Astonishingly, 2016 is somehow proving to be progressively more difficult for me as time goes on. This week, I managed to get a horrible case of the stomach flu and felt like I was on death’s door for three whole days. I’m still not 100% back to life and my brain still feels like it’s made of mush, but I couldn’t leave you guys hanging without your weekly roundup of videos! Here are the best videos that came out this week…
Earlier this month, The xx released a fantastic new track from their forthcoming album, I See You, titled “On Hold”. The track marked a new direction for the band, with Jamie xx’s production being thrusted into the foreground and acting as the shimmering star of the song. “On Hold” opens with Romy and Oliver’s signature breathy vocals and slowly leads up to a great sample of Hall & Oates’ 1981 hit “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)”. Now, the band has released a music video for the song which is set in Marfa, Texas, where the band wrote and recorded some of their album. The video paints a warm picture of high school life filled with football games, bad haircuts you get from your friends, and making out in the shower. We even get some scenes of Jamie xx DJing a house party. The band has said that the video is an ode to the United States and the warmth that they felt from Americans on tour.
IHC’s favorite pals from France, Justice, have just premiered a music video for “Fire” via the Facebook Live feature. The broadcast started with a mysterious driver getting into a chrome Toyota Celica with a digital clock on the dashboard counting down for one hour. Although we never got to see the driver’s face, we did get to listen to Justice’s newest album, Woman, as the driver cruised through the Malibu canyons. At the end of the hour, we saw the premiere of the music video for “Fire” which features the band in Palm Springs doing donuts in the Celica with Susan Sarandon.
I’m not going to lie, I’m not a huge fan of the Weeknd. After watching his short filmed titled M A N I A, however, I might have to give him another chance. The 12-minute film features six songs from his upcoming album, Starboy, and the visuals are absolutely stunning. It begins with shots of a giant black leopard in an all white room. Then, we see the Weeknd driving a fancy car with a peachy sunset as the backdrop. He then pulls up to a club where he meets a woman staring at him much like the leopard was in the beginning. Things quickly get bloody and the film ends with the Weekend dancing behind the blood-drenched woman as the credits roll. The director of the short, Grant Singer, has directed several videos for The Weeknd in the past including the videos for “Starboy” and “I Can’t Feel My Face”.
Mike Collins has released numerous albums under several hilarious drug-related monikers in the past such as Run DMT and Salvia Plath. His latest moniker, however, is the more general, Drugdealer. Back in September, he released his first album under that name titled The End of Comedy which featured some of my favorite artists like Ariel Pink and Weyes Blood. Now, he’s released a music video for the title track which features shots of Collins’ studio in Chinatown. It also has delightful cameos from both Mac Demarco and Weyes Blood, who is featured on the track.
Tim Darcy, frontman of the fantastic post-punk band Ought, has just announced a solo album titled Saturday Night. Along with the announcement comes a music video for “Tall Glass of Water” which will be the opening track of the album. Although it’s only been out a few hours, I already have it on constant repeat. This is a must listen for those of you who love Lou Reed/ The Velvet Underground as much as I do.
Wes Anderson directed an advertisement for H&M and it’s exactly what you’d expect that to look like. It stars super-hottie, Adrian Brody, and features Anderson’s signature pastels and perfect compositions. In the clip, Brody plays Conductor Ralph, who has the difficult job of having to announce to his train passengers that they will not reach their destination in time for Christmas. Reminiscent of one of my favorite Anderson films on a train, Darjeeling Ltd, the clip hardly feels like an ad at all, except that it highlights some of H&M’s winter clothing line.
