued.
Despite how long ago this was recorded, it really doesn’t sound dated at all. It’s got a really infectious disco/polka sound to it that would surely have the contents of any New York club up and dancing.
I’m salivating in anticipation of the release of Cut Copy’s latest album In Ghost Colours. The Aussie synthpoppers have had me burning up the kitchen tiles with my new wave moves since I first heard their single “Hearts on Fire.” While recently released in the band’s homeland on March 22nd, the album will not hit U.S. shelves until April 8th.
The latest 80’s time warp off the album, “Lights & Music” is a healthy dose of New Order, a smidgen of Human League, and all dancefloor-friendly. The album in its entirety is available for streaming on the band’s MySpace. For now, treat your eyes and ears to these rather fetching lads in the single’s accompanying video.
So, I am Tuneage’s newest contributor, Jillian. I am both grateful and excited to have this opportunity to share music with you. While it’s true I have a penchant for the 80s in all its keytar glory, I also enjoy glam rock, punk rock, indie rock, classic rock, soft rock, hard rock, and pop. Even so, I tend to avoid classifying music by genre and make no distinction between a guilty pleasure and a really great song.
This edit of Justice’s DVNO comes from The Subs’ Tonic, combining the original version and Surkin’s excellent remix. It’s a remix of a remix — a threemix! We posted the video for DVNO a few weeks ago, if you want to hear the original.
And, because it’s such a frequent question, this is what DVNO means, courtesy of Justice’s Xavier de Rosnay:
In every suburb of the world, in every city, there’s always a nightclub called El Divino […] Clubs where you have to wear like a white shirt to get in.
The music video for Justice’s DVNO. This is such an excellent music video; it’s so fucking retro (if you’ll pardon my language) and perfectly-executed. I know the graphic designers are going to be all over this, heaping praise upon it.
And if you love it as much as I do, you’ll want to download the full-size, high resolution versions available from here, if you use the username “justice” and password “dvno”.
Can you name a better go-to song for a Friday night?
Here’s the video for “Cassius” from the Foals’ forthcoming album Antidotes. Hearts on ropes, pill puppets, and excellent hairstyles. I really, really love this song, it’s catchy as hell, and it’s a nice video too.
The Foals have been pegged for success by just about every music critic this side of the Atlantic pond now, and the hype is really building. The album is due 24/3 here in the UK, and 4/8 in the US. (It’s already leaked to the file-sharing networks, if you really can’t wait that long.)
Note: The last video embedded was removed due to copyright claim. I’ve added a different one, but it may not last long.
Day One are one of the great bands to come out of Bristol’s Trip Hop scene. This track comes from their 2005 album Probably Art. (You can buy it from their record label’s shop here, if you like it.)
