I don’t think I’m alone when I say this past week has been utter insanity for me. Not only did we elect a hateful troll as our president this past week, but one of my heroes, Leonard Cohen, passed away as well. It’s hard not to feel like everything’s going to shit when these things hit you like a brick all at once. It’s undeniably sad that many of the greatest artists of the 20th century are being taken from us now, but it’s also important to realize that it’s our turn to take the reigns and further their work into the future. It may feel like we’re heading towards the apocalypse but we’ve still got art, music, and our voice. We can still make the future bright. Here are some of the videos that are inspiring us this week…
Speaking of inspiring, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have just announced their ambitious plans to release five albums in 2017. In the meantime, they’ve released this video for “Rattlesnake” which will be featured on the first of five albums titled, Flying Microtonal Banana. The video features the band playing the anxious, fast paced track against an apocalyptic backdrop. The coolest part of it all, though, is that we get to see the brand new modified microtonal instruments that the band is using to record the album. The result reminds me of the mind blowing Turkish funk rock from the 70’s and I really can’t wait to hear more.
If you don’t already know Princess Nokia, you really should. She’s the most down to earth, real artist I’ve come across in a long time. Despite getting offered several deals from record labels, she maintains her independence in order to have full control of the avant-garde albums she enjoys making. This song is called “Brujas”, and it’s an homage to her Afro-Latina heritage. The video features beautiful imagery of women practicing magic in nature and even gives a nod to the 90’s cult classic film, The Craft, with shots of four witches in schoolgirl uniforms. What I love most about Princess Nokia is that she’s never one note. She’s ever changing and pulls inspiration from sources far and wide. Just listen to this song, then her track “Tomboy”, and then her song “Apple Pie” and tell me you don’t respect how versatile she is as an artist.
Despite being released back in February, I’ve been obsessed with this song by Quilt the entire month of November. Listening to it never fails to bring me into intense daydreams of being in a place where Autumn actually exists, unlike 89 degrees in the middle of November Los Angeles. The psychedelic harmonies bring me images of cold afternoons watching the leaves change from their calming green to those fiery yellows, oranges, and reds. So watching this video was kind of baffling because it plays out exactly like my visions. The track itself is a perfect example of the beautiful arrangements all throughout their latest album Plaza. Quilt is just one of the many bands I’ve been obsessed with on the excellent Mexican Summer roster, which includes other amazing artists like Weyes Blood, Allah-Las, etc.
Electronic music staple and UK duo, the Chemical Brothers, have just released a music video for their new standalone track, “C-h-e-m-i-c-a-l”. The video is composed of distorted clips from children’s TV shows and was filmed with a Kinect camera, which is usually used for motion tracking in XBOX video games. The result feels like what I imagine a rave meant solely for babies would be like.
Over the weekend, Dave Chappelle made a valiant return to live television when he hosted Saturday Night Live. One of the highlights of the episode was his Walking Dead parody of the sad death of beloved character Glenn where he brought back some characters from Chappelle’s Show like Tyrone Biggums, Clayton Bigsby, and Lil Jon. I have to admit, I really haven’t been keeping up with Saturday Night Live since Will Ferrell left as a cast member, but the episode was actually pretty good!
We at IHC are very excited about the sci-fi film prospects of 2017. Just one of the films we can’t wait to see next year is Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets, written and directed by Luc Besson, who brought us The Fifth Element and Leon the Professional. It stars Cara Delevingne and Dane Dehaan who play special ops agents who are sent to Alpha to stop sinister forces who threaten the future of mankind. If the trailer and storyline don’t hook you in, Rihanna is also in the film as a shape shifting alien stripper. Folks who went to San Diego Comic-Con this year were lucky enough to see some early scenes from the film and audiences loved it. The story is based on the 1967 French comic series, Valerian and Laureline and it comes out July 2017.
News of an American version of the Ghost in the Shell film sparked a lot of controversy this year when it was revealed that Scarlett Johansson would be playing the Major, an Asian character. The film industry has “whitewashed” countless roles in the past, most recently with Marvel casting Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange. This is obviously very problematic because it creates a situation where people of color, who already are barely represented in the media, can’t even play roles where the source material specifically calls for a person of color. Despite this, I do have to say that the trailer kind of left me breathless. The cinematography and visual effects are stunning. The film will hit theatres in March 2017.
One of the greatest and most influential lyricists of all time, Leonard Cohen, died this week. Thus, we’ve included this video of him performing “Stranger Song” of off his very first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. His heartbreakingly honest lyrics completely changed the future of music in the 60’s and have influenced some of my favorite artists like Nick Cave, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, and Elias Ronnenfelt of Iceage, all which have written eulogies for him since his passing. If you haven’t heard of him, his first album is a masterpiece and is a great place to start.
