Music Video of the Day: Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked by Cage The Elephant (2008, dir by D.A.R.Y.L.)


ain’t no rest for the wicked/money don’t grow on trees

Hi everyone!  Lisa here, filling in for our resident music video expert, Valerie.

Now, there’s a variety different reasons why Val or I might pick a video for music video of the day.  Sometimes, the choice is made as a way to honor an artist who has recently passed away.  Sometimes, it’s done to commemorate a historical event.  And sometimes, especially in my case, it’s just because the song’s chorus has gotten stuck in my head.

For instance, take today’s music video of the day.  Sunday morning, I was driving to the store and I turned on the radio and, just by chance, this was the song that was playing.  Ever since, I’ve had Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked, Money Don’t Grow On Trees stuck in my head.

And really, the song has a point.  Money doesn’t grow on trees.

Anyway, this video was directed by D.A.R.Y.L., which is the creative moniker of directors James Hall and Edward Lovelace.

Enjoy!

oh, there ain’t no rest for the wicked

 

Music Video Of The Day: Instant Crush by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas (2013, dir by Warren Fu)


Hi, everyone!  Lisa here with today’s music video of the day!

July 14th is Bastille Day in France so it only seems appropriate to share a video from my two favorite French musical artistes, Daft Punk.  That’s right — the robots are French!

Instant Crush was the fourth single to be released off of Daft Punk’s Grammy-winning fourth album, Random Access Memories.  It’s a collaboration between the robots and Julian Casablancas.  The video was directed by veteran music video director Warren Fu and it brings tears to my eyes every time.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Pretty Life by Jakalope (2004, dir by Lisa Mann and Vincent Marcone)


The latest season of Degrassi dropped on Netflix today.  Val’s already watched it and I’ll probably watch it this weekend.

In honor of this occasion, today’s music video of the day comes from the Canadian band, Jakalope.  Not only was Jakalope’s best-known song, Feel It, prominently featured in the classic Ghost in the Machine episode of Degrassi but Jakalope also performed Degrassi’s opening theme song from season 4 to season 7.  Part of my ritual, before watching any season of Degrassi, is to spend an hour listening to Jakalope.  It gets me just in the right mood.  My Canadian friends understand.

Pretty Life comes from Jakalope’s debut album, It Dreams.  (It Dreams was co-produced by Trent Reznor and his unmistakable influence in present in both the songs and the videos.)  After watching Pretty Life, be sure to check out the videos for Feel It and Go Away.

As an extra bonus, here is Jakalope performing the Degrassi theme song during season 4:

And here is the instrumental version that was used during seasons 6 and 7.  These opening credits are taken from season 7.  (If the opening credits seem a bit crowded that’s because, during season 7, apparently every teenager in Canada had a role on Degrassi.)

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: I Can’t Drive 55 by Sammy Hagar (1984, dir by Gil Bettman)


Happy 4th of July!

When I was searching for the perfect music video for Independence Day, I did a google search for “Best Libertarian songs.”  After all, as anyone who knows me can tell you, the only thing more firm than my love of cinema is my resentment of authority.

Anyway, as you can probably guess, my search led to me sitting through a lot of dreary progressive rock songs, the type that featured 20 minute drum solos and lyrics lifted from Ayn Rand.  However, it also led me to a song called I Can’t Drive 55.  

Though this song is just a little before my time, it still feels like it was specifically recorded just for me.  I have always considered traffic laws, not just the laws themselves but the way they are enforced, to be the epitome of everything that can go wrong when people blindly respect authority.

Last year, I was mailed a ticket for running a red light.  I’ll be the first to admit that I ran the red light but the time to ticket me was when I did it.  Furthermore,  if I’m going to be ticketed, I demand to be ticketed by a human being and not some machine that is impervious to being manipulated by tears.  Sending me a ticket a month later and expecting me to pay it just because some camera recorded me bending the law is the first step to dictatorship.  The second step is people passively paying the fine because “that’s the law.”  Laws, after all, are man made and obeying them without question is giving mankind more respect than it’s earned through it actions.

As for the video, it also feels like it was specifically filmed for me.  It’s actually a fun little video with a sense of humor and who hasn’t wanted to tell a traffic judge what he can do with his gavel?

Anyway, enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Hangar 18 by Megadeth (1990, dir by Paul Boyington)


If y’all already didn’t already known in which direction my musical tastes tends to run, you probably could guess just by doing a search and seeing who, out of the 18 writers on the site, has spent the most time writing about The Chemical Brothers and the Electric Daisy Carnival.  In other words, I’m not going to pretend that I know much about Megadeth.

But I do know that it’s World UFO Day and this video certainly seems to fit with the theme!

Enjoy and keep watching the skies!

Music Video of the Day: The Golden Path by The Chemical Brothers, featuring The Flaming Lips (2003, dir by Chris Milk)


https://vimeo.com/143082350

The Golden Path is one of my favorite songs of all time.

I’ve been listening to it a lot this weekend, while thinking about friends and loved ones who left this world far too early.  On a normal day, the combination of Wayne Coyne’s sincere delivery of “How and why did I die?” and the song’s closing chorus of “Please forgive me, I never meant to hurt you!” makes me emotional.  This weekend, it’s literally brought tears to my eyes.

(Interestingly enough, in an interview with the Guardian, Coyne said the following about recording the vocals for The Golden Path:  “We recorded our part very quickly, almost flippantly, like we’d get a second chance. Then Tom and Ed left a message within 20 minutes of receiving the tape. You could hear them jumping up and down in the background, shouting ‘We’re ecstatic.'”)

As for the video, it’s actually pretty simple.  An office drone fantasizes of a colorful world beyond his gray existence.  The dreamer is played by Fran Kranz, who you might recognize as the stoner from The Cabin In The Woods.  This video was the first to be directed by Chris Milk.

Enjoy!

(Val should be back tomorrow!)

Music Video of the Day: D7-D5 by Blanck Mass (2016, dir by Jake McGowan)


When Benjamin John Power, the man behind Blanck Mass, was asked about this haunting and surreal video, this is what he told Spin:

“D7-D5′ is intended as the second move in a game of chess initially instigated by Manuel Gottsching when he released (and named said release) ‘E2-E4,’ the recording which many believe pioneered techno. The video was made by [my] good friend Jake McGowan, and follows one man whilst he struggles to deal with a flurry of emotions and human states which are common during a battle of any size, including a game of chess.”

For myself, I’ll say that this video immediately reminded me of the work of David Lynch.  Of course, I’m kind of obsessed with David Lynch’s art right now.  Until Twin Peaks has finished its run, I imagine that almost everything is going to remind me of Lynch in one way or another.

Still, this video is almost unsettling as that famous scene in A Field in England, that one that featured Blanck Mass’s Chernobyl playing in the background.  Remember that scene?

Well, unsettling or not, Blanck Mass helps me to focus, which considering the intensity of my ADD, is no small accomplishment!  If not for well-selected background music, I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish 3,000 of the 3,897 things that I have posted on this site!

Enjoy!

 

One Hit Wonders #3: LONG, LONESOME HIGHWAY by Michael Parks (MGM Records, 1970)


gary loggins's avatarcracked rear viewer

Did you know the late actor Michael Parks (1940-2017) once reached #20 on the Billboard charts with the song “Long, Lonesome Highway”:

Parks was appearing at the time in the NBC-TV series THEN CAME BRONSON, a sort of ROUTE 66 on two wheels, riding his Harley across America in search of meaning. The show aired during the 1969-70 season, and was a nod to the counterculture movement going on at the time. THEN CAME BRONSON had some good writing and featured guest stars both established (Iron Eyes Cody, STAR TREK’s James Doohan, LA Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, Beverly Garland, Gloria Grahame, Jack Klugman, Fernando Lamas, Elsa Lanchester, James Whitmore) and up-and-coming (Dabney Coleman, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Penny Marshall, Kurt Russell, Martin Sheen, folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie), but lost it’s ticket to ride because of CBS’s ratings powerhouse HAWAII FIVE-O, and was cancelled after 26 episodes.

The song was written by James Hendricks (not…

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Music Video Of The Day: The Chemical Brothers featuring k-os — Get Yourself High (2003, dir by Joseph Kahn)


This music video features digitally enhanced footage from a 1980 film called 2 Champions of Shaolin.  According to Wikipedia, here’s what the video’s director, Joseph Kahn, had to say about it:

“I edited this on a laptop on a plane to Chicago. I rearranged the time sequencing of the actual movie. The bad guy with the big boombox is actually a minor henchman who dies in the first 30 minutes, but in my visual remix he’s the ultimate antagonist. The lip syncing was motion captured, then applied to 3D models of jaws. I didn’t know 100% if the technology was achievable with the time and money, nor did I know if we could actually get rights to a Chinese kung fu flick. It was a risky venture, but Carole gave me a check and then left me alone. She had some major balls.”

(And if it’s on Wikipedia, it has to be true!)

Anyway, I really love this video and the song.  The only unfortunate thing is that the Get Yourself High clown doesn’t make an appearance.  Who is the Get Yourself High Clown?  If you’ve seen The Chemical Brothers live, there’s a good chance you’ve seen him.  Check him out in this footage from their 2007 performance at Glastonbury:

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: The Chemical Brothers — Hey Boy Hey Girl (1999, dir by Dom & Nic)


Hi, everyone!  Lisa here.

So, as you know if you’ve been following the site, Val is currently having a hospital procedure done so she’s going to be gone for a few days.  Since I love Val’s music video of the day posts, I’m going to share a few picks of my own until she returns!

Hey Boy Hey Girl is not only one of my favorite songs from The Chemical Brothers, it’s also one of my favorite videos.  Admittedly, I could do without the saliva at the start of the film but that’s just because I have a thing about visible saliva.  It doesn’t appeal to me.  But otherwise, I absolutely love this video!

(Whenever I watch this video, I end up staring at my reflection and visualizing what my skeleton looks like.  Usually, I’m impressed.)

This video was one of the many directed by Dom & Nic.  Other videos that they’ve done for The Chemical Brothers: Wide Open, Midnight Madness, Salmon Dance, Believe, The Test, and Setting Sun.

Not a day goes by that I don’t see those dancing skeleton recreated in GIF form.  I guess that’s because I hang out on a lot of horror-themed web sites.

Enjoy!