Videos of the Week

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and hope you all had wonderful meals and wonderful times with friends and family. Here are the latest videos that are diverting my attention:



This is part one of a ten part documentary about the rise of synthesizers in British pop music in the late 70s and early 80s. It is an impressively thorough overview.



One of my favorite bands of the year, though I will say that I am not loving their name. This is a bright, bubbly track with some pretty subversive lyrics. Reminds me a lot of bands I listened to while in college. I miss those days in Athens.



I will definitely be seeing this movie the minute it comes out. Directed by my major crush Tom Ford, the movie is an adaptation of a Christopher Isherwood novel starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, with costumes and sets by Ford himself. Looks very elegant and beautiful. Huge Oscar buzz for Ford, Firth, and Moore.



My friend Matthew loves this band and I have never really found them appealing. I bought their new cd Bitte Orca on Pitchfork and his recommendation and had a profound sense of meh about it. I even gave the cd many more listens then I normally would on the hopes I would click with it. No luck. I set it aside and forgot about it. But for some reason I kept humming something in my head and couldn't figure it out, until I realized it was this single. I couldn't stop playing it, and now the rest of the cd has grown on me. Curses!



Infectious new single from Vampire Weekend's upcoming cd Contra. Very similar to their current sound but with a little more muscle and backbone. Definitely whets my whistle to hear the new cd, and gets my hopes up for a spot on the Coachella festival stage.



Delightfully surreal video supporting a collaboration between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck.



The xx, one of my favorite bands of this year as noted in countless blog posts, is heavily influenced by post-punk bands like Joy Division, Bauhaus, and The Cure, but are also heavily influenced by artists such as Aliyah, which can be discerned by The xx's complex and intricate drum programming. Aliyah died far too soon, but she left a wonderfully rich body of work. This is one of my favorite songs from her, a collaboration with Timbaland.



Jerry Fuchs, drummer for !!!, recently passed away due to a freak accident. Here is a video in remembrance of him.



Delicate folk ballad from Antlers. The album Hospice is a sleeper that keeps growing on me.



Amazing video from Jarvis Cocker. Brings the album cover art to life.



Another brilliant, twisted video from band of the year Grizzly Bear. They can do no wrong this year.



Icy synth pop reminiscent of bands I grew up with. The cd is not as good as I would like it to be, but it is growing on me.



Beautiful song and video from Wild Beasts' first cd. I think the first cd is far too eclectic and mish-mashed, but they have really consolidated their strengths with their latest cd. I do love this song though, and the line "we are so many tiny pieces."