NEW RELEASE: Podemos Con Obama

The Hillary may have Ricky Martin in her corner, but Obama has the savvier base of celebrity support when it comes to courting the Hispanic community. "Podemos Con Obama" is from the same genus as previous hits "Yes We Can" and "We Are The Ones," except Will.I.Am steps aside for Latin music producer Andres Levin, who has cast a who's who of Latin music and film stars. Actors John Leguizamo, George Lopez and Jessica Alba, plus Latin music icons like Alejandro Sanz and Paulina Rubio join a host of other entertainment figures — including several core reggaeton stars — to tell us all that is good about Obama in espanol [and a lil' bit of English, largely from Ms. Alba]. Next up should be a Klingon version to court that invaluable Trekkie constituency. Si, se puede! --> watch "Podemos Con Obama"

"Podemos Con Obama"
William Garcia (Miami), Karen Fischer (NYC), Christian Suau (Puerto Rico), Jesse Dylan (L.A.), Bob Teitel (Chicago), directors | Scott Spanjich + Pilar O’Leary, producers | cYclops/Form, production co's | John Gutierrez, Alex Flores, editor | visit podemosconobama.com for full credits

NEW RELEASE: Alanis Morissette "Underneath"

Alanis Morissette has been quite revealing in her videos. There's the full-frontal Koyaanisqatsi of "Thank U," and a journey through the past clip for "Eight Easy Steps" that goes through all of her videos and into her awkward pre-fame performances, childhood and even her delivery into the world. This time we see her heart, as she tries to find room for both  a relationship and a Save The World cause. While Alanis metaphorically wears her heart on her sleeve, director Sanji sets most of the emotional action inside the cozy confines of a literal (ok, it's CG) heart. --> watch "Underneath" via Quicktime, Windows Media or YouTube

Alanis Morissette "Underneath" (Maverick/Warner Bros.)
Sanji, director | Gina Leonard, producer | Gertie, production co | Yell Productions, rep | Eric Wycoff, DP | Jason Dopko, editor

NEW RELEASE: Cassettes Won't Listen "Paper Float"

Our hero in this  Cassettes Won't Listen video needs a break from his humdrum workaday routine. The morning ritual is boring. The workplace filled with annoying coworkers and their asinine, self-congratulatory brainstorming sessions. The cute receptionist who barely acknowledges your existence. Options are limited. He could quit, develop a drug habit to make the daily grind a bit more passable, or just go batshit Postal. He does find salvation, but it's in the form of a magical cassette and boombox that transforms him into a Bizarro paper android that's brave enough to flip his office the bird and escape for a day of mayhem around the city. And, as a bonus, the same transformation affects the receptionist who tags along for the whole ride.  --> watch "Paper Float"

Cassettes Won't Listen "Paper Float"
Rob Graydon, director/DP/editor | Matt Piacentini, producer | Vitamin M, production co

NEW RELEASE: Black Tide "Shockwave"

Teenage metalheads Black Tide provide the soundtrack for an unruly and destructive houseparty that rages until the cops shut it down. They upend the furniture, drive a sledgehammer through a TV, bust holes in the walls, and, even worse, keep the neighbors up all night. While this may be a suburbanite's Jackassian nightmare, the wreckage never reaches the sheer terror of director Tony Petrossian's rampaging methhead clip for Slipnkot "Duality." --> watch "Shockwave"

Black Tide "Shockwave" (Interscope)
Travis Kopach, director | Jeremy Sullivan, producer | Dignity & Shame/Refused TV, production co | Russ Griffith, DP |note: Director Travis Kopach is now signed with DNA

NEW RELEASE: The Trews "Paranoid Freak"

Director Sean Wainsteim brings the old adage, "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you" to life in this video for Canadian rockers The Trews. Band performance is limited to a living room TV set, while the video focuses on a young man who believes in Big Foot, believes in aliens, and believes that government agents are tracking his every move. Turns out he's right. Unfortunately, he'd have better luck picking up that pretty girl he keeps running across if only he believed in himself. --> watch "Paranoid Freak"

The Trews "Paranoid Freak" (Bumstead)
Sean Wainsteim, director | John Nadalin, producer | Wainsteim Films, production co | Michael LeBlanc, DP | Paul Skinner, editor

NEW RELEASE: Weezer "Pork & Beans"

The new Weezer video"Pork & Beans" lives up to its billing as the the "ultimate mash-up viral." Director Mathew Cullen not only spoofs a bunch of famous YouTube clips — the soda/mentos experiment, weird Japanese game shows, the Soulja Boy dance, etc, etc — but actually gets a bunch of YouTube celebrities to take part in the video shoot. Tay "Chocolate Rain" Zonday, Chris "Save Britney" Cooper, Miss Teen USA contestant Lauren Caitlin "Oh my God, even Mario Lopez is laughing at your answer" Upton and even that Evolution Of Dance character. All of em are here, hamming it up with Weezer in a non-stop cavalcade of kinda sorta stars. A simple, yet genius idea that works because of the always genius execution of Cullen and the entire Motion Theory creative team. Catch it as it debuts at — where else — YouTube, alongide some other related Weezer viral silliness. Now, if only we had been Rick Rolled at the end... --> watch "Pork & Beans"

Weezer "Pork & Beans" (Geffen)
Mathew Cullen, director | Bernard Rahill, producer | Motion Theory, production co | Jack Green, DP | Jeff Consiglio + Colin Woods, editors | Teri Whittaker, production designer

NEW RELEASE: Kerli "Walking On Air"

If you were expecting a bit of sugary pop from this very blonde and very cute Estonian singer Kerli, you might be in for a surprise with this big and beautiful video. The Aggressive directing/effects team grab hold of the Bjork and Rihanna undercurrents in the song and deliver a gothic dollhouse wonderland that pulses with what seem to be sly references to both of those extraordinarily different singers. There's Kerli with the little jewels under each eye, just like the cover image of Bjork's Debut, while a middle segment of the video has the singer trading in her pure and purposefully absurd white tutu for a Rihannian bondage version, complete with an Umbrella for a prop. The clip proceeds from there with a succession of odd and striking set-ups, including the appearance of both a creepy  Chucky version of Kerli and a larger than life long-faced porcelain spirit that seems to have been controlling the strings throughout this disconcerting dream of a video. --> watch "Walking On Air" plus a step-by-step breakdown of the video's stunning effects

Kerli "Walking On Air" (Island/IDJMG)
Aggressive, directors | JP Fox, producer | Refused TV, production co | Lanette Phillips Manageent , rep | Damian Acevedo, DP | Jason Yantz, editor

NEW RELEASE: The Kills "Last Day Of Magic"

Is there a bit of sexual tension that explains the spark for every guy/girl rock duo? Maybe, unless you're happily  married with child and still rocking, like Mates Of States. Whatever the case is with the The Kills, there's some sort of discord that's causing more than just some good creative energy. When not squaring off against each other on-stage in an uneasy cease fire, they beat the living shit out of each other. It's kind of like an episode of Cops, but with a better theme song. --> watch "Last Day Of Magic" (quicktime)

The Kills "Last Day Of Magic" (Domino)
Sophie Muller, director/editor | Rob Small, producer | Factory Films (UK), production co | Tom Townend, DP | note: Sophie Muller with Oil Factory in the US)

NEW RELEASE: Pennywise "The Western World"

Even though SoCal punk vets Pennywise have never been the purtiest of bands, there's no need to lock the fellas up in the back room. This depiction of our beauty and celebrity crazed culture centers on a group of crazed scientists that churn out a series of beautifully vapid automatons to vamp down the catwalk and mime this solid track to a crowd of frenzied paparazzi and executives. Luckily, one of these Britney look-a-likes breaks away to free the band and allow them to finish the performance to a more appropriate audience. --> watch "The Western World" via MySpace

Pennywise "The Western World" (MySpace)
Elliot Dillman, director | Spence Nicholson, producer | PandaWorks, production co | Samuel Brownfield, DP | Graham Turner @ Final Cut L.A., editor | Melissa Balter, art director

NEW RELEASE: The Grouch "Artsy"

Even though most of these "you ain't artier than me" claims seem like a nice way of questioning the sexuality of the prototypical Los Angeles hipster, it's hard to bear a grudge against a Bay Area rapper who knowingly calls himself The Grouch and is able to deliver a litany of incisive, yet invective one-liners that would work well in the Borscht Belt or a battle rap. Directing duo Secret History of the design squad Buildestroy and film collective ReelRoots carries the same battle mentality to this video. "Artier" takes on some much more prominent and higher budgeted TV content by emulating and skewering those iTunes silhouette and HP hands commercials, in addition to the Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" Rorschach video test. It's all pretty sharp, thus explaining why this underground clip was recently recognized with an MVPA nomination in the Best Hip-Hop category. --> watch "Artsy"

The Grouch "Artsy" (Legendary Music)
Secret History, director | Buildestroy, animation/design |Binary Mob, producers | ReelRoots/Buildestroy, production co | August Thurmer , DP | Ryan Flanery , editor |

NEW RELEASE: The Long Blondes "Guilt"

The groovy theme behind this Long Blondes video is a celebration of the unapologetically single life, best summarized by singer Kate Jackson's refrain, "Guilt has nothing to do with it." Directors Abby Warrilow and Lewis Gourlay place the emotionally detached Jackson amidst some dogs and owners at an agility course. Perhaps the notion that one can have just as good a life committed to some four-legged friendship as the two-legged kind, or maybe it's some kind of love that dare not speak its name. Either way, the video resonates with a savvy coolness that fits the song's upbeat, ultrahip groove. [review by Ced Esters] --> watch "Guilt" via YouTube or MySpace (better quality)

The Long Blondes "Guilt" (Rough Trade)
Abby Warrilow/Lewis Gourlay, director | Jude Lightbody, producer | Cagoule Productions, production co | Andrew Begg, DP | Lewis Gourlay, editor

NEW RELEASE: Coldplay "Violet Hill"

Almost everything about the set-up for the new Coldplay album Viva La Vida is as mammoth as you would expect for what is being viewed as the single most important release from the newly reorganized EMI Group. There was the free "one week only " download of this single — reportedly attracting two million rubberneckers — plus upcoming free concerts at London's Brixton Academy and a little venue in NYC called Madison Square Garden, live performances on the MTV Movie Awards and The Today Show and even Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and, well, you get the idea. It's big. The video launch plan is equally big, snagging an unprecedented simultaneous debut today on MTV, Vh1 and The N. How's the actual clip itself? Despite director Asa Mader's high art C.V. — complete with French films, a multi-media stage show and some large format video installations — the video is a simple affair and even a little anti-climactic. Mader imagines the Coldplay lads as the rock 'n' roll equivalent of Civil War reenactors. They take a hill (under a violet sky, no less), stop at a grand chateau for a performance and — hey, why not? — have some fun with a magnifying glass. It's kind of big, but in a throwback way to the olden days of music videos when being random was not necessarily a bad thing*.  --> watch "Violet Hill" via MTV et al. debut

Coldplay "Violet Hill" (Capitol)
Asa Mader, director

*Also not a bad thing is the official viral video for "Violet Hill" directed by Mat Whitecross. This "dancing politicians" version manipulates footage of President George W Bush — complete with accompanying chimp sounds — and other world leaders so it seems that they're rocking and dancing to the beat. And like the proper video, it also reminds me of something old. In this case, it's the U2 Zoo TV intro film in which directing team EBN mutates a speech by George "the elder" Bush into a rendition of "We Will Rock You" directed at Saddam Hussein. Scary, funny and timely.

NEW RELEASE: We Are Scientists "After Hours"

Oh, the bad puns to be enjoyed when writing about this video from cheeky NYC  rock group We Are Scientists and director Akiva Schaffer (he of the SNL Digital Shorts fame and some previous WAS videos). Frontman Keith Murray has cajoled bassist Chris Cains into a blind double date with foxy 30 Rock cast member Katrina Bowden. Unfortunately, the friend that she brings along is a real dog. To be even more precise, she's a bitch. After some initial hesitation, Cains starts to play ball with his date and realizes that there may be a chance for sparks — that is, until Murray gets jealous and cockblocks his bandmate. Down, boys, down. --> watch "After Hours"

We Are Scientists "After Hours" (Astralwerks)
Akiva Schaffer, director | Greencard Pictures, production co

NEW RELEASE: Black Kites "Paper Heart"

Black Kites singer Evelyn Reyes finds herself alienated from the hipsters at a bohemian L.A. house party where her band is playing an informal gig. Luckily, she spies a bit of magic out of an upstars window. It's her guardian angel — Clarence? Is that you? — and streaks of light that animate a butterfly and other wonder. She joins him outside and finds that she has not only sprouted her own wings, but also the courage to walk alone through the strangely snowy evening and enjoy her own wonderful life. --> watch "Paper Heart"

Black Kites
"Paper Heart" (Filthy Little Angels)
Michael Grodner, director | Laura Altmann, producer | Tinnitus Films/Vitamin M, production co | Justin Coloma, DP | Matt Smith, editor

NEW RELEASE: Flight Of The Conchords "Ladies Of The World"

There's only one answer to explain how the douchebag sitting near the Flight Of The Conchords has two hotties draped all over him and totally absorbed into a tall tale about his rock 'n' roll lifestyle: It's the wheels. Chicks dig a nice set of wheels — even if those wheels are actually rollerskates. The comedic duo are thus inspired to dream about having a retro rollerjam with not just California Girls, but ladies of all nationalities and with all sorts of genitalia. Yes. That's how much they love the ladies. They even love the ones that ain't all lady.  --> watch "Ladies Of The World"

Flight Of The Conchords
"Ladies Of The World" (Sub Pop)
Nima Nourizadeh, director | Charles Spano, producer | Partizan, production co | Andrew Shulkind, DP | Ghost Town Media, fx/post

NEW RELEASE: Gnarls Barkley "Going On"

The often costumed and dynamic duo Gnarls Barkley are nowhere to be found in this video for "Going On."  Instead, director Wendy Morgan focuses on a group of youngsters in Jamaica who first elucidate key words from the lyrics as they dance about a classroom and enthusiastically celebrate the discovery of a new dimension. As one of the livelier tracks from their second effort The Odd Couple, the energy and vitality of the celebrants in the video are a good foil to Cee-Lo's vocals about moving from one phase of life to the next. Although this clip isn't what anyone would have predicted — though the discussion of young people and other dimensions is oddly relevant —  and the absence of the artist in a video can create a disconnection that's hard to overcome, "Going On" boasts a compelling narrative, enthralling performances and the usual unexpectedness that is now what you would expect from the Gnarls camp. [review by Craig Belcher] --> watch "Going On"

Gnarls Barkley "Going On" (Downtown/Atlantic)
Wendy Morgan, director | Jannie McInnes, producer | The Revolver Film Co., production co | Labuda Management, rep | Max Goldman, DP | Geoff Ashenhurst @ Stealing Time, editor | Laundry, fx 

NEW RELEASE: Faunts "M4 (Part II)

Crabs are pesky little creatures. And no, I don't just mean the louse variety (oofa, bad joke). This imaginative and cinematic clip for Canadian rockers Faunts is a tale of the one crab to rule them all. The combative crustacean crawls out of the ocean and claims a sand castle in the shape of a Mayan temple as its domain. There's some competition to be king of this miniature mountain, but our guy fends them all off, emerging as the last crab standing. Too bad he didn't consider the rising tide and that ravenous pack of birds. Oh well. --> watch "M4 (Part II)"

Faunts "M4 (Part II)" (Friendly Fire)
Ryan Bosworth, director/DP/vfx | Melissa Blanco, producer
Fenix, production co

NEW RELEASE: Lady Gaga "Just Dance"

When you hear the word "glam" in conjunction with a pop star like Mariah Carey, you know you're in for a high gloss and high price descent into high fashion. Electro-pop (emphasis on pop, really) newcomer Lady Gaga embraces glam in the tradition of David Bowie, but with an extra emphasis on a cool and flamboyant skeeziness. Boasting an Aladdin Sane thunderbolt and a style that's clearly meant to align her more with the likes of Peaches and M.I.A. than any pop singer other than Gwen Stefani, perhaps, Lady Gaga performs amidst a collection of wasted hipsters and oddfellas at a campy house party that's rippling with tawdry sexual energy. There's also a featured performance spot by fellow KonLive signee Colby O'Donis and a cameo by the main KonArtist Akon, but both are overshadowed by Lady Gaga's non-stop vamping that is best represented by some dirty time with an an inflatable killer whale and a couple guys in a kiddie pool.  --> watch "Just Dance"

Lady Gaga f/ Colby O'Donis "Just Dance" (Streamline/KonLive/Interscope)
Melina, director | Hagai Shaham, producer | Black Dog, production co | Paul Laufer, DP | Jarrett Fijal, editor

NEW RELEASE: The Roots "Rising Down"

Hip Hop group The Roots sample the sounds of go-go on "Rising Up," the new single from their tenth album, Rising Down. The percussive-heavy sound commonly associated with the go-go genre  is smoothed out with synths and the voice of R&B chanteuse Chrisette Michele, while Black Thought and Washington, D.C.-based rapper Wale keep it authentic with focused performances. The somewhat voyeuristic video appears to have been shot in a hair salon, an unlikely, but intimate setting for what seems to be a mix of lively rehearsal and listening party, complete with break dancers. Since the size of the Roots crew has decreased over the years, director Rik Cordero uses the small set to boost the screen presence of the group, a smart move for a band known for its invigorating live performances. [review by Craig Belcher] --> watch "Rising Down" (via MySpace)

The Roots "Rising Down" (Def Jam/IDJMG)
Rik Cordero, director/editor | Mike Fox, producer | three/21films, production co | Jon Chen, DP

NEW RELEASE: Chris Brown "Forever"

Is there a chain of edgy nightclubs where the lights are always flaring and blurring around a clientèle that is mysteriously there and then not again? Usher tried to get love in such a club and now Chris Brown picks a similar spot to show off his pop king moves under the razor-sharp guidance of video legend Joseph Kahn.
C. Brown’s interest in the leading lady's J. Alba doppelganger-ness might explain why he leaps after her when she takes a tumble off a skyscraper roof. The resulting mid-air make-out scene is worthy of Hudsucker Proxy or perhaps Eminem, made all the better by perfectly landing to nail the last bit of summer-jam choreography. [review by Doug Stern] --> watch "Forever"

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Chris Brown "Forever" (Jive/ZLG)
Joseph Kahn, director | Mary Ann Tanedo, producer | HSI, production co | Christopher Probst, DP | David Blackburn, editor | Robert Fox, production design

NEW RELEASE: R.E.M. "Hollow Man"

The internet and other bits of technology may connect everything and everyone in ways never before possible, but it also leaves us stranded all by our lonesome at disparate terminals where we are bombarded by information overload. The new R.E.M. single/video "Hollow Man" seems to tackle that state of being alienated, yet never alone or apart from the unstoppable influx of information and media. A webbishy and artful video focuses on a few solitary souls, painting their disconnectedness with YouTubish blotches of pixelation and compression artifacts while a steady stream of song lyrics in bold typefaces add to the screen noise. --> watch "Hollow Man"

R.E.M. "Hollow Man" (label)
Gary Thomas & Stefan Woronko, director | Stephanie Pennington, producer | Crush Inc., production co | Sean Cochrane, DP | Crush, Inc., editor

NEW RELEASE: The Republic Tigers "Buildings & Mountains"

Hopeful or hopeless. Republic Tigers frontman Kenn Jankowski drags an old rowboat across some dusty roads, getting his bandmates to help carry the load as he passes them on his route. The final destination is the middle of the desert, where they set the boat down in a sea of nothing but sand. And they wait. For something. For anything. Sail on, my friends. --> watch "Buildings And Mountains"

The Republic Tigers "Buildings And Mountains" (Chop Shop/Atlantic)
Brian Savelson, director/editor | Sarah McMurray, producer | Collaboration Factory, production co | Laure Scott, rep  | Tarin Anderson, DP | Jill Kaplan/Skyway Productions , commissioner

NEW RELEASE: Tapes 'N Tapes "Hang Them All"

Every penny counts in a recession. Why pay 99 cents when you can save a penny at the 98 cent store? Comic actor Ryan Flynn plays a not so hapless hero in the Napoleonic Dynamitey mode who decides to offer the people an even greater discount. Armed with a cardboard rifle and the kind of chutzpah that would make Sam Walton proud, this modern day and presumably mentally disabled Robin Hood steals his inventory so that it can be resold at a price that undercuts the competition. I would joke that Tapes 'N Tapes are courting bad karma here and running the risk that somebody pulls the same stunt with their new album, Walk It Off, but everyone has probably already downloaded the album. --> watch "Hang Them All" via MTV.com premiere

Tapes 'N Tapes "Hang Them All" (XL/Beggars)
Jonnie Ross, director | Yvonne Ortiz, producer | Smuggler, production co | Labuda Management, rep | Todd Somodevilla, DP | Jeremiah Shuff, editor

NEW RELEASE: Doughty "Fort Hood"

Mike Doughty does a much better job setting up his video than I ever could, so I'm just gonna reprint the whole spiel from his blog. I don't think he'll mind.

Mike Doughty: Bex Schwartz directed this video for "Fort Hood." We made it together, without the record company, because we wanted to get a message out there, about young people whose bodies and minds are still being damaged in Iraq.

Actually, by posting it here, and making it available on YouTube, and embeddable, we're bumming the record company out. They liked it when we showed it to them, and wanted to coordinate a whole marketing and radio campaign about it.

(And much respect to them--ATO are fantastic people, I'm grateful to be on their team.)

We were going to wait, and let them do their thing, but I watched the primary last night, and hearing Obama and Hillary snark at each other while this terrible nightmare is still going on, I realized I didn't want to wait.

It's up at AOL Spinner right now, and soon will be on Stereogum [it's up]; we'd be humbled and grateful if you guys put it on your profiles; we'd like to get our message out. Thank you.

--> watch "Fort Hood"

Mike Doughty "Fort Hood" (ATO)
Bex Schwartz, director | Michael Flexner, producer | High Water Mark Productions, production co | Joe Arcidiacono & Dave Gorn, DP | Mike Levine / Mantra, editor

NEW RELEASE: Busta Rhymes/Linkin Park "We Made It"

Since the Jay-Z /Linkin Park collaboration was such a critical and commercial smash, it was only a matter of time before another rapper solicited the rockers to see if lightening could strike again. That metaphor plays out a bit in the conceptual scenes of the video, in which Busta Rhymes braves some stormy skies and leads  a squadron of fellow achievers up a seemingly unscalable mountain. Whether Busta and the Linkin Park boys can also make it up the charts with this rock/pop/rap combo remains to be seen. --> watch "We Made It" (via Yahoo premiere)

Busta Rhymes f/ Linkin Park "We Made It" (Interscope)
Chris Robinson, director | Billy Parks, producer | Robot Films, production co | Robin Frank Management, rep | Barry Norwood, DP | Jeff Selis, editor

NEW RELEASE: Alicia Keys "Teenage Love Affair"

Alicia Keys has enjoyed commercial success by recreating the sound and spirit of classic soul records. Now she’s honorably jacking scenes from an older film for her latest video. “Teenage Love Affair,” is set on the campus of historically black college that closely resembles the fictitious Mission College in Spike Lee’s musical School Daze. Director Chris Robinson references moments from the 1998 film, complete with a cameo appearance by actor Giancarlo Espositio, who played Big Brother Almighty. Like most of Alicia Keys’ sampling, this homage is creative, timely and sure to attract interest in her music, as well as the source material. (review by Craig Belcher) --> watch "Teenage Love Affair" via MyPlay flash player

Alicia Keys "Teenage Love Affair" (J Records)
Chris Robinson, director | Jill Hardin, producer | Robot Films, production co | Robin Frank Management, rep | John Perez, DP | Jeff Selis, editor

NEW RELEASE: Riskay "Smell Yo Dick"

Riskay has plenty of circumstantial evidence that her man is cheating, but she's seen enough Nancy Grace to know that only DNA is unassailable proof. That kind of testing may be beyond her reach, but she employs a just as reliable sniff test that — with apologies to the late Johnny Cochran — is best described as, "If the dick smells of snatch, you must dispatch." As with any story-song in the r&b tradition, it's hard to do anything with the video other than bring the tale to life. But, even though this is a just literal depiction of the song lyrics, director Eric Kline — a former producer at the bootyful by-request video network The Box — is able to avoid the kind of crass depiction you might expect — no, there is no "Smell Yo Dick" scene — while matching the song's overall same low budget and tongue-in-cheek tone. --> watch "Smell Yo Dick"

Riskay f/ Aviance & Real  "Smell Yo Dick" (Glassnote)
Eric Kline, director | Eric Kline and CC Carnie, producer | E. Kline Productions / Inside the Music Business, production co | Adrian Allen, DP | Adrian Allen, Wayne Sage, Michae’l Charmant, editors

NEW RELEASE: Flyleaf "Sorrow"

Director Jake Davis conjures up a backstory to explain the anger and frustration that has been the calling card of Flyleaf singer Lacey Mosley. The pretty dress, fancy make-up and especially the tiara fitting are all red herrings. She's not a debutante or a beauty pageant contestant. She's an escapist, preparing for a stage trick in which she'll try to break loose from some shackles while holding her breath underwater. Unfortunately, much like she can't escape the aforementioned emotion in her music, she also has a hard time pulling off this trick. David Blaine she ain't. --> watch "Sorrow" via MTV.com

Flyleaf "Sorrow" (Octone/A&M/Interscope)
Jake Davis, director | Kerri Kleiner , producer | Kleiner, Inc., production co | Jim Larer, DP | Chell Stephen & Jake Davis, editors

IN DEPTH: Death Cab For Cutie "I Will Possess..."

The weariness of the world traveler is often underestimated, especially when it comes to a touring band. City after city, country after country, hotel after hotel, interview after interview… You get the idea. And if you need to see the alienation and mind-numbing haze that of that nomadic lifestyle, go see director Grant Gee's Radiohead doc, Meeting People Is Easy. With that in mind, it's easy to see why Death Cab For Cutie stayed stationary for this first video off the new album, Narrow Stairs. They didn't have it easy, mind you — the band was sequestered in a positively arctic warehouse with co-director/DP Shawn Kim — but they were spared the grueling travel schedule that befell co-director Aaron Stewart-Ahn and the video's lead actress. Ten cities around the world in not many more days is no pleasure trip, especially on a music video budget. And, a further complication was the sheer length of the song. "I Will Possess Your Heart" is over eight minutes long with a bass-heavy instrumental introduction that makes me think the Death Cabbies got a little too into the Joy Division resurgence of the past year. Yes, there's an edited single version, which means that the directors and editor Jeff Buchanan were respesonsible for delivering more than one version of the final video.

Aaron Stewart-Ahn, director: I had been pitching this for years. The original idea was a less global version for the song "Transatlanticism." I used to travel alone a fair bit and felt that cameras had gotten to the point where I could shoot a certain experience without any artifice. But it probably always sounded crazy on paper. As crazy as releasing a nine minute single, so the two odd ideas found each other.

Because I've worked with the band so closely, I realized that the new album truly was a confident aggregate of everything they've done before and was the first recording to really reflect the band's live performances. So it had to have performance. The band came up with the idea of them being in as cold an environment as possible.

In my head the performance footage looked as if Shawn Kim had shot it, with really aggressive flares and classical camera movements. I'm just a huge nerd for DPs and I think he is absolutely one of the best who ever shot music videos. When it became clear that the delivery date was making the schedule impossible, it was a no-brainer to ask Shawn to not just shoot the performance, but also direct it. I thought that might add another dynamic to the mix. We didn't even discuss things too much in detail. I wanted to have him bring his ideas to the band. I told him: My travel footage is going to be completely reactive, so if we're musicians, you're leading as the rhythm section and I'll follow.

Shawn found a refrigerated warehouse and had to discuss things with a medical adviser. I proceeded to travel for the next 13 days with only a producer, a coordinator, and our actress.

We started with places in Europe I knew and that would present themselves as the typical destinations for young Americans. We visited continental Europe and Japan — where two of the band members grew up — and then we'd take a plunge and go to places we had no foreknowledge of. The further she goes, the warmer the world becomes.

Unfortunately, certain romantic ideas about travel became harsh reality for us: India was out because of the time needed to prep visas. We wouldn't have time to take antimalarial drugs. So many possible destinations fell apart due to the sheer amount of time needed to fly.  The budget restricted our crew size and I knew that shooting without permits or attention would require a massive amount of discretion. I had to shoot it myself, which was very stupid for many reasons. I missed having a DP. Everything was done in one take but we got things that would've been impossible any other way. Our biggest headache was dealing with legalities. A lot of shots had to be dropped out of the edit if background people or logos were recognizable. It's sad that you can't legally present the world how it is.

When it was all finished I was reminded of being at film school in London, where I had shot my very first video for Ben Gibbard's college solo project All Time Quarterback. He had been bumming around Europe on his own and dropped by for awhile. We knocked the video out for five bucks in an afternoon on the first DV camera I ever owned. The London Underground played a big part in that video and so I actually found it on YouTube and saw that some of the shots were similar. Again, that desire to make everything a culmination.

--> watch "I Will Posses Your Heart" via YouTube in long version or short version. And, a Quicktime of the long version
 

Death Cab For Cutie
"I Will Possess Your Heart" (Atlantic)
Aaron Stewart-Ahn and Shawn Kim, directors/DPs | Cody Ryder and Karen Lin, producers | Streetgang Films/Mister Boom Boom, production co | Jeff Buchanan, editor | Lanette Phillips Management  / Free Agent UK, rep for Shawn Kim | Laure Scott, rep for Aaron Stewart-Ahn

NEW RELEASE: Motley Crue "SOLA"

The Motley Crue reunion takes the next logical step with new album Saints Of Los Angeles and this music video for the title track. Despite all the requisite tawdry bits — breaking stuff, lesbianism, umlauts, etc — the only explicit thing here is promoting the inaugural Crue Fest by having the lead singers from bands on Motley's Summer carnival tour on stage for the last chorus. Director P.R. Brown — seen in the photo with Motley drummer Tommy Lee — handles the action with b&w cinematography that helps achieve a raw grittiness that's neither modern nor retro, but perfectly suited for the classic and proudly classless band. --> watch "Saints Of Los Angeles" via MySpace or YouTube or Quicktime

Mötley Crüe "Saints Of Los Angeles" (Eleven Seven)
P.R. Brown, director/editor | Christina Wagner, producer | Bau-Da Design Lab, production co (repped through Anonymous Content) | Joe Labisi, DP

NEW RELEASE: The Acorn "Flood Pt. 1"

Money will be our destruction. In the case of this stunning multi-media allegory for The Acorn, it's caused by a mere penny that falls from the sky and sets off a chain of cataclysmic events. The penny slices off a glacier from the ice cap, causing the waters to rise and progress into tidal waves that ravage the land. Additional coins and treasures rain down as the animals break free and run rampant across the land. Salvation may come in the form of one pure couple — and a snail, of course — but a happy ending is probably not to be. Although the video may immediately look like a pure CG work, most of it was made and animated by hand. Check the YouTube page for "Flood Pt. 1" for making-of details and a synopsis of the video's underlying story. --> watch "Flood Pt. 1" via YouTube or Quicktime

The Acorn "Flood Pt. 1" (Paper Bag)
Christopher Mills, director/producer/DP/animation + post fx | Number Four Films, production co | Geordie Lishman, Nicole Aline Legault, art direction/production design | Mark DePape, editor/post fx | Andrea Spaziani, dancer/puppeteer 

NEW RELEASE: Against Me "Stop" (PSA)

The new single, "Stop," from politically conscious punkers Against Me sounds like a perfect theme song for the maddening run-up to the 2008 election, so it's only right that it's been matched with a PSA for the Rock The Vote campaign. Director Marc Klasfeld places the band in front of an incendiary voting booth and the various players from today's hot topic issues. --> watch "Stop" (Rock The Vote PSA) in Quicktime or via YouTube

Against Me "Stop" (Sire/Warner Bros)
Marc Klasfeld, director | Nicole Acacio, producer | Rock Hard Films, production co | Robin Frank Management, rep | Martin Coppen, DP | Richard Alarcon, editor

IN DEPTH: Usher "Love In This Club"

The definition of a "Big Big Big Big Big" video may have changed a bit over the years, but the message never got to Usher. The megastar is back with a fittingly massive big-budget video that's merely the prelude to another big clip that's already been shot. Guest stars galore, an exclusive location in the heart of Hollywood, and a top-notch crew. All on a week's notice, of course. The Brothers Strause may seem like an unlikely choice to get the keys to this luxury vehicle, but the Bros have cut their chops over the years through effects work for both music videos