the xx, crystalised

i love the xx but this video seems a bit... uninspired?



i agree with the notion of presenting a minimalist style but placing the band up against a wall and using a video projector as lighting is a bit obvious. don't you think?

i wonder if the director alex flick was thinking about this nine inch nails video when he was doing this?

local hip hop

I discovered Zia Mohajerjasbi through his genius award write up in The Stranger. Check out his Vimeo page. He makes hip hop videos for local Seattle artists. Pretty cool, right?

I think when your average person thinks of hip hop videos they think of guns, gold chains and half naked women. People should be thinking of a second type of hip hop video. That is, the short film:

Common Market "Trouble Is" Music Video from Zia Mohajerjasbi on Vimeo.

Framing a hip hop video like a short film makes sense. Indie acts such as Common Market are heavily message oriented. They tell stories about poverty and economic hardship.

They're like the Almanac Singers of the modern depression. When I was making a documentary about street musician Tommy Dean, I really wanted to end the film with Tommy's comments on hip hop. The moral is, folk singers (by nature of their medium) are looking in the rear view mirror. Hip hop is current and modern. It doesn't preoccupy itself by imitating the blues and it doesn't try to hide behind a clever riff or a catchy melody. Its just message.

That said, I'm interested in what Zia is doing. I'll keep an eye on him.

filmmakers with blogs

i don't understand why so few seattle film makers are putting together blogs. every time i meet a film maker, i ask about their blog and they look at me like i'm crazy. they say they don't have enough time.

i found Jeven's blog today. looks like he was up in seattle recently and he made a music video for fun:



he has two feature films in the hopper. the scripts are: steven king's cain rose up and 1-800-Suicide by Michael Lamio. he's just as busy as anybody i've met in seattle and yet he has a blog. two or three entries a month.

now, to find some local seattle film makers with blogs. i want to see what people are doing in this town!

edit: i met a girl at the northwest film forum the other day who calls herself purple. she was with her dad and they were looking for someone who could help them cast a film.

king rat by modest mouse

initially released in 2007, the rat king is released as an a-side to promote a b-side collection from modest mouse. i think the video is great!



pitchfork says heath ledger was directing this music video up until his untimely death. is that true? or is it some sick ploy? more likely, i think this video was directed and animated by terry gilliam.

whatever the case, this video is sick. whales hunting humans? do you think its some message of veganism? or some zen meditation? or maybe it just awesome. i'll go with just awesome.

wilco (the album) is dad rock

the number one criticism of wilco's previous work, sky blue sky, is that it sounds like dad rock. i never really bought into that as a fault because i can appreciate a good cubicle album. to an extent, wilco has always been kind of a 'dad friendly band' with their woody guthrie tribute albums and wholesome yet creative alt country sound.

i once held a theory that once a band releases a live album, they are done from a creative standpoint. this rule certainly applies to wilco. they didn't sell out. they didn't change their style. they simply doesn't have the chops.



i love wilco but i see no reason for b(r)and loyalty here. so i probably won't be standing in line june 30 when the new album comes out. but i am pretty excited about the new phoenix and grizzly bear albums. i've heard them and they sound great. i'd like to get a physical copy for my vinyl library.

this is the video for 1901, the latest single off of wolfgang amadeus phoneix:



if it wasn't for the song, i probably would not watch the whole video. at its heart, it is a pretty standard live band music video. what i do like, however, is the combination of creative lighting in production and masking effects in post production. think i could learn how to do this in after effects cs4?

the crocodile is back (old news) and the doves will be playing soon

i've been sleeping under a rock for the last few months so i have not been to the crocodile since it has reopened. i've probably missed out on a bunch of brilliant shows. c'est la vie.

i am already impressed. they have a facebook page. and they have a twitter account. even better, they have a vimeo account with exclusive performances by indie artists like telekinesis!

Telekinesis "Rust" from The Crocodile on Vimeo.

the first crocodile show i will attend will be may 20th for the doves. only $20 for the band that pitchfork raves as kind of like coldplay if only it was cool to like coldplay.

i have a theory that the comparison is merely coincidental. the doves are huge fans of robert fripp and king crimson. king crimson are kind of like pink floyd if only it was cool to like pink floyd but that is beside the point. robert fripp put out some terrific material where he collaborated with brian eno. and of course, coldplay's most recent album is produced by brian eno.

okay, i'm not going to draw any lines here. just show the dots.

no. actually, i'm going to show you for the title track of the doves latest album, kingdom of rust. which believe it or not, was the point of this blog.

surreal music video, p1

very few music videos really add to the song. i love jim white's sound and i am happy to see that someone managed to make an equally surreal and post modern music video to compliment jim white's eclectic sound. i love the retro 3d animation style!

if jesus drove a motor home is off of his album drill a hole in that substrate and tell me what you see and would go well on a mix tape with beck and sparklehorse.