Idolator: videodrone

Robyn Shows "The View" Her Cobrastyle

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Robyn's (and some Teddybears') performance of "Cobrastyle" on The View had Whoopi Goldberg so excited that they gave copies of her album to everyone in the audience! Unfortunately most of the middle-aged women present had already downloaded it in 2006. [The Music Slut]

The Cure Are Still In Love With You

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:00:00 EDT

The Cure is back and in radio-ready swoon mode, with Robert Smith hitting high notes and the guitars jangling behind his giddiness over the physical rapture you provide him. Porl Thompson (looking not unlike Boy George with his eyeliner and skull tattoo) is back in the recording line-up for the first time since 1992's Wish, and I'm glad to see (or at least hear it—ugh, that skull tattoo). Hey, maybe that's why this sounds so much like "High!"

Every listen to this song reveals it as less and less a tired retread of that classic and simply another worthy entry in Robert Smith's bag of happy hits. But even if it came off hollow, I'd still be grateful that he bothered to revisit this mode, which might be my favorite of his many moods.

"When I see you sticky as lips, as licky as trips, I can't lick that far." Robert, you dog!

The Cure - The Only One [YouTube]
The Cure - High [YouTube]

Just What The World Needed: A Younger, Bigger-Voiced (And Female) David Archuleta

Maura Johnston — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:45:00 EDT

Charisse Pempengco is a teenager from the Philippines who's already something of a reality-tv vet in her native country, and she appeared on Oprah recently, eager to show off her (half-impressive, half-depressing) Whitney Houston impersonation to millions of Winfrey acolytes. Given that this clip is currently nestled in the upper echelons of YouTube's most popular music videos—side-by-side with Archuleta's performances from last night, even!—I'm going to guess that she'll either be the "new girl" in the next High School Musical installment or be trying out for American Idol within the next two years. (A tip: Someone should sit her down with the cautionary tale of Bianca Ryan before she gets any big ideas/accelerates the inevitable blowing-out of her vocal cords.) [YouTube]

NER*D Get Their Cobrasnake On

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:15:00 EDT

Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West, and a guy dressed up like a giant nose show up in the video for "Everybody Nose," the predictably annoying new single from N*E*R*D. Coked-out potential American Apparel models strike awkward poses for Pharrell as he and his bandmates yell "achoo! achoo!" and get caught in a mosh. Ironically, this track, both musically and lyrically, is meant as more of a critique of club culture than a celebration.

"Most of the songs out there about being in the club are just boring," Williams said. "It's almost like life imitating art. That's my problem. So many songs are about being in the club that you listen to them and you're almost desensitized."

One of the ways N*E*R*D plans to combat this desensitizing on their upcoming album, Seeing Sounds, is by incorporating unexpected guest stars like the Hives. Actually, the appearance of the Hives isn't unexpected at all, as Pharrell produced the finest song on the band's 2007 Black And White Album, "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." Hopefully, once Interscope gets tired of putting "Tick Tick Boom" in as many ads as possible, they can get around to making a video for this one.

N.E.R.D. - Everybody Nose [Y4L via Soul Bounce]
N.E.R.D. at top of class in hip-hop smarts [Boston Herald]
T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. - The Hives [YouTube]

Maroon 5 And Rihanna Sex-Stare At (Or Next To) Each Other

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Rihanna does her best to imitate Adam Levine's frozen sex-stare in Maroon 5's video for "If I Never See Your Face Again," but you can't pretend to be a homicidal maniac. Adam seems more comfortable eye-fucking the camera than her, but that's because her eyes made him think about how much he'd love to wrap a phone cord around her neck while Phil Collins plays in the background and naturally it made him a little nervous. The song? It's another nasty sex romp that will have Greg Dulli shooting ever more darts into an thoroughly punctured picture of Mr. Levine. "He gets Rihanna and Kanye, I get Marcy Mays and Mark Lanegan! Why did I have to peak in the '90s!?! Argh, my groin!" [YouTube]

Miley Cyrus Puts On Her Go-Go Boots

Maura Johnston — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:00:00 EDT

No, she's not posting pictures of herself at an Austin Powers party to her MySpace page; the Disney cash cow performed a new song, "Break Out," at KIIS-FM's Wango Tango summerfest over the weekend, and it's a glimmering bit of powerpop that seems to have been written in the style of Talk Show-era Go-Go's. While it's still hard for me to reconcile her cigs-and-whiskey voice with her tweeny age—and don't even get me started on the line about her parents calling her lazy, given the way the curtain was pulled back on her quasi-Archuletan existence in recent weeks—the "oh, oh, ohs" on the chorus won me over near-instantaneously. I guess this sort of cross-generational pandering is how you bridge the gap between your current fanbase and its members' parents? [YouTube]

M83's Cultural Saturation Moment Is On The Horizon

Anthony Miccio — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:30:00 EDT

After seeing this Urban Outfitters ad, I'm giving M83 three years to fill the majority of a chart-topping movie soundtrack with their increasingly accessible post-shoegaze swoon and/or enjoy a fluke top 10 hit in the manner of T'Pau.

I'm not saying this stuff isn't gorgeous, catchy and total bait for 4AD-obsessed adolescents of all ages (putting them in the videos will make it easier for directors of teen movies to realize the potential). I'm just saying this road leads to T'Pau.

Maybe a collabo cover with Rihanna? Hey, I dream big.

Urban Outfitters M83 We Own The Sky [Youtube]
T'Pau "Heart And Soul" [Youtube]

Portishead Pulls The "Rip" Cord

Maura Johnston — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:30:00 EDT

If you haven't listened to Portishead's Third yet, well, why? It's one of the most arresting albums of the year, full of sounds and twists that don't reveal themselves until the 20th or 21st listen, and "The Rip" is one of my favorite songs on it—its picked guitar gives way to a Krautrockish hum, with Beth Gibbons' immediate vocals tugging the proceedings along. The video is a pencil-sketched fever dream full of flying and falling, as well as many up-close ruminations on the nostril. (There's a higher-quality version of it at their official site, but you'll need to enter an e-mail address.) [YouTube]

A Slow News Day Tribute To 1992 In British Dance

Dan Gibson — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Idolator has already reported on Utah Saints' recent run up the British Charts, but as far as I'm concerned, there's no musical micro-genre more welcome for a comeback than Britain's dance music of the early '90s. I have a brightly colored striped shirt and a pacifier just sitting in box waiting to be used!

1992 is referred to as one of the worst years in British chart history, partially because of a series of ABBA tributes which made runs at number one. Combine that with a great year for Simply Red, and even the Shamen start to sound good:

Although it appeared on the 1991 album Screamadelica, Primal Scream's "Movin' On Up" saw a single release in 1992, which is connection enough for my purposes. It's no Loaded, but it's still pretty great:

I'm not making the contention that this song is worth hearing again, but keep in mind that Wet Wet Wet were doing pretty well the same year. Context really is everything.

Of course, 1992 saw the farewell of geniuses KLF, marked by this brilliant BRIT Awards performance:

Is it too much to ask for "What Time Is Love '08"? KLF, we need you more than ever!

1992 in British Music [Wikipedia]

NLT: Following In (Probably Too) Many Boy-Band Traditions

Maura Johnston — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:55:00 EDT

The OneRepublic-vocalist-produced "Karma" by the new boy band NLT seems to be catching a little bit of fire, or at least has a viral-marketing team that knows about the world of pop-music blogs behind its push. The song is an early-'00s-informed bit of pop-radio playlist filler, and the group, which is apparently something of a redemptive product for B2K svengali Chris Stokes, seems to be the Mach 2008 version of the classic boy band. It's made up of four just-shy-of-20 dudes who are just cute enough and just threatening enough, and who have as one member someone named "V." Watching this video, I noted that NLT also carried on important boy-band traditions, as if to honor the boys to men who have traveled in the streaming-girl-strewn path they hope to ride an Escalade down.

• A dumb acronym for a name. "NLT," which may be one of the most innocuous names in the world (everyone knows you need vowels to stick out!), stands for "Not like them." Perhaps that means they are not like these guys:

They're actually into girls who shop at Hollister.

• An extended dance sequence in a well-lit hallway.

Although Justin Timberlake et al never had the presence of mind to sing in front of an illuminated equals sign. Mathy!

• A sequence where it seems they are crawling around the hair on someone else's head.

Let's hope that this means they'll be going the "surrealism as a way to show their disgust with the biz" route early.

NLT - Karma (Official video) [DailyMotion via Chris Picks]
LFO - Summer Girls [YouTube]
NSync - Bye, Bye, Bye [DailyMotion]
The Monkees - HEAD (Dandruff) [YouTube]

"Don't Forget The Lyrics" Has A Billy Vera Moment

Maura Johnston — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:30:00 EDT

One reason I love Google Trends: It allows me to keep up with Don't Forget The Lyrics while not having to watch the show, thanks to the many searches for strings like "thriller lyrics" and "hit the road jack lyrics" and "movin on up lyrics" (sadly not for the awesome Primal Scream song). No. 7 on the list at this moment is, uh, "At This Moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters, a song that I have a probably disproportional affection for thanks for a) the way it's kind of the perfect slow-dance song and b) its introduction to the American populace via Family Ties, which was one of my favorite shows as a young lass and which I actually credit with a few personal musical epiphanies. I mean, do you remember when Nick wanted "Lola" as his wedding song? Once those Raincoats reissues came out I liked to think that he actually wanted their cover of the Kinks song playing, and not the original.

This is so much more Nick than the Kinks version. Ayy.

Raincoats - Lola [Songza]
YouTube]

Cobra Starship Make The "Guilty Pleasure" Headlines Flow Like Water

Maura Johnston — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:45:00 EDT

So, let's take some inventory for Cobra Starship's latest video for "Guilty Pleasure," which replaces the very cute "home movie" one they made as they continue their quest to crack MTV's 3 a.m. rotation. Zubaz and Zink-covered noses? Check. The most dejected-looking rollerskate dance that I have ever seen in my life? Check! (FYI, I've never seen Starlight Express, so one of its more tragic scenes might beat this. Barely.) A cameo by a DeLorean with a "FLUXED" license plate? Check. Patrick Stump as a perhaps overly cost-conscious manager? Che-eeck! Even if I didn't like the song as much as I do, this video is like Idolator catnip, people. [YouTube]

Nicole Scherzinger Sings National Anthem, Avoids Adding Line About Her Genitalia

Maura Johnston — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:45:00 EDT

Nicole Scherzinger's 45-slowed-down-to-33 performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" not only features her wearing an outfit that covers her midriff (perhaps that's the cause for the boos at the outset?), it's pretty straight-and-narrow—not to mention relatively in key for an a capella performance. But surely I can't be the only one who thinks that this is step one in her efforts to Kristy Lee Cook it up in a final, last-ditch effort to save her solo album from eternal label purgatory? I can't wait until she wears a red, white, and blue jumpsuit for the Macy's July 4 fireworks display and mashes her way through "God Bless The USA," complete with a posse of Statue of Liberty-dressed Pussycat Dolls behind her. After all, nothing can be worse than her Duran Duran cover, right?

I had to. I'm sorry. Here's the original as a peace offering.

Nicole Scherzinger Sings National Anthem [YouTube via ONTD]
Nicole Scherzinger - Rio (Caress Brazilian Mix) [YouTube]
Duran Duran Rio [YouTube]

Mariah Carey And The Video That Accelerated A Thousand Gossip Blogs' Publication Schedules

Maura Johnston — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:30:00 EDT

So apparently Nick Cannon "directed" the video for Mariah Carey's "Bye Bye," although it really just seems to intersperse repurposed footage from meet-and-greets and photo shoots (we've all seen that bathing suit before) with some footage of a plane taking off, shots of newly minted lovebirds Mariah and Nick loving it up, and pictures of people who died. (The video-ending photos of Mariah with Luciano Pavarotti and Luther Vandross were the perfect MC touch, in a "trying to be classy, winding up kinda assy" sort of way.) I guess this is how they do a Mariah video "on a budget" in these tough economic times? [YouTube]

Lloyd And Ludacris Turn The Whole World Into Neverland

Maura Johnston — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

The Rock And Jock-ready stomp of Lloyd's new single, "How We Do It," has grown on me since my first listen two months ago thanks to hearing the track during a couple of car rides, which may be the optimum listening conditions for many a summer jam candidate. So now here's the video, in which Lloyd and Ludacris zip around a conglomeration of American cities that's illustrated in such a way that it resembles a cross between the opening credits of The Surreal Life and Michael Jackson's "Leave Me Alone" video, sans Elizabeth Taylor and Verne Troyer, alas. [WorldStarHipHop via Toya's World]

Soulja Boy Is Not Wasting Any Time In His Quest To To Shake That "One-Hit Wonder" Tag

Maura Johnston — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:45:00 EDT

Apparently the call-out research on "iDance," Soulja Boy's last new single (you may remember it from, um, Friday), rushed in over the weekend and was overwhelmingly negative, because the tenacious young MC has already put out his next new single, "She Gotta Donk." Soulja Boy seems to be going the "When in doubt, sing about women with nice asses over a really sparse beat" route on his new track, a decision that will no doubt cause a lecture from 50 Cent to be sent his way soon. [OnSmash via ProHipHop]

Angolan Concert Attendee Steals 50 Cent's Chain, Feeds Family For A Month

Anthony Miccio — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:20:00 EDT

At 1:40 in this clip of 50 Cent performing in Angola, you can see someone jump on stage and swipe the chain off Curtis' neck. Not shown and possibly imagined: 50 Cent, having his crest stolen, fell to the ground powerless, as The Game ran away laughing, screaming "X THE EEEELIMINATOR!" as he dangled from a rope ladder off a getaway helicopter that read "G-UNOT!" on the side. [YouTube]

Panic At The Disco Play With Dolls

Maura Johnston — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:45:00 EDT

"That Green Gentleman" is one of the standouts from Panic At The Disco's Pretty. Odd, and its fussy harmonies and baroqueish stylings are well-matched with this cute clip, which is stuffed with Russian dolls, old-timey bikes, and lots of kids gleefully running around. (Even the product placement is mercifully—and dare I say tastefully?—brief, although I could just be saying that because I'm still suffering PTSD from that Fergie song for Sex And The City.) "Do you think they want to be the Monkees?" a friend of mine asked after I sent him the YouTube of this clip. "Nah," I said. "I think they're aiming in a different direction..."

I know, I know, they don't reach those heights. But can you blame them for trying?

Panic At The Disco - That Green Gentleman [YouTube]
Jellyfish - The King Is Half-Undressed [YouTube]

Justice Wants To D.A.N.C.E. All Over Your F.A.C.E.

Maura Johnston — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Frenchie dance duo Justice may be the perfect act for the current time that we live in, i.e. an era that's full of smug self-referentiality, parties with decent music that are solely populated by people asking where the next party might be, and cults of personality that have voids at their center. The video for "D.A.N.C.E." seems to represent their modus operandi best, really—aesthetically impressive, but stuffed full of statements that dig no deeper than what can be expressed by a T-shirt, and lots of references to some other cultural touchstone that lurks within the recesses of the 18-34 demo's collective memory. As such, it was probably inevitable that they'd move on to the "shocking video stuffed with gratuitous violence" phase of their career, but I figured they'd at least wait until their post-Cross album to do so. "Stress" clip after the jump.

You know what this reminds me of? "Smack My Bitch Up." Except without the Metroid ending, which at least made the "controversial" aspects of the clip a bit clever.

Justice - Stress [Dailymotion]

Bret Michaels' Version Of "Cum On Feel Tha Noize" Is Out Of Time (But It Makes Some Money Anyway)

Maura Johnston — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:55:00 EDT

Last night, Bret Michaels continued his run of TV exposure with an appearance on Don't Forget The Lyrics, a show that, I admit, I would probably completely suck on because I am the queen of making syllables up to fit the words of certain songs. He gave up after being tripped up by the pre-chorus to Slade's "Cum On Feel Tha Noize," a song which he claims he can get right when he's in his car. But can he get the melody right? Because there was a run of pretty rough notes there at the beginning. Cleanse your ears with Kevin DuBrow's interpretation of the track, which is after the jump.

Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel Tha Noize [YouTube]
Bret Michaels On Don't Forget The Lyrics Part 2 [RedLasso]

Nope, I Still Don't Get The Whole Rick Ross Thing

Maura Johnston — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Well, it's nice to know that hanging around the lower reaches of the Billboard 200's top 20 for longer than a week or two can still give some people enough delusions to think that they have money to burn. Or at least singe. [YouTube via Nah Right]

Lil Mama Revels In The Pain Of "L.I.F.E."

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Lil Mama's VYP: Voice Of The Young People has a lot more drama (and meta) than her previous singles would imply, so it's a good thing that "L.I.F.E." spotlights the side of Lil Mama that can't be appeased with lip gloss. The side of her that dresses up like a pregnant teenager with an abusive thug of a boyfriend and a mom sprawled on the couch with a bottle of Jack! The ballerina may be a bit much, but it's refreshing to see a rap video that doesn't celebrate the joys of yay-slinging. [YouTube]

Has-Beens Busta Rhymes and Linkin Park Have Finally Made It

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Maybe it's not fair to Linkin Park to call them has-beens, but it's a little late for them to be releasing a track titled "We've Made It." And Busta Rhymes? Hell, he might need to make it again.

This track is probably supposed to have the turgid, inspirational drive of "Lose Yourself," but Chester Bennington would have been better off just singing the hook from "Eye Of The Tiger," which Busta would have probably preferred back when his music was fun. Rhyming "my life is glorious" with "I'm a symbol of greatness, you can call me Morpheus," indicates Busta's stuck at the turn of the century even more than his decision to work with Linkin Park. Mike Shinoda would also like you to know that once upon a time, people didn't give Linkin Park respect. But that's all changed now! Awww yeah!

I assume the "Jimmy" Busta references in the last verse is Interscope honcho Jimmy Iovine. 50 Cent also name dropped the former Stevie Nicks producer in a single recently, and I'm wondering if these recent on-track shout-outs are meant to stave off the release delays that Iovine has become notorious for in recent years. It was always common for Arista artists to open their liner notes with a thank you to God and Clive Davis, but I'm pretty sure he never inspired a rapper to announce they were staying alive, making money like Clive.

Busta Rhymes ft. Linkin Park - We Made It [GREAT QUALITY!] [Youtube]

Fall Out Boy Give Their Fans The White Glove Treatment

Maura Johnston — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Fall Out Boy's clip for their cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" does in fact pay homage to old videos by The Gloved One, with Patrick Stump even getting his own "Dirty Diana" moment near the song's end. But while watching the video, in which the boys from the band walk around a seedy neighborhood that is populated solely with Michael Jackson-costumed dudes and watch Tony Hale lead a class in the "sexy" martial arts before getting roped into a throwdown, I was reminded of another clip from MJ-era MTV:

I can't tell if the homage is intentional—and if so, is Pete Wentz the Nikki Sixx of the band?—or if it's just a case of sets being reused 25 years apart, but either way, I figured that we all could use a little Shout At The Devil-era Crue this morning.

Beat It [icecreamhdaches]
Motley Crue - Too Young To Fall In Love [YouTube]

Tyga Offers Us Evidence That The World Has Gone Totally Insane

Dan Gibson — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:30:00 EDT

There's a lot to try to get your head around with the first single from Decaydance signing Tyga.

1. Tyga is Travis McCoy's cousin. Somehow, that has become notable somehow, as if that factoid implies some sort of talent or skill passed via genetic transfer.

2. The hook is taken from either the 1971 Harry Nilsson novelty song "Coconut", or quite possibly, the Muppet Show cover. However, this does open the window for my rap album sampling TV commercial jingles I heard growing up in Tucson. The track "Lucky Wishbone, We Got Everything" is sure hit, by my ears.

3. Tyga's album is a co-production of Pete Wentz's more-successful-than-I'd-like-to-imagine vanity label Decaydance and Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment. This business relationship is symbolized in the above video by a phone call between Wentz and Weezy, which is seen as comfortable and not at all awkward.

4. Pete Wentz mentions living in Encino. Were all the Mullholland mansions taken, Pete, or are you settling into family mode already?

Tyga [MySpace]

Prince Covers Radiohead: Watch It While You Can

Maura Johnston — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:45:00 EDT

I'm not even going to type up a full report of this clip, because by the time I finish writing it up Prince will have banished it to the land of "This video is no longer available." purgatory. So get clicking! [YouTube]

Annie Gives Us A Ring

Maura Johnston — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:15:00 EDT

Annie's "I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me" appeared on her MySpace page last month, but now there's a video for it, and it's predictably adorable, with the Norwegian pop starlet leading a dance troupe of black-clad prom queens, matching her eyeshadow to her eye-popping dresses, and drinking a cocktail that looks suspiciously like the one that the bars I frequented during my Long Island days called a "Windex." Did I mention that this track also doubles as a huge indicator that her upcoming cover of Stacey Q's "Two Of Hearts" is probably going to be amazing? [YouTube ; HT Fluxtumblr]

Riskay Finally Makes Video, Fails To Smell Yo Dick

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:15:00 EDT

Months after her viral moment, Riskay has finally made a video for "Smell Yo Dick," the song about how she thinks you're cheating and that she needs to smell yo dick. The low-budget clip features plenty of charming moments, like the sequence in which Riskay, wearing nothing but lingerie and white-frilled panties, pours bleach all over her boyfriend's clothes while he stomps around angrily outside. Problem is, she never smells his dick! You can't have the phrase "can I smell yo dick?" repeat a dozen times in a song and not even imply the smelling of said dick. We don't have to see genitalia, but someone should definitely be seen going in for a whiff.

And why does she care about this lardass in the first place?

Riskay Feat. Aviance & Real - Smell Yo Dick [YouTube]

Et Tu, Def Leppard, Or: What Hard Rock Band Doesn't Want To Be On CMT These Days?

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:45:00 EDT

It's long been argued that the poodle-rock audience moved to pop-country in the late '90s, and the new Def Leppard video, "Nine Lives," is a logical extension of that. No, Def Leppard hasn't replaced their guitars with banjos, they've just invited Tim McGraw to drawl on another half-hearted attempt at a Hysteria-esque arena stomp. That lick on the chorus is a little country, too. Man, now even the British hair bands are pledging allegiance to the shitkickers. [YouTube via Blabbermouth]

Grizzly Bear Waits While The Sun Sets

Maura Johnston — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:40:00 EDT

This will probably get me kicked out of whatever music-blogger clubs haven't booted me already, but I haven't really listened to Grizzly Bear that much. "Knife" was OK, but it suffered for me from reading so much about it before I actually heard it—it became one of those songs that sounded exactly the way every writer described it, which leeched away some of its charm. Which is why I'm glad I heard "While You Wait For The Others," which the band debuted on last night's Late Night With Conan O'Brien, right after it came out; loose-limbed and pretty, it's one of those songs that will sound extra-lovely during late-summer nights on a lake. (I won't say much more, so as not to spoil it for you.) [RedLasso via Catbirdseat]

A Friday Tribute To My Lowrider Oldies Sunday

Dan Gibson — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Now that I have two kids, the number of live shows I actually make it out to has diminished to nearly zero. However, this Sunday night at the Pima County Fair in Tucson is a show I just can't miss: Super Oldies Low Rider Sunday Night.

The Dazz Band! Evelyn Champagne King! Al Wilson! Carl Carlton! Debbie Deb! A lowrider car show! Funnel cakes! What more could anyone ask for? Check out these clips and cry yourself to sleep Sunday night knowing you're not nearly having as much fun as I am.

Evelyn "Champagne" King-Love Come Down:

The Dazz Band-Let It Whip:

Carl Carlton-She's A Bad Mamma Jamma:

Al Wilson-Show and Tell:

April 20 [Pima County Fair]

Love Is All Add To The Rush Hour Ruckus

Maura Johnston — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT

How long has it been since we've heard genuinely new music from the Swedish freak-pop band Love Is All? Since the remix album and few covers they floated out in the months following their 2006 debut album don't really count, the only obvious answer is "too long." Which is why the debut of "Wishing Well"—shot at a train station in a city that I think is Oslo—is more than worthy of mention. The not-very-plugged-in arrangement makes the song sound a little bit subdued in comparison to the full-on frenzy the band normally unleashes in performance, but the head-bopping keyboard line is definitely a keeper. As a bonus, Handheld Shows, where the above clip originated, also has sets by El Perro Del Mar and The Blow in its archives. Music hauls like the one I'm having today make me really miss being a college-radio DJ. [Handheld Shows via Gorilla Vs. Bear]

High Places Get Our Heads Spinning

Maura Johnston — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:15:00 EDT

Another member of the "bands I discovered over the past six months that I really like" club is the Brooklyn duo High Places, whose neverending loops and funhouse-mirror vocals make me think of a fever-dream version of The Blow. Despite being short on manpower, their live shows are pretty entrancing affairs, and Pitchfork.TV is streaming a recent show of theirs right now. (Set opener "Head Spins" is embedded above.) Recommended especially if you need help easing into your Friday afternoon zone-out session. [Pitchfork.tv]

Madonna's Employment Of British Slang Is Almost As Awkward As Her Vacuuming Technique

Maura Johnston — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:30:00 EDT

She is happy about people using "4 Minutes" to soundtrack their own videos, though—and I have to say that I'm impressed that she managed to invoke both feminism and the concept of "Godliness" in the 48 seconds allotted to her in this little clip reminding her faithful that Hard Candy is coming out. You've still got it, Madge, no matter what Miley Cyrus might be thinking! [YouTube]

New Motley Crue Single Is Not A Ballad, And God Bless

Anthony Miccio — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:30:00 EDT

The men get older, but the leather-clad honeys just change their hair. We can debate just how corny it is when all their Cruefest openers join in at the end (wow, a context where Josh Todd and Jacoby Shaddix seem young!), but after that ballad passed on by Simple Plan, it's nice to see that Motley Crue is working in the vein of Dr. Feelgood again. Mick Mars even gets a brief guitar solo! I don't get the slow-motion shots of Nikki getting splashed with water (some kind of in-joke?), but the pig-riding woman swinging a chain makes perfect sense. [YouTube]

Roots Resurrect Hendrix (Or At Least Wyclef) On "The Colbert Report"

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Ok, so "The Roots" played "The Star-Spangled Banner" on The Colbert Report last night, right? Only it was ?uestlove, a touring bassist who joined less than a year ago, and a guitarist who signed on in 2003. Call me old-fashioned, but it just ain't the Roots without Kamal playing keyboard ostinatos and somebody beatboxing on top. If you want a tribute to Woodstock, why not just let Wyclef and will.i.am (I'm sure he knows how to play bass) join ?uestlove in some sort of left-leaning rap supergroup? Call it WQW! The Black Root 'Gees! Probama! [Comedy Central]

Rik Cordero Antagonizes Feminist Film Theory With "Birthday Girl" Video

Kate Richardson — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Rik Cordero's video for the Roots' rejected Patrick Stump cameo single is confusing. While it's appropriately set at a birthday party, the logic seems to stop there.

The video stars existentialist porn star Sasha Grey as the titular birthday girl, who's having a midday party in her formal dining room with two of her closest friends. Just as the things start to look boring, Cordero cuts to the doorway of the adjoining room, which is crowded with Los Angeles' finest creepsters shooting their most discomforting furtive glances toward Sasha. And they've come bearing gifts. Very phallic gifts!

At first it seems as if Cordero might be taking the video in the pleasant hug-a-loser direction, but that sweetness is but an introduction to the birthday girl sitting on the floor and opening each dude's gift as he stands above her, holding it at his crotch. One guy brought her a sausage! How sweet!

Cordero shoots the sequence in a more or less shot/reverse-shot pattern, but despite this lukewarm attempt at representing the female perspective, the sequence still comes off as uncomfortably misogynistic. That tight shot of the sausage hovering near her mouth lingers just a bit too long, and, furthermore, in all of the high-angle shots looking down at Grey opening the gifts she's got her best come-hither face on, thus negating any potential emotional depth. Which would be an entirely acceptable stylistic choice if it didn't seem as though Cordero were trying to make some sort of "statement."

Of course the song is also about a relationship between a guy and a sexually precocious 17-year-old pretending to be 22, which, to be fair to Cordero, is duly represented, if a bit indirectly. Still, there's a certain sadness—a tone of vague regret, even—in the song that seems jarringly absent from the video. "Birthday Girl" the song is about about the dubious advantages of growing up, and the room full of eager horny guys would seemingly indicate that Sasha's character is about to be thrust into a world of sexual expectations that are perhaps beyond her years. But by sticking almost exclusively to the male gaze and presumably directing his actress to be seductive, Cordero fails to accurately convey the complex emotions of the situation. I suppose Sasha Grey's up-for-it attitude could be interpreted as female empowerment, but I don't think miming BJs on older men at a high school birthday party ever has made, or ever will make, any girl feel liberated. Perhaps I'm just closed-minded?

As for the last minute of the video, which is is mostly black-and-white security-camera footage of a film crew coming into the room and directing the characters around, I have no explanation. Perhaps Cordero is trying to tell us something postmodern about music videos, though I doubt it's anything that complicated. It's visually boring and has nothing to do with anything else. Couldn't he have just shot a performance video set at a backyard BBQ and saved us all this trouble?

Soulja Boyz II Men: From Jokey "Bad Idea" To Jokey, Slightly Better Idea

Maura Johnston — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Those of you who enjoyed the snippet of Soulja Boyz II Men that was in the Real's "Failed Ideas In Hip-Hop" video earlier this week may be thrilled to know that the comedy duo has come up with a puppetry-employing video for the track—and while, like many mashups, the song falls apart a bit on the verses, the chorus, and the thought bubbles employed by the various characters, more than make up for that cacophony. [The Real]

Miley Cyrus Engages In A Little Narcissism, Copyright Infringement For YouTube Faithful

Maura Johnston — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EDT

The above clip is the No. 1 video on YouTube with 950,000-plus views so far and its popularity can probably be explained by the fact that it features Miley Cyrus, referring to herself as "Milez," masterminding some sort of dance battle set to Madonna's "4 Minutes." There are many incredible things about this clip, from Miley and pal's YouTube channel page proclaiming "We love singing, dancing, and acting and it is such a blessing to be able to share these similarities! We love making people laugh and that is why the Miley and Mandy show is so important to us! We also enjoy writing songs, shopping, watching movies, being together, And more than anything praising Jesus Christ!" to the fact that Ms. Cyrus changes Timbaland's opening babble about being out of time to an opening babble that uses the word "Miley." But am I the only person who's kind of amazed that this clip has lasted as long as it has, given that Warner Music Group has been playing an extended whack-a-mole game against anyone who dares upload newish Madonna music to the Internet?

It's a little odd to me, given that the extensive credits the video have don't even mention what the song is, not even for copyright purposes, yet give thanks to a choreographer and someone named "Mammie." Sure, Miley (or whatever intern put up the clip) is probably just assuming that people know the song, Miley-altered lyrics aside. So basically, this whole video is one big exercise in the new guard of pop paving over the other—something you think Madonna wouldn't stand for long, especially since the views on this clip dwarf the paltry 228,000-ish garnered by the official video on YouTube's official Madge channel. Is Madonna's lack of action against this clip a pathetic way to not piss off the tweens, or is MLVC working feverishly behind the scenes, hoping to trade the use of her song in this clip for another soul-sucking onstage makeout session that will firmly cement her image in the mind of the Disney Channel faithful? One wonders.

M&M Cru with a U BATTLES Step Up 2 [YouTube]

Death Cab Debut Long-Ass Video

Anthony Miccio — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:30:00 EDT

A girl travels the world while Death Cab For Cutie rock out in a freezer for over eight minutes in "I Will Posses Your Heart." It's a pretty ominous song for these guys, at least until Ben Gibbard shows up just over halfway through to remind us who we're listening to. The video features two of my favorite video cliches: a glare of light reflecting off the camera (very David Fincher) and water (or glitter, confetti or milk) being hit off of drum heads. [YouTube]