Video/age

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 <a href="http://www.weinlandmusic.com">Weinland</a> 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... <object width="480" height="295"> <param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7TANx3t4808&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" name="movie" /> <param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /> <param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess" /><embed width="480" height="295" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7TANx3t4808&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></embed></object> To refresh, Weinland released Breaks in the Sun last spring, and <a href="http://opbmusic.org/performances/92-Weinland">stopped by our studios</a> 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 <a href="http://www.killrockstars.com">kill rock stars</a>. 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 <a href="http://www.thaomusic.com/">Thao with the Get Down Stay Down</a> as part of one of our in-studio sessions coming soon. <object width="480" height="295"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NjzKkyQoe1U&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NjzKkyQoe1U&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>   It's to the sea once again for <a href="http://www.lowanthem.com/">The Low Anthem</a>'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 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oepXF2B5NK4">mini-epic from Genesis</a>, which fascinated my 10 year-old self). The Low Anthem's new release is Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, out on <a href="http://www.nonesuch.com">Nonesuch</a>. <object width="480" height="295"> <param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/66SPUQEgEKk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" name="movie" /> <param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /> <param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess" /><embed width="480" height="295" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/66SPUQEgEKk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></embed></object> . 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 <a href="http://www.landoftalk.com/">Land of Talk</a>'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 <a href="http://www.saddle-creek.com">Saddle Creek</a>. <object width="480" height="295"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m53--yTPQNk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m53--yTPQNk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> true

2009-11-11T10:26:18-08:00

2009-10-28T07:40:38-07:00

false 618 true

2009-10-28T10:26:18-07:00

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. This week: Weinland, Thao, The Low Anthem, and Land of Talk.

Video/age

2009-11-01T20:23:33-08:00