Maybe you haven't noticed, but it's the golden age of music video all over again. Once left to the likes of big budgets, Top 40 and MTV, indie musicians are teaming with burgeoning auteurs to create a new wave of DIY audio/visual splendor.
The gentlemen of Weinland recently embarked on a tour of western and southwestern states (which is where we find them now), but first unveiled the video for "I'm Sure It Helps" last month at the Doug Fir. The video, directed by Daniel Fickle, was shot in part at the Crystal Ballroom (what do you mean you don't recognize it?) and keeps you on edge for the duration: Those are some serious buffalo! Are they going to fall out of those trees?! Only the surprise ending knows...
To refresh, Weinland released Breaks in the Sun last spring, and stopped by our studios in the process.
Thao Nguyen and her band The Get Down Stay Down are like honorary locals. Their new album Know Better Learn Faster was recorded in Portland with a host of folks from the local scene (+Andrew Bird) and is out on (now we can say) Portland's own kill rock stars. It only makes sense, then, that Sauvie Island is the backdrop for the Aubree Bernier-Clarke directed video for "When We Swam". The band goes all out, getting wet and sandy in the name of the cause. Look for Thao with the Get Down Stay Down as part of one of our in-studio sessions coming soon.
It's to the sea once again for The Low Anthem's "Charlie Darwin." The animated stop-motion video from Glenn Taunton and Simon Taff somehow adds another layer of melancholia to the song even while it brings to our minds the claymation of the distant past (the best example of which was the mini-epic from Genesis, which fascinated my 10 year-old self). The Low Anthem's new release is Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, out on Nonesuch.
.
Finally, sometimes the best videos have little to do with the band itself, or for that matter the subject matter of the song. This WeWereMonkeys-directed piece for Land of Talk's "It's Okay" is a visually-stunning bit from the land of Escher, and while the fantastical premise may not be suggested by the song, the dream-like pace and landscape are a perfect match for Elizabeth Powell's vocals, all floating toward a stunning finale. The song comes from last year's Some Are Lakes, and the band has a new EP called Fun & Laughter, both on Saddle Creek.
October 28, 2009 at 1:01pm by Dave Cusick
Actually, Genesis' "Land of Confusion" isn't claymation, but latex puppets made by the makers of the satirical show "Spitting Image."
But, a great example of 80's claymation in video is Michael Jackson's "Speed Demon" which was made by Portland's Will Vinton Studios and is in the film Moonwalker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP410Sv-b2E
"Charlie Darwin" is great! I wonder how they made that water?
October 28, 2009 at 3:38pm by Jeremy Petersen
Ok, so I don't have my 80's Genesis facts straight (thank god). But did you know that wear and tear has now rendered Phil Collins unable to play the drums?
Thanks for the Moonwalker clip...
November 1, 2009 at 12:09pm by Dave Cusick
I considered prefacing my comments with a disclaimer that I was exposing myself as the giant nerd that I am, but that seemed redundant.
I hadn't heard about Phil not being able to play the drums anymore! I'm not a fan, but that would be really frustrating. I did enjoy, though, his appearance on This American Life, giving Starlee Kine advice on writing a break-up song.
Comments are now closed.