First up is the Rube Goldberg machine version of "This Too Shall Pass" because Rube Goldberg machines are freakin' sick and decidedly cooler than marching bands.
Next up is a stop-motion video because stop animation is pretty sweet, but not quite as sweet as Rube Goldberg machines (note: dogs are cooler than everything) . This video is also cool because one of my friends helped film it.
Speaking of stop animation, here's a crazy video with claymation by Gogol Bordello. The claymation tells a pretty sweet story, I think.
Speaking of Gogol Bordello, here's another video by Gogol Bordello:
OK GO, GOgol Bordello, GOrillaz? I'm sensing a pattern here. This is a great video, a homage to car chase movies like Vanishing Point. Murdoc, 2D, and a robotic Noodle, looking worse for wear, tear across the desert in a beat-up Camaro. Soon though, homicidal hitman Bruce Willis is hot on their tail, chasing the beleaguered band in his El Camino. It's good that this video has some sweet action, because the song itself can feel kind of repetitive.
"On Melancholy Hill" starts off pretty sweet, showing a masked Noodle getting into some serious trouble. The the bullets and explosions are the perfect counterweights to the breezy 80's synth music. From there, the video picks ups where "Stylo" left off, with Murdoc and 2D in a shark sub. For some reason, Robo-Noodle is still and 3D and vomiting up one-eyed octopi. Whatever. Anyway, the video gets boring from there as the rest of it is basically cartoon versions of all the guest musicians featured on Plastic Beach. I get it, you got a bunch of famous dudes to contribute to your album. Get over yourself. At least now we know what the hell the lyric "Up on melancholy hill sits a manatee" is supposed to mean.
This video's on the list because I think they made Daley's submersible look really cool
I don't know how, but the infectious, text-only video that made Cee Lo's "Fuck You" a viral internet success, is just as good, if not better, than the official video:
In this well-executed video, The Black Keys combine their knack for humor with a classic story to compliment a great song:
Speaking of a classic story, electro/hip-hop duo LMFAO decided to go with an untimely Dodgeball parody for their song "Yes", adopting the TV setting to a curling tournament (Get it? Curling? Party Rock, rock, stone, curling?). The 10-minute epic has a couple laughs and a surprise guest star at the end but I much prefer the song's original bootleg video.
While we're on the subject of silly sports videos with famous guest stars, here's Vampire Weekend at a tennis match, joined by the RZA, a Jonas brother, Lil' John, and a very goofy Jake Gyllenhaal. Who said these guys were preppy?
Here's another video with Japanese themes and competition:
This video is the debut of Irish comedy hip-hop duo Rubberbandits. The makes the song as the silly lyrics are augmented wonderfully by frontman Blindboy Boat Club's dance antics.
You may have seen these guys in the last month doing holiday commercials for Hyundai but this spunky duo has been hamming it up on Youtube for quite a while now. I encourage you to go to their Youtube channel and check out their Video Songs. They do a great cover of Lady Gaga's Telephone, which is saying a lot. Because I hate Lady Gaga.
Then there's My Terrible Friend, which is a team-up between Pomplamoose's Nataly Dawn and Lauren O'Connell
Lauren O'Connell's got some cool stuff too:
Anyway, it's time to wrap this thing up. I want to round out the listen with Janelle Monáe, an inspired performer and creative dynamo. Her song "Tightrope" is a blast and the video is a lot of fun, combining some sweet dance moves with the freaky sci-fi fantasy elements she's developed a reputation for incorporating in her work (see: "Many Moons").
Stark and simple compared to her other videos (and all other music videos in general) Monáe manages to evoke something sublime here, relying solely on the strength of her music, her emotion and her subtle sexuality. Today's pop divas better be taking notes
So that's it! Say When? 2010! is almost done. The final playlist will be published tomorrow or the next day or the next day or never.
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