How to destroy angels_ - "How long?" (Official Music Video)

Trent Reznor's How to destroy angels_ have shared the brutal, dystopian video for their track "How long?", directed by Shynola. It's off their upcoming album Welcome oblivion, which is out on March 5 via Columbia. Watch it below, via NPR.

The band, which also includes Reznor's wife Mariqueen Maandig and longtime collaborators Rob Sheridan and Atticus Ross, will make their live debut at Coachella.

Animal Collective - "Applesauce" (Official Music Video)

In making their video for the frantic Centipede Hz track “Applesauce,” Animal Collective enlisted Gaspar Noé, the filmmaker behind the fucked-up movies Irreversible and Enter The Void (as well as Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ recent “We No Who U R” video). The whole video is just a close-up on a woman’s lips as she eats fruit and the screen behind her furiously strobes in different colors. In order for the video to properly break your brain, watch it in the dark.

Hem – “Tourniquet”

While Hem’s “Tourniquet” is born of the troublesome past they had as a band — “Everything about who we were, where we lived, and how we related to each other seemed beyond repair,” band pianist-songwriter Dan Messe told NPR — its video is one of the most delightful things to come across our screens in 2013 so far. The animated cityscapes inhabited by anthropomorphic townspeople are meant to symbolize functioning in society while maintaining your own primal desires and need to survive. And with its bright colors and whimsical paper cutouts, it’s hard to fall victim to the track’s somber tone.

Jamie Lidell – “You Naked”

Jamie Lidell is essentially the Warp Records D’Angelo — a master-craftsmen of genre hybrids packing potent lyrical punches of love. With “You Naked,” one would think Lidell would deliver something a little bit more salacious, but this video is extremely safe for work. In fact, if anything, it’s as if he’s gotten trapped in an iTunes Visualizer, each new laser pattern mimicking the waves of the song.

Bob Mould – “Star Machine”

Bob Mould’s terrific 2012 album Silver Age opens with three flawless tracks — “Star Machine,” the title track, and “The Descent” — none of which are especially lighthearted, but now two of them have been paired with genuinely funny videos. “The Descent” vid featured Bob as a corporate-drone-turned-off-the-gridster; the new “Star Machine” clip finds Mould’s band participating in the First Annual Bring Your Kids To Work Day — except that drummer Jon Wurster has just received some devastating news: Karen wants a divorce. In real life, that would be some seriously harrowing shit to deal with, but Wurster gets to play it for (legit) laughs, getting an ill-advised perm in the process.

Syron – “Here”

I don’t know much about Syron, the young London pop singer behind the irresistible single “Here,” but I have a feeling we’re all about to know a whole lot more. “Here” is about as perfect as debut singles get these days: An absolutely luminescent bit of club-pop that effortlessly cycles in about five different recent dance-music trends and still works on classical pop-music terms. The video is all London party-life stuff, and it’s fun; I like her earrings.

Jagwar Ma – “The Throw”

Aussie duo Jagwar Ma are psych-pop profiteers. For the video for “The Throw,” the band cuts down the track from its seven minute lucid journey of dance movements — similar to Matthew Dear’s “Black City,” as it goes from David Bowie-gleaned pop into its David Lynchian hymnal conclusion — into three minutes of sepia-toned bouncing and flashing lights.

Yo La Tengo – “I’ll Be Around” (Feat. Mac McCaughan)

Phil Morrison, who directed the movie Junebug, made the video for Yo La Tengo’s minimal-but-aching Fade ballad “I’ll Be Around,” and it’s a weirdly powerful piece of work. It starts out with Superchunk frontman Mac McCaughan lip-synching the song in some beautifully-shot verdant woods while text flashes on the screen, and it ends up with a tough-to-figure bit of domestic drama involving Yo La Tengo themselves.

Star Slinger – “Ladies In The Back” (Feat. Teki Latex)

“Ladies In The Back,” British producer Star Slinger’s warped club-rap collaboration with funny-looking Parisian rapper Teki Latex, is months old, and we’re only now getting the video. Maybe that’s because it took months to line up the exact right French model girls to grind on each other while Taki and Star Slinger comically jeer. This would be a standard, cliched club-rap video, except, I mean, look at these goofy motherfuckers.

Little Daylight – “Overdose”

Indie pop trio Little Daylight made their mark with a grip of remixes for bands like Penguin Prison, Passion Pit, and Freelance Whales but they prove their dancefloor acumen with their own track “Overdose.” Fans of the new movement of esoteric pop — HAIM, Sky Ferreira — should find a new favorite with this one. It’s glossy, catchy, and full of the kind of thick, radio-ready bass and chirpy, yearning hook that will glue itself to your brain.

The Ruby Suns – “In Real Life”

Ruby Suns are celebrating the release of their new album, Christopher, today by releasing a new video for its single, “In Real Life.” The clip condenses an entire season of an American Idol-style show into four minutes, with Ruby Suns frontman Ryan McPhun playing contestant, judge, and audience member. It’s exactly as weird and funny as it sounds.

John Grant – “Black Belt”

The former Czars frontman John Grant is a world traveler who’s made a ton of music in a bunch of different genres. His last solo album, 2010′s Queen Of Denmark, was meditative folk-rock, recorded with Midlake as his backing band. But now Grant is living in Iceland, and he’s about to release a chilly disco-house album called Pale Green Ghosts, recorded with Biggi Veira of Gus Gus — and as it turns out, the style fits his voice perfectly. As dance albums go, this one is about as emotionally intense as you can imagine, with Grant singing about being HIV-positive.

Soundgarden - "by Crooked Steps" (directed by Dave Grohl )

"By Crooked Steps", the new Soundgarden video directed by Dave Grohl has made it’s online premiere.

Rock and roll insomniac Dave Grohl recently found time to assist Soundgarden in directing their music video for “By Crooked Steps”. And like a true pal, he’s helped smooth the edges of the band’s occasionally pompous tendencies by instilling some Foo Fighters-inspired humor and casting the band as a Segway-driving biker gang. They drink, they smoke, they rock crowds, and somehow make a 15 mph car chase more exhilarating than the entirety of The Fast and The Furious. Watch them Soundgarden boys raise hell over at Antiquiet. And stay tuned for a special cameo by a certain mouse-like DJ.

Deerhoof - "We Do Parties" (Official Music Video)

Deerhoof play with glowsticks, don light-up raver glasses, and do karaoke in this clip for their Breakup Song cut "We Do Parties", directed by Michinori Saigo.

Soundgarden - "by Crooked Steps" (directed by Dave Grohl )

"By Crooked Steps", the new Soundgarden video directed by Dave Grohl has made it’s online premiere.

Rock and roll insomniac Dave Grohl recently found time to assist Soundgarden in directing their music video for “By Crooked Steps”. And like a true pal, he’s helped smooth the edges of the band’s occasionally pompous tendencies by instilling some Foo Fighters-inspired humor and casting the band as a Segway-driving biker gang. They drink, they smoke, they rock crowds, and somehow make a 15 mph car chase more exhilarating than the entirety of The Fast and The Furious. Watch them Soundgarden boys raise hell over at Antiquiet. And stay tuned for a special cameo by a certain mouse-like DJ.

Tame Impala – “Mind Mischief” (NSFW)

Big morning for new music videos! We already got new clips from the Knife and Grizzly Bear, and now here’s Tame Impala’s bug-out clip for the head-blown Lonerism riff-stomper “Mind Mischief.” The video, from director David Wilson, tells the story of a young private school boy having a moment with a ridiculously sexy stoner teacher. A good third of the video is pretty much an extended slo-mo ass-shot of said teacher, and another huge chunk of it is a gloriously NSFW psychedelic animated sequence. The whole idea of the Urban Outfitters-produced video is just dumb fun, but it’s all done pretty expertly. Watch the video and a making-of featurette below.



Director David Wilson reports from the set of Tame Impala's video for "Mind Mischief," co-produced by Urban Outfitters along with Modular Recordings. Read an exclusive interview with the band about the video at http://blog.urbanoutfitters.com/tameimpala.

The Flaming Lips – “Sun Blows Up Today” [Lyric Video]

Yesterday, we learned that the Flaming Lips have a new album called The Terror coming in a few months. The album’s first single is actually a non-album bonus cut called “Sun Blows Up Today,” a euphoric burst of white-noise keyboard explosions and feedback. This song will also soundtrack a Super Bowl commercial this year, which makes sense, since historically gigantic TV audiences love avant-psych freakouts. The band just debuted the song with a lyric video that looks like a laptop exploding inside your brain.

Grizzly Bear – “gun-shy”

Kris Moyes directs the video, and shows the band in all sorts of body-horror situations: Eyes melting, skin bubbling, veins jumping. There’s a part about toenails that seriously queased me right out. And yet Moyes films everything in gorgeous bucolic early-evening light in the middle of verdant woods, its beauty making all these medical tricks somehow harder to turn away from.

The Knife – “Full Of Fire”

It’s been dubbed a short film, which at nine minutes is totally fair; thereby, it’s “A Film By Marit Östberg,” the Stockholm/Berlin-based artist who, according to the Knife, focuses “on images of queer bodies and sexualities” and “sees her work in a wider context of feminist fights and histories.” Accordingly the cast is largely female, heteronormative scenes and attire are twisted, and there are enough nipples to make it NSFW. It’s good, too.

Iceage – “Ecstasy”

Directed by Catherine Pattinama Coleman

Smoke DZA – “Gotham Fucking City” (Feat. Joey Bada$$)

On last year’s K.O.N.Y. mixtape, the well-connected Harlem rapper Smoke DZA linked with the young Brooklyn boom-bap fundamentalist Joey Bada$$ to go all dead-eyed over a mournful old J Dilla beat. And in director A.V. Rockwell‘s new video for the song, we see an inky black-and-white image of the city both guys call home. Nothing good happens to anyone in the video, and considering the recent death of Joey’s friend Capital Steez, its ending has an uncomfortable real-life connection.

Droop-E – “N The Traffic” (Feat J. Stalin & Nite Jewel)

When listening to Nite Jewel’s atmospheric bedroom-pop, most of us would probably not think to ourselves, “This girl should sing rap hooks.” Most of us, then, are not the visionary young rapper/producer Droop-E, the son of Bay Area great E-40. Droop-E wisely figured out that Ramona Gonzalez’s voice would work great on the warped, luxuriant track of his new single “N The Traffic,” which also features fellow Bay rapper J-Stalin. The video, from director Josyln Rose Lyons, casts the three of them in a slow-motion tableau of ’30s nightclub life. It’s a good video and a great song, and you should seriously check it out.

King Krule – “Octopus”

Last year, the young London croaker-songwriter King Krule released his damaged jazz-folk-step “Rock Bottom” b/w “Octopus” single and a head-wrecking odyssey of a video for the A-side. Today, he shares a video for “Octopus,” the B-side. It’s got a smaller scope than the “Rock Bottom” video, but it’s really just as strange — Krule trapped in a bathroom in one of the further-out circles of hell, calmly puffing on a cigarette and ignoring the flashing lights and the girl submerged in inky bathwater. Paraic and Michael Morrissey direct, just as they did with the “Rock Bottom” video.

Foals – “My Number”

The video for Foals’ “My Number” takes the traditional concept for performance video and throws it down the toilet. The clip not only shows what’s going on in the crowd and on stage, but the seedier bits of a rock show.

Helado Negro – “Dance Ghost”

Roberto Carlos Lange’s electronic project Helado Negro has given visuals to their celestial cut “Dance Ghost.” The clip gives a look into the non-beachy part of Miami life, from Jai Alai matches to dark dance clubs.

Widowspeak – “Locusts”

Widowspeak have released a video breathy jam “Locusts” from their sophomore LP Almanac. The black and white clip feels part-cleaned up warehouse gig and part-Lynchian late night television appearance, but wholly suited up with the song’s soft punch.

Takka Takka - When You Leave [Official Video]

Takka Takka have released an animated collage clip for “When You Leave” from their 2012 release A.M. Landscapes. The video, which is filled mostly with newspaper clippings, red silhouettes of women, and cityscapes, was directed by Malcolm Hearn, whose other credits include editing Sufjan Stevens’s The BQE, as well as co-directing the 2011 documentary MAKE, which inspired Stevens’s album The Age of Adz.

Passion Pit – “Carried Away (Tiësto Remix)”

The cheesed-out trance-master and ridiculously well-paid human being Tiësto recently worked his magic on Passion Pit’s gleaming Gossamer gem “Carried Away,” and you can probably guess what the result sounds like before you hit play. One thing you cannot guess, however, is the way this ridiculous and pretty-great music video plays out. It tells the story of a cool new drug — one that, when ingested, causes the user to explode, Jamie Madrox-style, into multiple clones of herself. Some special-effects wizards had fun with this one.

Heems – “Soup Boys”

Heems released a video for “Soup Boys” from his Wild Water Kingdom mixtape. The song is a commentary on drone warfare, and Heems appropriately unveiled the visuals in tandem with this morning’s Presidential Inauguration.

Shugo Tokumaru – “Katachi”

The video for “Katachi,” an orchestral psychedelic song from the Japanese avant-popper Shugo Tokumaru, is a delightfully hypnotic thing, entirely stop-motion animated with cut-out paper shapes. The video adds another cut-out to its ever-shifting kaleidoscopic landscape every split-second, which means somebody put a lot of work into it. Director by Kijek/Adamski (http://kijekadamski.blogspot.com)

Ultraísta – “Wash It Over”

Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich is the boldfaced name in the new trio Ultraísta, but he doesn’t show up in the video for “Wash It Over,” a synthed-up kraut-pop song from the band’s 2012 self-titled debut. Instead, we see swirling, hypnotic color-patterns projected on the face of singer Laura Bettinson.

The Cribs – “Leather Jacket Love Song”

“Leather Jacket Love Song” is an as-yet-unreleased 2010 song from UK brother band the Cribs, recorded during the period when Johnny Marr was in the band, and it’s about to show up on the band’s new career-spanning collection Payola. And the song’s new video is made up of fuzzy old camcorder footage of the band members, in their adolescent years, gearing up to play their first show ever. Those haircuts are some serious late-’90s time capsules.

Crystal Castles – “Sad Eyes”

Crystal Castles’ new video for “Sad Eyes,” a song from their recent album (III), intersperses footage of the group’s frantic, strobe-lit live shows with scenes of people with pantyhose masks making out with each other and Alice Glass doing… something with dolls. I don’t know. The whole thing seems designed specifically to creep you out, and it does not do a bad job. Rob Hawkins and Marc Pannozzo direct.

Nite Jewel – “Memory, Man”

The video for “Memory, Man,” a haunted pop song from Nite Jewel’s album One Second Of Love, is a disconnected series of evocative images, most of which take place in near-darkness and feature Ramona Gonzalez in some unnatural pose. It doesn’t make any sense or anything, but it nicely approximates the song’s dreamlike float. Angus Borsos directs.

Shout Out Louds – “Walking In Your Footsteps”

Swedish new wave artisans Shout Out Louds have a new album called Optica coming soon, and they’ve already made a video for first single “Blue Ice.” In the clip for “Walking In Your Footsteps,” the disco-addled follow-up, the band slo-mo dances through diamond-scattered light. The band co-directs alongside Frode&Marcus; watch it below.

Divine Fits – “My Love Is Real”

“My Love Is Real” is terse new wave song from Divine Fits, the new Britt Daniel/Dan Boeckner/Sam Brown indie supergroup. And in its new video, all the band’s members take vaguely trancelike, fully-clothed dips into suburban backyard swimming pools. Alexa Gerrity directs.

Baroness – “March To The Sea”

The excellent Georgia metal quartet Baroness found their triumphant 2012 cut short by a harrowing bus accident that left them hospitalized, forced to cancel tour dates and confront their own existence. But they’re slowly climbing back — first came a fantastic video featuring mastermind John Dyer Baizley and guitarist Peter Adams performing a gorgeous acoustic version of “Stretchmarker” (from the band’s great Yellow & Green LP), their first performance together since the accident. Now, they’ve released a video for Yellow & Green single “March To The Sea.” Directed by Jimmy Hubbard and filmed last summer, before the accident, the clip captures Baroness on tour: on stage, backstage, on the road. It’s a reminder of where they were before being interrupted, and where they’ll be again, soon.

Dan Deacon – “Guilford Avenue Bridge”

“Guildford Avenue Bridge,” a pounding, buzzing instrumental from Dan Deacon’s album America, is named for a Baltimore landmark. But its video, from director Alan Resnick, never stays put on one location. Instead it’s all time-lapse footage of Deacon and friends touring across the country. Mostly, it’s footage shot from Deacon’s touring vessel, a converted school bus, of plains and mountains and bridges flying by. But toward the end, there’s also a bunch live show footage. And Dan Deacon live footage looks fucking nuts in time-lapse.

Dinosaur Jr. – “Pierce The Morning Rain” Video (Feat. Henry Rollins)

Dinosaur Jr. don’t show up in their video for “Pierce The Morning Rain,” a bleary jam from their 2012 album I Bet On Sky. Instead, director Scott Jacobson gives us actor James Urbaniak playing a suburban dad who becomes addicted to blasting music through massive subwoofers, mostly because that bass makes him feel like he’s fighting Henry Rollins. Comedian Maria Bamford plays his wife, who isn’t sure what to make of the whole thing. Any music video where Rollins gets to throw headbutts is worth a few minutes of your time.

Stuck In The Sound - Let's Go ( official music video )

This one nearly slipped past our radar. Directed by Alexis Beaumont and Rémi Godin, this music video for Stuck in the Sound’s “Let’s Go” is a tragic odyssey that follows one very determined man as he pursues his childhood dream to be an astronaut. Normally, odysseys conclude with a triumphant voyage home. Not so in this case.

Don’t be fooled by the gritty, lo-fi aesthetic. There’s brilliance in Beaumont and Godin’s vision. The transitions, pacing and odd use of photographic elements provide regular bursts of novelty, keeping you engaged for the entire strange trip.

Beaumont and Godin previously worked together as animators on The Rabbi’s Cat, a feature film based on a popular comic strip in France.

Ty Segall – “Thank God For Sinners”

You know in the Jim Henson movie Labyrinth when Jennifer Connelly’s character is making real strides to find her goblin-captured baby brother but lands in a scenario where she has to choose the proper door to get her to the Goblin King — played by David Bowie — and ends up falling down a hole where she is caught my a legion of hands protruding from the walls? The video for Ty Segall’s “Thank God For Sinners” is kind of reminiscent of that only with more body parts and way less Muppet-y.

Young Fathers – “Romance”

Scotland isn’t the first country that comes to mind when you think of rap destinations but Young Fathers are about keeping it global. They are based out of Edinburgh, but their roots are planted around the world — including Liberia and Nigeria. They’ve unleashed a clip for their dancehall drum-laden track “Romance” in anticipation for the re-release of their 2011 effort Tape One.

Ab-Soul – “ILLuminate” Feat. Kendrick Lamar (Official Video)

Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar are two of the most frantic and inventive minds in rap, and it’s pretty awesome that they’re both from the same Black Hippy crew. On “ILLuminate,” a song from Ab-Soul’s 2012 album Control System, both of them teamed up. And they both show up, in different forms, in the song’s video, which takes place in an apocalyptic post-SOPA future where roving bands of youth have to find inspiration wherever they can. Fortunately, in this particular future, Ab-Soul vinyl is about as easy to come by as it is now. Fredo Tovar and Scott Fleishman direct.

Free Energy – “Girls Want Rock”

The official music video for "Girls Want Rock" off Free Energy's sophomore album, "Love Sign," out now.

In director Brook Linder‘s video, the band’s members drive home how fun the song is by doing a bunch of fun shit: Dancing, swimming, buying ridiculously fly clothes, throwing money at cameras, staging late-night break-ins. Good times.

Parquet Courts – “Borrowed Time”

Late last year, the Brooklyn-via-Texas band Parquet Courts released Light Up Gold, a ridiculously fun debut album of energetically spidery jitter-punk. Today, that album gets a wider release. So here’s a good way for the band to introduce themselves to a wider audience: A no-frills video of them reducing a crowd at Brooklyn’s Death By Audio to a sweaty pigpile. Within three minutes of hitting play on their “Borrowed Time” video, you should know just about everything you need to know about this band. Elizabeth Skadden directs.

Woods – “Size Meets The Sound”

A kaleidoscopic day of jamming, hanging on the beach, and horseback riding. Adarsha Benjamin and Brendhan Bowers direct.

Dutch Uncles – “Flexxin”

Dutch Uncles’ plucky indie pop tune “Flexxin” is an ode to dance as a form of expression and the visuals they’ve lined up for the track are simple, but perfect. Singer Duncan Wallis has a stacked up arsenal of moves and unleashes a ton of fancy footwork and arm isolations in a sparse backdrop, so there’s no distraction from his adept dancefloor dexterity.

SBTRKT – “Trials Of The Past” (NSFW)

“Trials Of The Past” is one of the 2011 SBTRKT LP’s standouts, which is saying something since it’s one of the most filler-free electronic albums of the past few years. (Fun note: That album is almost two years old, and you are getting old!) Sampha’s voice is in the full expression of its butterglory here, though neither he nor SBTRKT (née Aaron Jerome) appear in this late-breaking Ross Anderson-directed video: Instead there’s a girl, and a grizzled-looking smoker who runs something approximating a barbershop, wherein the cuts are delivered quite literally. Caution: Sci-Fi-esque video ahead.

Western Medication – “Big City”

Nashville post-punk band Western Medication go short and poppy with their track “Big City.” The clip features washed out close-ups of the group grinding out the song, as well as animated shots of NYC. Visually, these two are fairly aesthetically different looks — the live shots are jarring, while Manhattan being treated like a coloring book is pretty whimsical — but it suits up nicely with the cut’s quickness and the pace of the “big city” it’s about.

Santigold – “Girls” [Official Video]

HBO’s Girls had a huge night last night. Its second season debuted with a pretty great episode. And over on another channel, it also won the Golden Globe for Best TV Show – Comedy, and creator/showrunner/star Lena Dunham took home Best TV Actress – Comedy or Musical, beating out hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. (Dunham also made two acceptance speeches that alternately appalled and delighted my entire Twitter feed.) So let’s carry last night’s multiple triumphs over to this morning, as we’re now getting a charming video for “Girls,” Santigold’s contribution to the Girls soundtrack. The clip, directed by Weird Days, stars a cast of women who jump all over the demographic map, all lip-syncing the song’s lyrics. Santi herself is in there, too, but only incidentally.

Pinback – “Proceed To Memory” Video

Pinback’s Information Retrieved was one of 2012′s undersung gems — it’s a quiet refinement of Pinback’s signature sound, and it’s still getting spins on my iPod. “Proceed To Memory” is one of the album’s several highlights; we first heard the song back in August, months before the full-length was released, but it’s being only now been issued with a video. The time-lapse clip shows a pair of artists painting a three-story high recreation of the cover of Information Retrieved on the side of a building.

Johnny Marr – “Upstarts”

 

In our interview with Johnny Marr, the guitar god said his new single, “Upstarts,” is a “lighthearted description of leaving school and getting screwed and not knowing enough to engage in some productive political discourse but still being wise enough to throw up your middle finger and say ‘Fuck you.’ I remember hearing this young political demonstrator refer to herself and her fellow protestors as ‘upstarts,’ which just seemed like such a lighthearted way to think of herself, especially considering that these protestors had just spent three days getting pummeled in the streets.”

I’m not sure that character is evident in the song itself, and she’s definitely nowhere to be found the video, which is a straight-up performance vid featuring Marr and his backing band rocking a florescent-lit warehouse. Still, it’s always a treat to watch the man play guitar.

Factory Floor - "Fall Back" (Official Music Video)

The London dance trio Factory Floor, in fusing harsh and primitive house music to postpunk atmospherics, have figured out a way to turn nine-minute songs into gripping, kinetic things. But their videos generally aren’t quite as gripping. Case in point: The video for the excellent new single “Fall Back,” which is eight and a half minutes of a girl striking glamorous poses for a camera while shapes swirl in front of her. I don’t get it. Song rules, though.

The Child Of Lov – “Give Me”

 

The Child Of Lov – “Give Me” (Dir. Focus Creeps)

This video’s scenes of revelry mirror the ones we’ve seen in a million other videos, with a crucial distinction: The people in this video look like actual human beings, not music video ciphers. There’s not a tiny bit of central casting in here; instead, it actually appears to be a mob of people, beautifully shot verite style, cutting loose at the end of a long week. It’s inspirational like that.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – “Furisodation”

The people of Japan, it seems, will not let South Korean’s booming pop industry out-weird them on the music video front. I doubt that this will lead to a think-piece boom or a billion YouTube hits, but the euphoric confusion I felt watching this for the first time reminded me of “Gangnam Style.” Also, I’m pretty sure this is what Kanye West was going for with the dinner scene of his “Runaway” short film.

Ke$ha – “C’Mon”

Ke$ha – “C’Mon” (Dir. Darren Craig)

Unemployment might not be such a big problem in this country if Ke$ha’s mob of horny furry hoodlums showed up in their Mystery Machine every time someone found herself without work. I figure there’s at least a 60% chance that Wayne Coyne is one of the guys in the animal costumes.

Memory Tapes – “Sheila”

There are a number of iterations of one dark scenario that plays out in the video for Memory Tapes’ video for “Sheila.” It’s either the worst trust fall of all-time or everyone in the clip that isn’t Sheila is a ghost or — I don’t know, man. What I do know is that watching someone put on lipstick has never felt so ominous.

Alice In Chains – “Hollow” (Official Video)

Alice in Chains have returned with new music and acclaimed director Roboshobo is helping them bring some imagery to their latest single, ‘Hollow.’ The band just debuted the official video for the song, focusing on the gradual deterioration of an isolated scientist’s mental state.


In the clip, we see the main character going through his daily routine — staring out at the planet below, working out, talking with his wife on a video chat and performing various experiments. But as the days turn into a year, the man begins to break down mentally and physically.

The official video follows the band’s recent lyric clip that was fan-generated. The initial offering was comprised of images submitted by fans prior to the release of the song, as the group had posted lyrics and asked for visual feedback on what the words meant to their fans. After gathering a wealth of visual input, the lyric clip was pieced together to coincide with the release of the song last month.

Fans of the track can currently pick it up on iTunes. It will be part of the band’s still-untitled studio album that’s expected to drop in the spring.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – “Bag of Bones”

In their video for “Bag Of Bones,” a troglodytic stomp-rocker from their 2012 comeback album Meat And Bones, the members of the reunited ’90s underground hellraisers Jon Spencer Blues Explosion appear in animated form. They travel through a psychedelic universe, starting barfights and macking on six-eyed alien ladies. Seems like it should be an average Tuesday for these guys. Lucy Dyson and Joseph Jensen direct.

How to destroy angels_ – “The Loop Closes”

How to destroy angels_, the new project that Trent Reznor formed with wife Mariqueen Maandig and frequent collaborator Atticus Ross in 2010, already have a pair of EPs to their name, including last year’s An omen_. And this morning, they’re announcing that they’re about ready to release their debut album. It’s called Welcome oblivion, and it’s out 3/5 on Columbia. There will be more details to come, to be sure, but right now, that’s all we get: A title, a release date, and a record label. In the meantime, they’ve also shared a video for “The Loop Closes,” a sputtering and clanking industrial groover from An omen_. It’s a damaged, staticy video, full of random distorted images and intense close-ups on Reznor and Maandig.

Esben and the Witch - "Despair"

In a couple of weeks, the dark and atmospheric Brighton band Esben And The Witch will release their new album, the delightfully titled Wash The Sins Not Only The Face and now they’ve got a video for “Despair,” another of the album’s songs. Director Matt Bowron‘s clip chronicles a deeply unpredictable dance routine on a seriously picturesque hillside.

Mac DeMarco – “Dreamin”

In the new video for his song “Dreamin’,” the shambolic singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco pulls of a low-budget, deviant take on Vampire Weekend’s “Holiday” clip. Director Jason Harvey shows us DeMarco bumming around in powdered-wig finery, with rat-eaten Keds and battered guitar hilariously intact. And before it’s all over, DeMarco gets covered in every imaginable form of disgusting slime, for no reason that I can detect.

Foxygen – “San Francisco”

The video for psych duo Foxygen’s “San Francisco” feels like a Wes Anderson film that somehow lost its way. Instead of acting meticulously thought-out scenes, the cast just decided to take a bunch of LSD and listen to records together before exploring the woods. The track kind of feels that way, too — a relic from when the Kinks were king, yet slightly off-kilter.

The Soft Moon – “Die Life”

The Soft Moon’s “Die Life” is a breathy, fuzzy track and the band has crafted a jarring black and white clip featuring a wall of snowy televisions. The backdrop is well suited to the track, almost transforming into an army of more bands members as the song stomps on.

David Bowie – “Where Are We Now?”

Today’s David Bowie’s 66th birthday(!), and he’s got a birthday gift for all of us. This is not the usual flow of birthday gifting, but as they say, you do not look a gift David Bowie in the mouth: It is 1/8/13, and the artist formerly known as Stardust is releasing a dramatic new ballad, and its video, and news of a full-length due in March. The record’s called The Next Day, a 14-track effort recorded in NYC and produced by longtime Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti. The fact that Visconti worked on Bowie’s Berlin trilogy (Low, “Heroes”, Lodger ) seems relevant to “Where Are We Now?” and its video, which is littered with lyrical references to the city, and footage “of the auto repair shop beneath the apartment he lived in along with stark images of the city at the time.” Visconti was also the producer who helmed Bowie’s last few records, 2002′s Heathen and 2003′s Reality, so it’s as much a throwback to a classic era as it is picking up where he left off. This is David’s first record in 10 years, and his 30th record overall. It’s OK to celebrate.

You can watch the Tony Oursler-directed video in its siamese-dreamy, fourth-wall breaking weirdness at the newly renovated davidbowie.com, or below. Shoutout Nürnberger Strasse.



iTunes is has the single available now, and the album available for pre-order in its regular (14 tracks) and deluxe (17 tracks) editions. The tracklists are below:

Regular Version
01. The Next Day 3:51
02. Dirty Boys 2:58
03. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) 3:56
04. Love Is Lost 3:57
05. Where Are We Now? 4:08
06. Valentine’s Day 3:01
07. If You Can See Me 3:16
08. I’d Rather Be High 3:53
09. Boss Of Me 4:09
10. Dancing Out In Space 3:24
11. How Does The Grass Grow 4:33
12. (You Will) Set The World On Fire 3:30
13. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die 4:41
14. Heat 4:25
Deluxe Version
01 “The Next Day” (3:51)
02 “Dirty Boys” (2:58)
03 “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” (3:56)
04 “Love Is Lost” (3:57)
05 “Where Are We Now?” (4:08)
06 “Valentine’s Day” (3:01)
07 “If You Can See Me” (3:16)
08 “I’d Rather Be High” (3:53)
09 “Dancing Out In Space” (3:24)
11 “How Does The Grass Grow” (4:33)
12 “(You Will) Set The World On Fire” (3:30)
13 “You Feel So Lonely You Could Die” (4:41)
14 “Heat” (4:25)
Bonus tracks:
15 “So She” (2:31)
16 “I’ll Take You There” (2:44)
17 “Plan” (2:34)

Django Django – “Hand of Man”

David Maclean, drummer for London post-punkers Django Django, is the brother of John Maclean, a former multi-instrumentalist for the Beta Band who became a filmmaker when that band broke up. And now John has directed on a video for Django Django’s “Hand Of Man.” For the most part, it’s a beautifully shot performance clip of the band playing acoustically in London’s famous Elephant And Castle pub. But near the end, things take a surreal turn.

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – “We No Who U R”

A quick spoiler: Nothing happens in this video. It’s just a shadow slowly looming its way through a forest, with no twist at the end. But I still sat nervous through the entire thing, waiting for some sort of hammer to drop, and that’s entirely because Gaspar Noé’s name was on this thing. Up until the final second, I was ready for something on the level of the face-caved-in scene from Irreversible. That’s how you know a filmmaker has power: When his mere name turns a stretch of experimental nothingness into a harrowing experience.

Girls’ Generation – “I Got A Boy”

At the end of 2011, I got low-level obsessed with K-pop videos, which, at least for the songs that weren’t ballads, showed a level of flash and showmanship and nothing-makes-sense vision that just does not exist in Western pop music anymore. I figured that little burst of fascination might be over in the post-”Gangnam Style” age. But yeah, no, evidently not. We are not in charge anymore.

Sky Ferreira – “Lost In My Bedroom”

In her video for “Lost In My Bedroom,” ascendant haze-popper Sky Ferreira looks zonked-out and disheveled — sometimes with a dude next to her, mostly not. The whole thing is recorded home-movie-style, with editing so hectic that there’s an epilepsy warning at the beginning of the clip.

Beach House - "New Year"

In celebration of the New Year, Beach House visualize their song “New Year” using time-lapse footage from their session at Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas, where they recorded Bloom.
As the band explains:

It's more of a home video thing, not a music video.......we just thought these moments and the memories they involve fit this song. SUPER SPECIAL thanks to our wonderful assistant engineer for the session Manuel Calderon (the guy with the tequila), who filmed all the time lapses and a lot of the studio footage.

Watch “New Year” below, and then stay tuned for even more Beach House visuals as the band’s new short film is expected to arrive sometime next month.

Toro Y Moi – “Say That”

Last month, Toro Y Moi gave us the badass HARRYS-directed playboy-style video for “So Many Details,” the first single from his new album Anything In Return. And now, for the unbearably smooth soul-disco track “Say That,” Toro has once again teamed up with HARRYS. The video mostly consists of Chaz Bundick looking effortlessly cool while posing on a verdant mountain range, and virtually any randomly-selected screenshot from the video could work as a ’70s album cover. Seriously, this guy is putting everything together right now, and I could not be more excited for this album.