Needless to say, I support this message. All rules should be broken.
Also, the top of a school bus apparently makes for a good performance space. Actually, the same thing can probably be said of all buses in general. If you’ll remember the classic film Degrassi Goes Hollywood, Studz ended up performing on top of a bus and really impressing Kevin Smith. As anyone who watched Degrassi can tell you, Studz was actually a pretty sucky band that only had about three songs (one of which was that terrible House Arrest song) so obviously it was not the band’s sound that won Kevin Smith’s attention. Instead, it was all about the fact that they were standing on top of a bus….
At least, that’s the way I remember it. It’s been a while since I watched the movie. They could have been standing on a van, to be honest. Or maybe they were on one of those boats that got jammed up in the Suez Canal last year. I don’t quite remember. I probably need to watch Degrassi Goes Hollywood again, both for the bus performance and the Ellie/Craig scenes. Perhaps that’s what we should all do this week. Canada needs the love, eh?
Anyway, break the rules. I’m going to start by parking wherever I feel like parking. Take that, parking police!
I’m dedicating this music video to a friend of mine. Things may seem dark right now but it’s also going to get better. I promise. The director of this video, Lance Drake, was interviewed about it and he said that theme was “Keep on driving!” No matter how rough the road may get or how the scenery may change, keep on driving forward. That’s advice that I hope will be heard by anyone who needs to hear it.
Every January, I list my favorite songs of the previous year and, every January, I include the same disclaimer. My favorite songs are not necessarily the favorite songs of any of the other writers here at the Shattered Lens.
With that in mind, here are my favorite songs of 2021! Also be sure to check out my favorite songs of 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011!
10) It’s All Happening by Saint Motel
9) U Are My High by DJ Snake x Future
8) Cry About It Later by Katy Perry
7) Traps by Bloc Party
6) It Gets Better by Swedish House Mafia
5) Hypnocurrency by Deadmau5 & REZZ
4) The Darkness That You Fear by The Chemical Brothers
Today’s music video of the day is the atmospheric video from Destroyer! This video has a kind of You’ve-Been-Up-For-3-Days-On-Dexedrine feel to it. I used to very much enjoy wandering around in the middle of the night so this video brought back some memories for me.
This is a simple song and a fairly simple video but both of them definitely captured a very specific feeling and moment of one’s life. I think anyone can relate, whether they’ve had a London boy or not. I don’t have much else to say about this one but sometimes, it’s not necessary to say a lot.
This is from Public Service Broadcasting’s The Race For Space, which I highly recommend. This song and the video are about Valentina Tereshkova, who was the first woman to go into space. In 1963, she spent three days in space and orbited the Earth a total of 48 times.
On another note, my little ADD-wracked brain has been having a hard time remembering that the name of Adam McKay’s latest film is Don’t Look Up and not Don’t Look Now. (Don’t Look Now, of course, is the classic Nicolas Roeg film about Julie Christine and Donald Sutherland taking an eventful trip to Venice and getting to know a mysterious person who wanders around while wearing a red jacket. Seriously, if you’re missing traveling and you’re into the romance of Italy, check out Don’t Look Now!) Fortunately, a friend sent me this video as a way to help me remember the difference between the two. Personally, I prefer the music video to Adam McKay’s film. It’s a lovely video and there’s no one yelling at me.
Toni Colette & The Forward released one album in 2006, Beautiful Awkward Pictures. Two singles were released off the album, this one and the title track. The video for the title track was directed by Nash Edgerton and I’m tempted to think that he may have done this one as well. But I’m not sure so until I get some sort of official confirmation, we’ve got question marks.
This song was written by Toni Collette herself.
Enjoy!
Look up look up The sky is falling Colors changing People laughing In the face of danger
Look out look out The bruise is swelling Streets are bleeding Angels calling In a time of rescue The rivers flooding Boats are sinking Lights are fading An attempt to get through To the ocean of you All naked & blue How do you do
Watch out watch out The fools are fighting There’s love that’s dying An earth that’s crying For the life it once knew Trace the day Across all space To find a smile Upon your face
I could never replace The hue of these days It’s just a phase That we can’t sleep We can only weep For all we can’t keep We live in dream
Hear this hear this The record’s playing There’s lovers swaying A town that’s praying For a laugh to see them through The rocket’s lifting The air is thinning Shapes are shifting Oh god but what a view
One for your time Two for your words Three for a picture of a Four dimensional world Five to live with each other Six to sing the same song Seven not to eat them Eight to feel that you belong Nine to let go of fear Ten to hold your vision dear
Look up look up The sky is falling Colors changing People laughing In the face of danger The bruise is swelling Streets are bleeding Angels calling In a time of rescue The rivers flooding Boats are sinking Lights are fading An attempt to get through The fools are fighting There’s love that’s dying An earth that’s crying For the life it once knew For the life it once knew For the life it once knew For the life it once knew
Today’s music video of the day is this futuristic clip from Grimes. I won’t say much about it because I’m not feeling exactly great right now but I will point out that, by the time you watch this, Elon Musk will have viewed it over a hundred times. (I know that they’re “semi-separated” but I think that’s just something that people say. It’s like when I say that I’m semi-annoyed or semi-happy. It’s all just words that you toss out to keep the conversation going.)
For the record, I always like these futuristic clips. The future is something I think about a lot because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life. But the thing with visions of the future is that they only seem futuristic if you can go back and look at them from the perspective from someone in the past. I guess if I was a visitor from 1950, 2022 would seem pretty futuristic but since I live every day in 2022, today just seems like the present.
And really, until an android is elected President, it’s probably always going to seem like that. Oh well! Personally, I hope that doesn’t happen in my lifetime because androids are always like, “What is this thing you humans call laughter?” Like figure it out for yourself, android dude.
Poor Adi Ulmansky! She definitely deserves better and she should also be careful about having that many candles lit at once. Seriously, I’m looking at all of those flames and just kind of freaking out. Don’t get me wrong. Candles are atmospheric and they’re romantic and it’s nice to use a few to set the mood but I think when you’ve got a 1,000 lit at once, you’re pressing your luck.
My best friend Evelyn introduced me to Adi’s music a few years ago. I’ve loved the sound of her voice ever since.
Yes, the song is in Hebrew. No, I do not speak Hebrew. However, the emotions of the song are universal. Adi and the music video both get the point across.
Stop worrying so much. Stop making yourself sick with all of you anxiety. Stop searching online for new things to panic about. Stop and have a good time. This video has a good message and it’s one that I happen to agree with. There’s a difference between staying informed and purposefully driving yourself mad. Sometimes, you just have to be willing to enjoy yourself. I fear that there’s a lot of people out there who have forgotten that or who feel guilty if they’re not constantly depressed all the time.
Enjoy yourself. Dance in the street. Swim in a stranger’s pool. Star in a music video. Hang out in the back seat of someone’s car. Sing a song about the joys of getting laid. Whatever it is that you have to do, do it.
As I said, it’s a good message. Everyone needs to listen to Upsahl. Or, at the very least, they need to listen to my interpretation of Upsahl. They need to listen to this song and they also need to listen to Drugs, a song that perfectly captures this current cultural moment. A good song always captures the period in which it was written. Of course, a good song also always has a good beat to which you can dance. Sorry, folk music lovers.
Anyway, enjoy!
I’m up all night online I’m looking up my symptoms Tell myself I’m fine But my system just ain’t listenin Like oooh This aint normal how Im feelin, no ooh Running higher than a fever
When palms start to sweat I feel it in my stomach This is how I get Every time I know you’re comin’ over
Whooo Sometimes I think that I might die with you Whooo It’s like I’m almost too alive with you
My hearts gonna beat so fast, gonna beat so fast Gonna beat so fast that it might stopOh it feels like… My hearts gonna beat so fast, gonna beat so fast Gonna beat so fast that it might stop Hit my chest like Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, boom boom Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, boom boom
Kiss my neck Whisper in my ear ‘You aint seen nothing yet’ Cool me down and catch my breath like Whoo This is aint normal how I’m feeling, no ooh Say whatever, I’ll believe it cause Ahhh ahhh ahhh ahh ahh ahh
My hearts gonna beat so fast, gonna beat so fast Gonna beat so fast that it might stopOh it feels like… My hearts gonna beat so fast, gonna beat so fast Gonna beat so fast that it might stop Hit my chest like Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, boom boom Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, boom boom Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, boom boom Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, Wooohh ooh ooh oohh, boom boom My hearts gonna beat so fast, gonna beat so fast Gonna beat so fast that it might stop
Through the Shattered Lens 