Video: Daft Punk vs Freeland - Aer OBAMA

Just in time for the Jan 20th inauguration, directing team GOLD has released a fun video of Adam Freeland's Aer OBAMA track. The video is a stop motion multimedia piece featuring alt toys designed by Dalek, Bill McMullen and Kubrick. Freeland's Aer OBAMA is a remix of Daft Punk's Aerodynamic, mashed up with other tracks plus a speak-n-spell saying "Say it...O B A M A...You are correct!" OBAMA. Correct!



Less than 7 days remain in the Bush-whack administration. Finally, finally.
I'm counting down in Mexico at the moment and will be back in Seattle in time for inauguration festivities.

Video: autoKratz "Stay the Same"

"Stay the Same" is a fun animation vid, perfect for autoKratz's bleepy, noisy, irresistable beat. It gets bonus points for being particularly appropriate for the holiday turkey dinner season.

Tracks from British duo autoKratz are burning up DJ decks and bouncing dance floors these days. They are represented on the Kitsune label, also home to Digitalism and Simian Mobile Disco. (Love those guys, too!)

Vinyl: Rickie Lee Jones

I'm having a hard time breaking up with Rickie Lee Jones.

In the effort to get rid of more stuff, I'm going through a box of old vinyls which haven't seen daylight in years. I repeat: years. But I'm having a hard time letting go of Miss Rickie on vinyl. I am still loving on this cool chica's music style and street attitude.

I remember seeing her on SNL in 1982, performing Chuck E.'s in Love. I was blown away. I could hardly breathe. It was so different than anything else going on at the time: different from what my friends and I heard played on KJR radio and the like.

And what a cool-headed performer she was. After singing Chuck E., she was unexpected signaled by the producer to play another song because the producers had mis-calculated the show's running time. Seven minutes remained before the end of the show and they were out of material. (That's the "live" part of SNL, kids.) She and her band quickly rolled into Woody and Dutch on the slow train to Peking and filled in another 5 minutes of the show. Woody and Dutch was later released on her second album, Pirates.

I was a youngster and a music neophyte back then. My friends did not understand why I liked her music nor could they see how she was disrupting the pop nonsense of the time. The SNL version of her (stoned?) performance isn't available online, but here's the next best thing: a music video of Chuck E.'s in Love. Stands the test of time, doesn't it? As do several of her other tracks.

How to tell if your co-workers are zombies

Evil Nine's They Live music video illustrates identifying markers of zombie office workers.
The new album They Live drops October 28th in the US. (October 20th in the UK.)



In this vid, the two policemen are Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy (Evil Nine), and I spotted their manager Steve Sattherwhite as one of the office workers. Nice guys, all. Tom's a new daddy, and Steve is newly married. Don't know what's up with Pat -- perhaps he's a real zombie and doesn't just play one on TV.

Music: Bill Frisell for Change

Thanks to my dentist, I have a new crush for come-down music: Bill Frisell. Frisell is recognized as one of the top jazz guitarists in the country and got his major break via a referral from Pat Metheny. (I am so way late to this party, I realize.) And no shit, he lives in Seattle.

Frisell's open, lush phrasing and amazing skill are just the ticket when you're in the mood for chill.

Here's Bill Frisell, with "A Change is Gonna Come." (Appropos for Obama's campaign, yes?)

Blind Date with Okkervil River

I was invited to see Okkervil River at the luscious Triple Door on Wednesday. I couldn't actually name a song of theirs or even their genre, but sure! Why not? I'm open to trying something new.

Thankfully (despite what their name may imply) Okkervil River are not alt-country, or pop-harmony, or anything remotely fleet fox-y. Rather, they are confessional pop rock, fronted by a singer with mannerisms similar to young Paul McCartney. They rocked out, had a few ballads, and played a tight, fun set.

Pretty good hour spent on a blind date with a new (to me) band.



And here's one of their singles, which you might recognize.

Chromeo in my 'hood!

One of my favorite performances of the weekend was the uber fun pair Chromeo. They consistently bring the party with them. First (for me) was the sweaty War Room show last year, then they slayed the Coachella Sahara tent in April, and now Saturday's performance at the Capitol Hill Block Party: spot on good times. These are the sorts of guys you want to hang out with at a house party. Their enjoyment is obvious and they were very gracious to fans who wanted pictures with them after their mainstage show.

In other Chromeo news, MTV premiered their new video for Momma's Boy on Friday. It's a clean b&w animation. Simple drawing is the new black. Tight. Check it.

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Video: Midnight Juggernauts - Into the Galaxy

I was at the Midnight Juggernauts first U.S. show last fall when then opened for Justice at the sold out, and newly opened, Terminal 5 venue in NYC. Love these guys from Oz! What a great discovery. At first listen they sound a lot like Justice BUT stick with it. Trust me. They play instruments and sing! Yay! Big ups for blending pop rock with electronica and pulling it off to cause a to-capacity Terminal 5 crowd to dance like there's no tomorrow.

Midnight Juggernauts also played at Coachella Music Festival this year. Unfortunately I missed it: they had an early timeslot and there was no way we were gonna make it after going to bed at dawn the night(?) before. (Good times.)

Their latest music video, Into the Galaxy, was filmed in the Pyrenees region of France and was created by international design collective Surface 2 Air, who’ve previously produced clips for Justice Vs Simian, Chromeo and Black Kids.

Wouldn't it be rad if Midnight Juggernauts were in the 2008 Decibel Festival final lineup?
G.L.O.R.I.A!

Man Man video: winky winky animation

Man Man's "Mister Jung Stuffed" might not be quite SFW, but watching this animation video is like looking for Waldo: be sure to look to the sides and the background to find all the jokes. You might want to watch it twice.



These punksters are fresh to me. (I know, I know...what rock...yadda, yadda.) I first heard Man Man a couple of weeks ago on the "Welcome to the Desert" compilation CD from Filter magazine.

If you're going to Sasquatch Festival Memorial Day weekend, look for this free CD to be handed out as you exit the grounds. I snagged mine at the Coachella festival last month.

Santogold is not an M.I.A. clone

One of the fresh acts I caught at Coachella this year was Santogold. I didn't see her full set at Coachella: but what I did hear I liked very much. She's got a strong stage presence and knows how to interact with the audience. Her singing was on-key (which can't always be said for M.I.A.).

Admittedly, the track Creator has an M.I.A. vibe to it, however it is more at the genre level. The songs I heard at Coachella had a fun yet complex sound which makes me want to seek out the Santogold LP. In a March NME interview, Santogold (Santi White) describes her self-titled debut album as eclectic, with dub, hip hop, indie, punk, and electronica influences.

Santogold will be playing European festivals all summer, so if you have chance to see her give her a try.
The official video for her single L.E.S. Artistes:

Gnarls Barkley video won't "Run" on UK MTV for now

Billboard reports the new Gnarls Barkley video "Run" has failed the Harding Test and will not be shown on US UK MTV until modified.

Update (thanks Luna-See!): "Run" will premier on US MTV's TRL on Thursday as originally scheduled. UK airing to follow, after modification to pass the previously-unheard-of-but-now-we're-aware Harding Test.

Gnarls Barkley's Danger Mouse weighs in:
"I don't know exactly what's going on, but we're having issues. I think [the video] is cool. It works for me. But I'm not necessarily that easily seasick," he says with a laugh. "We can't predict how people are going to interpret it."

For now, if you want to see Justin Timberlake geeked out and not taking any sexy back, catch it online. (Be careful, kids.)

HAPPY directs new Gnarls Barkley music video

A new Gnarls Barkley video for the single "Run" (off their upcoming release) has been released for airplay. Directed by HAPPY duo Richard Farmer and Guy Shelmerdine, the 3:27 video plays off an American Bandstand send-up and includes B boys and girls busting out the moves. Infectious, fun, and potentially seizure-inducing.
Speaking of, from the Gnarls Barkley website: "Contrary to rumor, MTV and VH1 censors did not reject the video because of liability issues related to strobe effects and seizures. 'Initially, there were fears the video was going to fail the Harding Test,' says a spokesperson for the band. 'But, for the moment, indications lead us to believe the video passed.'”
Judge for yourself. Best have a spotter, just in case.



Cheers for HAPPY! Good peeps, those.
Disclosure: I’m nearly a relative to HAPPY: my sister to her husband to his cousin = is married to one of the Happy fellas. (Pay attention: it might be on the final.)

New Justice video by So Me: DVNO

The electronic French duo Justice released their latest video, for the track DVNO (one of my favs from the "Cross" album). The vid is by So Me, the label art director and fellow DJ on the Ed Banger crew.



The production is an animation ala The Electric Company TV show back in the day. That is, 70s retro look, but brighter, smoother, and sparklier. Bonus too: as one commenter has already stated, we now know what it is they are saying. It isn't "ladies out west" (darn), it is "ladies all waxed."

Justice's previous video, D.A.N.C.E., won the "Video Star" award from European MTV and it was nominated for the MTV best video award in 2007.

Justice are currently on tour in North America through April. Schedule.

Looking for tickets

I didn't plan ahead and CL listings are sparse.
So now I'm trying to locate a few tickets for tonight for this:


watch video

Be in a music video on Sunday

Indie rock group The Lonely H will be filming a music video on Sunday in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle and are looking for lots of extras.

"We’re shooting a music video for our song 'Hair' and we need a good crowd of people to be in it with us. Can you please volunteer to be in it? We’re shooting in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle this Sunday, January 13th. We’d need your help rocking with us from 6:00pm to 9:30pm. If you can be in it, please email the video producer: fred@southdowncreative.com – also, please email Fred a picture (we want everyone, but we want to make sure we’re getting a good variety of people).
Thanks. Please help, and we look forward to seeing you Sunday!"

What else ya got going on this Sunday evening, hmmm?
Tivo Desparate Housewives and watch it later.

Björk: Declare Independence

Björk is so rad.
It's a given this would be too.


Director: Michel Gondry, Production company: Partizan