Archive for the ‘Video’ Category

Music Video: The New Pornographers – “Moves”

This is a great video — it’s “Moves” by The New Pornographers, and it features a veritable cornucopia of comedy gold. Contributions from fellow Matadorian Jon Wurster and a slew of Daily Show members make this really enjoyable, and the “story” is just brilliant. From such humble (-seeming?) folks, this is a great video!

Written And Directed By Tom Scharpling
Producers: Robert Hatch-Miller & Puloma Basu

Cast: Jon Wurster, Julie Klausner, Kevin Corrigan, Wyatt Cenac, Horatio Sanz, Ted Leo, John Hodgman, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd, Todd Barry, Donald Glover, Esther Crowe, Michael Lisk, Gabe Delahaye, Max Silvestri, Jay Norton, David Rosenblatt, Terre T., Anna Copacabana, Rob Cuthill, Brian Turner, Alex Scordelis, Jonathan Fernandez, Therese Mahler, Candace Mills, Christina Stanley, Christine Tadler, Owinema Biu, Chris Spooner, Jacob Wolk

Music Video: Dreamend – Magnesium Light

Check out this video for Dreamend’s “Magnesium Light” from So I Ate Myself, Bite By Bite. It’s a bit on the bizarre side but nothing terribly out of sorts.

Video Friday: Yo La Tengo’s “Sugarcube”

Here’s a quick Video Friday for you: Yo La Tengo’s absolutely adorable video for “Sugarcube” is exactly what a good music video should be: fun, enduring, and evocative. Yo La Tengo hits the apex of this on all accounts.

Revolver Records thrives amidst record store closures

T.J. from Revolver Records from MusicGeek.org on Vimeo.

T.J. Jordan has a bold goal: to run the last record store in existence. When T.J. Jordan opened Revolver Records on Sept. 1, 2007, most people would have written it off as a pipe dream destined for failure. Two years later, Jordan and his staff are thriving at the Phoenix-based record store.

The store’s success, Jordan said, is down to one thing: It’s appealing to music lovers in search of something new.

“The people who come into record stores are coming in because they want something unique,” he said. “They’re not coming into to buy the latest Lil Wayne record. The only way record stores are going to stay in business is by appealing to the people who actually want to buy records.”

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Wes Anderson flexes musical muscle in The Royal Tenenbaums

Wes Anderson, film director known best for emergent classics like The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore clearly knows what he’s doing with film — but can we say the same about the use of music in his films?

The Royal Tenenbaums proved definitive in capturing the feel of music in a Wes Anderson film; by now, it has become a trait of his cinematic auteur theory. The overarching style — especially as it’s exercised in the film — is most crisply defined by the Mutato Muzika Orchestra’s rendition of the Paul McCartney-penned classic, “Hey Jude.” Replete with harpsichord, the track defines the mood and feel of the film as a whole.

While we may be able to attribute much of the musical consistency across Anderson films to the use of the Mutato Muzika Orchestra — the Mark Mothersbaugh-helmed production company has also made at least some appearance on Anderson’s Bottle RocketRushmore, and The Life Aquatic — we can pinpoint some other important attributes of Anderson films that extend beyond Mutato Muzika.

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Drum legend Lenny White to release new solo album

Lenny White with Stanley Clark 1976 Credit: Tom Marcello

Lenny White, best known for his work on drums in fusion jazz outfit Return to Forever, is readying his first release in ten years as band leader. Anomaly, White’s effort, comes off the back of a worldwide tour in 2008 with Return to Forever and a 2009 tour with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke — together, they make up three-quarters of the group’s 2008 tour.

 

“We need to restart a revolution so that we can take back the music and stop the fluff,” White said in a press release from publicity group Big Hassle. “I’m hoping that this new album is a representation of that ideal.”

White’s most recent effort includes collaboration with Pink Floyd alumnus David Gilmore and former bandmate Stanley Clarke, as well as other musicians from jazz and rock music alike.

Pavement videos a classic view of ’90s indie rock

Just time for something short today — here’s a quick collection of Pavement music videos. Classic ’90s indie rock for you; awesome.

Latest from Aloha, Home Acres, blasts indie prog into perspective

The latest effort from American indie outfit Aloha is bold and refreshing: While not necessarily the pinnacle of progressive indie rock from Aloha, it’s 1) something new, and 2) something good. How many other indie rock bands are out using marimbas and bells? Home Acres features plenty of their musical trademark, but we get some delicious additions. The guitars are  magnanimous in their distorted quality, and I think at one point, we may hear an idiophone with gourds — maybe the balafon — resonating and buzzing away. Home Acres hits shelves tomorrow.

Purchase Home Acres