BOOKED: Gnarls Barkley - Happy, directors

artist: Gnarls Barkley
song: "Run"
label: Downtown/Atlantic
director(s): Happy
production co: Smuggler
rep: Labuda Management

BOOKED: Janet Jackson - Saam, director

Not a cover of of her brother's hit of the same(ish) name...

artist: Janet Jackson
song: "Rock With U"
label: Island
director(s): Saam
production co: Partizan

SHOT: The Sword - Artificial Army, directors

Simon Chan (third from right) and Joe Rubalcaba (far right) of production squad Artificial Army — who are newly signed to Partizan — on set with The Sword.

artist: The Sword
song: "Maiden, Mother & Crone"
label: Kemado
director(s): Artificial Army
production co: Partizan

NEWS: Lanette Phillips Repping Refused TV Roster

Production company Refused TV has announced that Lanette Phillips Management who will now be repping the roster.

Refused TV directors include:

• Aggressive (Bloc Party, Juanes, The Click 5, Killswitch Engage, Hoobastank)
• Popcore (Saosin, Kent, Underoath, Jon Butler Trio)
• Travis Kopach (Circa Survive, Thursday, Panic at the Disco, Straylight Run)
• Lex Halaby (Meg & Dia, Atmosphere, mewithoutYou, Hoobastank, Cobra Starship)
• Whitey McConnaughy (Cobra Starship, Band of Horses, The Thermals, The Gossip)
• Josh Graham (Underoath, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Saves the Day, Isis, Neurosis)
• Behn Fannin (The Melvins, Nurses)
• Scrambled Visual (Paramore, Shadows Fall, The Bled, Snoop Dogg)
• The Beta Movement (Crystal Castles, The Willowz, We Are The Fury)

Watch video samples at Refused.tv or videostatic.com's Refused TV category.

SHOT: American Music Club - Matt Amato, director

artist: American Music Club
song: "Lost Souls"
label: Merge
director(s): Matt Amato
production co: The Masses
rep: RW Media

NEW RELEASE: Shelby Lynne "Anyone Who Had A Heart"

Nashville pros Shelby Lynne and director Stephen Scott starts this video out as sleek and smooth as possible. We get lush tracking shots of a gleaming yuppie house – stainless steel appliances and lots of natural light – so perfect it could be a spot for Restoration Hardware. The realization that Shelby is not going to perform to camera is our first clue that things are not quite as they appear. When she starts listening to old vinyl and drinking Makers Mark in the middle of the afternoon, we can tell that the exterior is far smoother than the turmoil beneath Shelby’s surface. The artist finally sings one of the last lines to camera – and this bit of performance carries serious emotional weight after the visual restraint that has come before. Morale of the story: You might want to live in Shelby’s house, but not inside her broken heart. (review by Doug Stern) --> watch "Anyone Who Had A Heart" via YouTube, CMT or Quicktime

Shelby Lynne "Anyone Who Had A Heart" (Lost Highway)
Stephen Scott, director/editor | Mona Barkat, producer | Picture Vision, production co | Brendan Steacy, DP

BOOKED: The Myriad - Josh Forbes, director

Winners of the 2007 Dew Circuit Breakout "battle of the bands" competition, sponsored by MTV2 and Mountain Dew. Previous breakout acts from the contest include Halifax, HelloGoodbye, Taking Back Sunday, Yellowcard and Hawthorne Heights.

artist: The Myriad
song: "Clean Shot"
label: Koch
director(s): Josh Forbes
production co: Winch + Pulley
rep: Lanette Phillips Management

SHOT: The White Tie Affair - Spence Nicholson, director

artist: The White Tie Affair
song: "Mr. Right" and "Candle (Sick And Tired)"
label: Epic
director(s): Spence Nicholson
production co: Axiom 8

SHOT: Newton Faulkner - Paul Minor, director

artist: Newton Faulkner
song: "I Need Something"
label: RCA Records UK
director(s): Paul Minor
production co: Streetgang Films
rep: Free Agent UK / Lanette Phillips Management

NEW RELEASE: Coheed & Cambria "Feathers"

Keeping up appearances as a quintessential 1950s suburban TV family is harder than it seems. It takes serious money to keep food on the table and sometimes you have to get a little creative and find ways to, ahem, stretch your meat. The matron of the lovely Feather family depicted in this new Coheed & Cambria video has come up with an even more ingenius idea, however. Why spend your family's money at the supermarket when there's plenty of opportunity to seduce, butcher and cook all the free range longpig that roam in your own neighborhood? This cannibalistic ode to the 1989 cult classic Parents works like a charm, thanks in large part to director Marc Klasfeld being able to capture all the menace that lurks at the heart of everything that we thought was wholesome about both TV families and the food chain. --> watch "Feathers" via Sony Musicbox or YouTube

Coheed And Cambria "Feathers" (Columbia)
Marc Klasfeld, director | Dave Robertson, producer | Rockhard Films, production co | Yon Thomas, DP | Richard Alarcon, editor

NEW RELEASE: Ben Lee "American TV"

Yes, "American Television" is an easy subject to parody, but shall we take a look at the kind of fare that passes as entertainment in Ben Lee's native Australia? Does our programming truly not stack up to the cheeky soap Neighbours or high concept medical drama The Flying Doctors? How about the nearly indescribably Aunty Jack? So, you go ahead, Ben Lee, and make fun of such beloved institutions as Alf and Doogie Howser, M.D. and Sweatin' To The Oldies and even the old Crazy Eddie ads (Free Eddie Antar!). Go ahead and drag the lovely and talented TV icon Tiffani Amber Thiessen into your hateful clip of lies and then license the song to Vh1 to promote their new slate of shows. We're a proud nation. Or, at the very least we're shameless. We can take it. --> watch "American Television"

Ben Lee "American Television" (New West)
Todd Strauss-Schulson, director | Ken Franchi, producer | MT Vernon, production co | Vahe P, DP | Dave Michalson, editor

BOOKED: Jim Jones - Dale "Rage" Resteghini & Capo, directors

The Capo is back...

artist: Jim Jones
song: "Love Me No More/Byrdgang Money"
label: Koch
director(s): Dale "Rage" Resteghini & Capo
production co: Raging Nation Films

BOOKED: Ashanti - Kevin Bray, director

artist: Ashanti
song: "The Way That I Love You"
label: The Inc./Universal Motown
director(s): Kevin Bray
production co: DNA

SHOT: Problem - Dennis McKinley, director

Compton rapper Problem hit up Poetry Nightclub at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for his video, "I'm Toe Up."

artist: Problem
song: "I'm Toe Up"
label: Derang
director(s): Dennis McKinley
production co: McKinley Presents

MTV Adds for the Week of 2/11/07

MTV Adds:
Panic At the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon" (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen)

MTV2 Adds:
Panic At the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon" (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen)
Plies "I Am The Club" (Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic)
Rocko "Umma Do Me" (Island Urban/IDJMG)
Serj Tankian "Sky Is Over" (Serjical Strike/Warner Bros.)

MTVU Adds:
Jill Scott "Hate On Me" (Hidden Beach)
Kate Nash "Pumpkin Soup" (Fiction)
Majestic Twelve "Cry" (Pandora's Legacy)
Motion City Soundtrack "It Had To Be You" (Epitaph)
Panic At the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon" (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen)
Radiohead "Body Snatchers" (TBD)
Serj Tankian "Sky Is Over" (Serjical Strike/Warner Bros.)

MTV Jams Adds:
Ghostface Killah f/ Kid Capri "We Celebrate" (Island Def Jam)
Lil Mama f/ Chris Brown & T-Pain "Shawty Get Loose" (Jive/ZLG)
Omar Cruz "I Hang With My Dogz" (Geffen)
Ray J f/ Yung Berg "Sexy Can I" (Koch/Deja34/Knockout)

VH1 Adds for the Week of 2/11/08

Vh1 Adds:
Alicia Keys "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (J)
Ben Lee "American Television" (New West)
The Bravery "Believe" (Island Def Jam)
Brett Dennen "Ain't No Reason" (Downtown)
Erykah Badu "Honey" (Universal Motown)
Leona Lewis "Bleeding Love" (J)
Matchbox Twenty "These Hard Times" (Atlantic)

VH1 Soul Adds:
Ray J f/ Yung Berg "Sexy Can I" (Koch/Deja34/Knockout)
Tarrus Riley "Lion Paw" (VP) 

BET Adds for the Week of 2/11/08

Adds:
Prince "Somewhere Here On Earth" (NPG)

Rap City Adds: 
2 Pistols f/ T-Pain & Tay Dizm "She Got It" (Universal Republic)
Sheek Louch "Good Love" (D-Block/Koch)

Fuse Adds for the Week of 2/11/08

Adds:
30 Seconds to Mars "A Beautiful Lie" (Virgin)
Fat Joe f/ J. Holiday "I Won't Tell" (Imperial)
Missy Elliott "Ching-A-Ling" (Goldmind/Atlantic)
Panic At the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon" (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen)

Oven Fresh Adds:
Against Me! "Stop" (Sire)
Apocalyptica f/ Corey Taylor "I'm Not Jesus" (Jive/ZLG)
The Audition "Warm Me Up" (Victory)
The Bravery "Believe" (Island Def Jam)
Chingy f/ Ludacris & Bobby Valentino "Gimme That" (DTP/Def Jam)
Missy Elliott "Ching-A-Ling" (Goldmind/Atlantic)
Panic At the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon" (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen)

Music Choice Adds for the Week of 2/11/08

Adds:
The Blind Boys Of Alabama "Free At Last" (Time Life Music)
Blue October "Calling You" (Universal Motown)
Bullet for My Valentine "Scream Aim Fire" (Trustkill)
Calvin Harris "Acceptable In The 80's" (Flye Eye)
Cobra Starship "The City Is At War" (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen)
Craig Morgan "That's What I Love About Sunday" (Broken Bow)
Daughtry "Feels Like Tonight" (RCA)
Exodus "Riot Act" (Nuclear Blast)
Flo Rida f/ T-Pain "Low" (Atlantic)
Freeway f/ Rick Ross "Lights Get Low" (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)
Hard-Fi "Suburban Knights" (Atlantic)
Hot Chip "Ready For The Floor" (DFA/Astralwerks)
Huey "Tell Me This (G5 The Remix)" (Jive/ZLG)
Janet "Feedback" (Island Def Jam)
John Fogerty "Don't You Wish It Was True" (Fantasy/Concord)
Lenny Kravitz "I'll Be Waiting" (Virgin/Capitol)
Luke Bryan "All My Friends Say" (Capitol Nashville)
Matt Costa "Mr. Pitiful" (Brushfire/Universal)
Nelly Furtado "All Good Things (Come To An End): Live" (Geffen)
Reed Dollaz "Toast To This" (Beyond Bars)
Rooney "I Should've Been After You" (Cherrytree/Geffen)
Ryan Adams "Everybody Knows" (Lost Highway)
Scorpions "Humanity" (New Door/Universal)
Tamia "Almost" (Plus One)

CMT Adds for the Week of 2/04/08

CMT Adds:
Tim McGraw "Suspicions" (Curb)

CMT Pure Adds:
Katie Armiger "Make Me Believe" (Cold River)
Shelby Lynne "Anyone Who Had A Heart" (Lost Highway)
Tim McGraw "Suspicions" (Curb)

MuchMusic Adds for the Week of 2/04/08

Adds:
Omarion & Bow Wow "Hey Baby"
Jully Black "DJ Play My Song"
OneRepublic "Stop and Stare" 
Rides Again "It's Too Late"

NEW RELEASE: Yes We Can

Can Will.I.Am do for Barack Obama what he did for Fergie? Only time will tell, but this clip directed by Jesse Dylan is an audacious reason to be hopeful. The Black Eyed Peas frontman and producer sampled a recent speech from the presidential candidate, laid a guitar and piano beneath it and added some star power on top of it. Scarlett Johansson, Common, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Herbie Hancock, John Legend and even Tatyana Ali give the Illinois senator's impassioned speech some pop culture clout and turn his political statements into powerful poetry. The black and white video renders Obama in an iconic light, making the senator's message seem timeless and significant. (review by Craig Belcher) --> watch "Yes We Can" at Yeswecan.com with "making of" notes by Will I. Am, or below via YouTube

"Yes We Can"
Jesse Dylan, director | Will.I.Am and Mike Jurkovac, producers| cYclops/Form , production co's | Terrence "Biff" Butler, editor  (Jesse Dylan repped by Lanette Phillips Management)

2008 CMT Video Award Nominees

Country video channel CMT announced the nominees for the 2008 CMT Video Awards. Voting for every category will open to the public at 5pm ET and run through February 25th. The final four nominees will then be announced with another round of fan voting March 6 through April 11. Winners will then be announced during the April 14 live broadcast from Nashville’s Curb Event Center at Belmont University.

You'll have to click for the full list of nominees, but here are the biggies:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director.  Final nominees announced during live telecast, with final voting held online at CMT.com during the show.

• Brad Paisley "Online" — Jason Alexander, director
• Carrie Underwood "Wasted" — Roman White, director
• Kenny Chesney "Don’t Blink" — Shaun Silva, director
• LeAnn Rimes "Nothin' Better To Do" — David McClister and LeAnn Rimes, directors
• Rascal Flatts "Take Me There" — Shaun Silva, director
• Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson "Because of You" — Roman White, director
• Sugarland "Stay" — Shaun Silva, director
• Taylor Swift "Our Song" — Trey Fanjoy, director

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Best video director of the year; awarded to the director for his or her body of work from the past year

• Charles Mehling — for Dierks Bentley's "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)" and Keith Urban's "I Told You So"
• David McClister — for LeAnn Rimes’ "Nothin’ Better To Do" and Jason Michael Carroll's "Livin’ Our Love Song"
• Deaton Flanigen — for Big & Rich's "Lost in this Moment" and Martina McBride's "Anyway"
• Michael Salomon — for  Toby Keith's "High Maintenance Woman" and Trace Adkins' "I Got my Game On"
• Rocky Schenck — for  Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" and Sugarland's "Everyday America"
• Roman White — for  Carrie Underwood's "So Small" and Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You"
• Shaun Silva — for Kenny Chesney’s "Don’t Blink" and Rascal Flatts’ "Stand"
• Trey Fanjoy — for Bucky Covington's "A Different World" and Taylor Swift's "Our Song"

SHOT: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Rocky Schenck, director

artist: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
song: "Please Read The Letter"
label: Rounder
director(s): Rocky Schenck
production co: DNA

BOOKED: Le Loup - Cat Solen, director

artist: Le Loup
song: "Planes Like Vultures"
label: Hardly Art
director(s): Cat Solen
production co: Partizan

TURN ON YOUR TV: Coheed & Cambria "Feathers" MTV2 Debut

The brand new Coheed And Cambria video "Feathers" is airing all day — aka 12 times in total — on MTV2  as part of the channel's "Unleashed" promotion.

Rockhard Films director Marc Klasfeld delivers a parody of the "perfect" nuclear TV family of the 1950s. Get a taste via a teaser clip, a fake wiki page and more at a promo site called Meet The Feathers.

1,2,3 with a record collection

The Erykah Badu/Mr. Roboto video "Honey" is just the latest and greatest  example of the album cover concept in a music video. Shall we take a 1,2,3 through my (figurative) record crate of memories?

1. Nobody really talks about Phil Harder in that top realm of super creative and influential directors. That's a shame. This video for Cornershop's "Brimful Of Asha" features the multi-culti rockers on a series of '45s.
   
2. Liz Phair obviously saw the aforementioned Cornershop video and enlisted director Phil Harder to translate that same concept into the context of a jukebox.
   
3. Record sleeves getting plucked from a crate with Morningwood sending up various classic covers in this masterpiece by director Adam Neustadter during his stint with the Wormseye production team.