In honor of it being a very damp evening here in New York, I give you this dark, trippy video from Garbage. I had totally forgotten all about the people in the weird fuzzy alien-animal outfits.
http://youtu.be/-aWcXlG1sgY
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Author: Jennifer
July Video Challenge: Girl in a Coma, As the World Falls Down
The last time I saw Girl in a Coma was two years ago, at the (new) Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. About halfway through, I thought to myself Does Joan Jett know about these ladies? I consulted the internet on the subject as soon as I got home, and it turned out she certainly did, because they are signed to her label.
Robert Rodriguez, director of Sin City is also a fan, so much so that he made the video below for them as a present. It’s a mixture of footage from two different shows, one at SXSW and one in their hometown of San Antonio, Texas, and while they have many beautiful videos, I thought this one really captured the essence of who they are, and the energy of their live show.
Also, New Yorkers and adjacent folks, they’ll be playing a free show with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at Coney Island on July 14. Get down there if you can.
Girl In a Coma, "As the World Falls Down." (directed by Robert Rodriguez)
July Video Challenge: Kiss Me Deadly, Lita Ford
And now for something completely different: Lita Ford. She was played lead guitar for The Runaways, but I missed that memo, somehow, as a teenage glam-metal fan in the late ’80s. Instead I knew her as the only girl on the scene, who flipped everyone’s world upside down and inside out when she did a duet with Ozzy Osbourne. I didn’t want to be her, exactly, but I was proud of her for going toe-to-toe with the boys.
Here she is by herself, with Kiss Me Deadly:
Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
You Won’t, Sycamore, 7/2/11
This past Saturday night I ventured out to Sycamore, in Brooklyn, which in the finest New York City multi-tasking tradition is a flower shop by day and a bar / live music venue by night. They have shows in the basement, which is tiny, but on the plus side, it is air-conditioned. (It is not, however, very well lit, as you will see.)
I was there to see You Won’t, and they were well worth the trip. You Won’t are Josh Arnoudse (guitar, vocals) and Raky Sastri (drums / keyboards) and they divide their time between Massachusetts and New York. Their sound alternates between delicate piano-supported indie pop and slow-stompy fuzzy-thrummy guitars and surging drums.
Their new record is called Skeptic Goodbye and you can listen to the entire thing at Bandcamp. (If there are any Drivin’n’Cryin’ fans lurking in the audience: click that link, you’ll be glad you did.) Here, as an example, is my favorite song from it, which is called “Dance Moves”, and is a relatively new addition to their live repertoire, and which they very graciously wedged into their set for me at literally the absolute last minute:
They are playing a bunch more shows in both Boston and Brooklyn in the next couple of months, so check out their calendar if you like what you hear. Also, please, y’all, get up front and dance for them. It is dancing music! There should be swaying! The “got your dance moves down” is the perfect lyrical cue to lazily spin your partner while taking a gulp of a beverage!
Meanwhile, to give you an idea of how dark it was, I took these pictures with the flash on:
Raky
Josh
July Video Challenge: Gravity, Vienna Teng
It occurred to me this morning that when I was meditating on whom I might most like to participate in a remake of Wildflowers, I forgot a very important voice: Vienna Teng. Here she is with Gravity, from her first record, Waking Hour. The video itself is very The Piano-esque, though I promise there’s no naked Harvey Keitel awaiting you here, just good music.
http://youtu.be/X8nypWKa_aU
July Video Challenge: Last Known Surroundings, Explosions in the Sky
I always struggle when trying to explain Explosions in the Sky‘s genre. Modern classical, I’ll offer first, followed by electric guitar orchestra? In some ways, I think they pick up where Lou Reed left off after Metal Machine Music, in the way they play with the capabilities of the instruments to make noises.
But unlike Lou Reed, who built a spiky industrial cathedral of noise, Explosions in the Sky are gentler on the ears. Think morning light glimmering through rose windows and soaring Gothic arches instead of a cold bucket of water to the face amid Romanesque gloom. I don’t mean that in a bad way -Â I find that cold bucket of water refreshing and gloomy shadows do have an appeal – but rather to underscore the difference in tone between the two artists.
Recently they made their first music video ever, after over a decade as a band, and it is exquisite:
Directed by Ptarmak
Illustration: Sissy Emmons
Animation: David Hobizal
Addt’l Artistry: JR Crosby, Luke Miller, Zach Ferguson
Ben Hansen, Christy Carroll, Annie Mayfield
Addt’l 3D: Josh Johnson
July Video Challenge: I Spit Roses, Peter Murphy
I found this one while I was looking for something else (specifically, Skinny Puppy videos) and of course I had to share. There are some beautiful visuals and Mr. Murphy (formerly of Bauhaus, aka, per Wikipedia, the “Godfather of Goth”) is in fine vocal form. Apparently he also has a new record out! It is called Ninth, and you can listen to a few songs from it at his MySpace.
Peter Murphy - I Spit Roses [Official Music Video]
![Peter Murphy - I Spit Roses [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5lnq9Add25M/0.jpg)
July Video Challenge: Starry Saints, Angels
Angels
The gentlemen above are the Starry Saints, and they are based in Portland, OR. This song is from their most recent record Serenade. I like this video because it’s in a familiar format – a live performance – but they project different moving images on to the wall behind them during the show, which adds texture but yet doesn’t look weird and fake. I also enjoy the dramatic close-ups on the keyboards.
And the song is pretty cool, too. I was hooked in the first thirty seconds and still humming the chorus in the shower two days later.
July Video Challenge: All of My Best Friends (Are Behind Bars), Justin Haigh
This month I’ve set myself a challenge: post a video every day. I’ve mentioned before that I have A Lot Of Feelings About Video, which is true, but more than that, I have A Lot Of Feelings About Music Television, or rather, what used to be music television, and, at least in some locations – CMT doesn’t seem to have been affected as thoroughly as MTV – is now All Reality TV, All The Time.
Mostly I’m interested in the intersection of music and image, and how artists, directors and choreographers work together to bring a song to visual life. I’m starting today with All of My Best Friends (Are Behind Bars), sung by Justin Haigh (Apache Ranch Records) and directed by Jim Shea.
I like the song, but the video itself is also a delight, because it is beautifully shot and lit and, most importantly, playfully highlights the wordplay in the title without overworking the punchline:
Apache Ranch Records Presents Justin Haigh's All My Best Friends (Are Behind Bars) - Official MV
Originally from South Dakota, Justin Haigh now lives in Texas, and before he was a country singer, he was a lot of other things, including: cattle rancher, meat packer, trucker and U. S. Air Force service man. As you might expect, he has stories to tell, and you can hear them on his new record People Like Me.
Here’s what I can tell you about the record: It was circulating through my “To Listen To” playlist during exams, and the title track never failed to make me grin and tap my pen to the beat. I also enjoyed the slower, more reflective songs, like his cover of Kevin Higgins’ Monahans, as well as The Leaving in Your Eyes and Is It Still Cheating.
There are no melancholy love songs like country melancholy love songs, and those hit the same sweet spot as Ghost in this House, by Shenandoah, and Vern Gosdin’s Set ‘Em Up Joe. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the good stuff, and you should check it out.
The Wild Joys of Living: Emily Zuzik
Emily Zuzik
Emily Zuzik is a veteran of the New York City music scene, but you might also recognize her voice from Moby’s latest record – she collaborated on a track called The Low Hum – or from television and movies: her songs have appeared in Smallville, Ticking Clock, and Fifth Form.
L to R: Wes Hutchinson, Ryan Vaughn, Emily Zuzik and Brian Killeen.
She has just released her seventh record, The Wild Joys of Living, and I had the pleasure of attending her show at The Living Room – a venue as tiny and cozy as the name would suggest – this past Saturday night, where she played the record in its entirety. Ladies and gentlemen, it is delicious. The songs run the gamut from sweet pop morsels to fuzzier, more aggressive rock and roll. I was especially fond of Motels, which is about naughty things people do in motels, and also You’re The One, which is sweet but not treacle-y love song.
As a taste, I give you a video of her singing Want to Go Out Tonight?, which is the first single off of the new record:
Emily Zuzik Band_You Wanna Go Out Tonight?_R2
