Svetlana, Peter and I are too busy with something that may or may not have to do with Gianni Versace and the ghosts of Italian diplomats to do the video this week. Enter, Jesse Bishop, Phd in Economics, a master in Party Information Systems, and the recipient of an honorary degree from the Now That's What I Call Music Institute.
And today, you get not one- but TWO jams.
1. Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better:
Phoenix is a great band, but I don't know if they ever got better than their first two hits: If I Ever Feel Better and Too Young. If I ever feel better has a perfect lite-disco breeziness, and is one of the best dance songs of the 00s. For the video, the band ever-so-humbly cast themselves as leather-jacketed gods with golden goblets of wine and computer enhanced sparkles in the corners of their mirrored shades, overseeing some kind of neoclassical motorcycle daredevil race. Somehow, the directors (Alex and Martin, who also did awesome videos for Air and the White Stripes) managed to make this whole spectacle way over the top and also understated. It's a werid contrast that probably has something to do with the Frenchness of all parties involved. But they did manage to create a magical world somewhere between Xanadu and a Sergio Leone western, and I want to hang out there more.
2. New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed:
This song was taken from the New Pornographers' second record, Electric Version (watch for an out-of-context reference in the hiloariously pretentious subtitle dialogue that runs through the video). The song itself is a blast of viscerally awesome power pop tension and release; when Neko Case commands you to "form a line to the throne", you will. The video makes that tension and release literal, as art house cinema ultra-cliches are alternated with shots of an indie-rock dance party that actually looks like a shitload of fun. Bonus: I love it when music videos show fake bands performing the song in question, as is the case here. See also: New Order's Crystal video.
Previously in Video of the Day:
- 5/22: Dose of Color Video of the Day
- 5/21: Video of the Day: FIVE New Tracks from The xx
- 5/17: Video of the Day: Boards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy
- 5/16: Hilariously Sweet/Chillaxing Horror Video of the Day
- 5/15: Video of the Day: Children Reenact The Beastie Boys' Classic "Sabotage" Video
- 5/14: Happy Birthday, David Byrne! Video(s) of the Day
- 5/10: Get Pumped for "Happening" Video of the Day
- 5/9: Video of the Day: Against Me! Against LGBT-phobia!
- 5/8: Why Soviet Olympians Can't Have Nice Things Video of the Day
- 5/7: Video of the Day + Free Album Stream : Tenacious D - Rize of the Fenix
God loves a cheerful giver.
Jesse has now redeemed himself from the music crimes committed on Sat.
Jesse has the BEST taste in pop music.
And by best I mean-EXACTLY like my own
"Breeziness" is quite possibly the single most important factor for mr. bishop when evaluating cultural phenomena.
I am a sucker for videos where they present a set of stand ins for the real folks (and even more so for movies where real bands play a fake one) but this is one more instance of that nagging feeling I can't shake: The New Pornographers write unabashed pop songs where the "hooks" aren't hooky at all. Everything is in the right place, yet it never sticks. Try to find the real hook anywhere in there. You can't miss it in any Phoenix tune.
Keeps me up at night.
Nice to have a fresh face on the videos (even if it seems to eternally need a shave.) Thanks Jesse.