The art of the music video is dead. VH1 doesn’t even show them anymore, and MTV only shows them about half the time. MTV2 does a little bit better of a job when not showing Jackass reruns, but really, the art of the music video is dead. Nowadays, it just seems that bands set up a stationary camera and go nuts for four or so minutes. Luckily, ISIS is the thinking man’s band. You may or may not agree with me, but I found this to be one of the most intense music videos I have seen ever.
Sigur Rós’ new album, Hvarf-Heim, comes out November 6th, and they’re on tour. Sure, they’re kind of on tour for their album, but it seems like they’re even more on tour for their movie (the movie came out first, and the album accompanies it). Filmed entirely in Iceland, Heima shows off the country’s amazing scenery alongside the band’s music, which is perfectly suitable for the style of the film. It also features interviews with the members, despite their discomfort with giving interviews before a camera. Since their last album two years ago, Sigur Rós has been reestablishing themselves as not only a band, but mixed media artists of sorts. First came their book, In The Frozen Sea: A Year With Sigur Rós, which came with limited edition vinyls (seven of them total) and a hard cover art book. Now comes a movie and a brand new album to match it. On November 5th, Heima will be released as a Special Edition double DVD package with a 104-page book containing stunning photos from the tour. It will also be released as a standard 2-DVD set. The first disc of both packages features the Heima’ film with a choice of a 5.1 Surround Sound or PCM Stereo mix, whilst the second DVD will contain the full performances of each song in the movie, amongst many other extras. This is the first chance to see Sigur Rós live on DVD.
If you have a chance to catch Sigur Rós on tour right now, you can see Heima in its entirety. Those in Los Angeles this weekend are doubly in for a treat, since you get treated to a movie AND three acoustic songs. Lucky.
SIGUR ROS ON TOUR:
united states
* november 03 • ucla, los angeles » “heima” screening & 3 song acoustic set & q+a
* november 04 • arclight theatre, los angeles » “heima” screening » info » sold out
ireland
* november 01-03 • the irish film institute, dublin » » “heima” screening » info & tickets
united kingdom
* november 02-03 • hyde park picture house, leeds » “heima” screening » venue
* november 05 • glasgow film theatre, glasgow » “heima” screening » venue
* november 05 • national film theatre, london » “heima” screening & 3 song acoustic set & q+a » sold out
sweden
* november 4 • victoria, malmö » » “heima” screening » info & tickets
united states
* november 18 • rutgers university, new jersey » “heima” screening » info
* november 19 • fine arts theatre, asheville, nc » “heima” screening » info
* november 19 • amoeba records, san francisco, ca » free “heima” screening » info
* november 19 • end of an ear, austin, tx » free “heima” screening » info
* november 19 • love garden sounds, lawrence, ks » free “heima” screening » info
* november 19 • sound fix records, brooklyn, ny » free “heima” screening » info
* november 20 • international house of philadelphia, philadelphia, pa » free “heima” screening » info
* november 20 • bottletree cafe, birmingham, al » free “heima” screening » info
* november 26 • northeastern university, boston, ma » free “heima” screening » info
united kingdom
* november 30 • f.a.c.t., liverpool » “heima” screening » venue
* december 3-6 • chapter arts centre, cardiff » “heima” screening » venue
* december 8 • tyneside cinema, newcastle » “heima” screening» venue
Way back when there was this band called Catch 22 and it released the album that probably saved ska from being a completely forgotten genre, “Keasbey Knights”. Then the front man, Tomas Kanolky left the band. Catch 22 carried on, now releasing mediocre at best albums. A few years later, Kanolky surfaced again under the guise of Streetlight Manifesto and continued his quest to single-handedly prove that ska is not dead. Streetlight Manifesto draws from the standard third-wave ska sound but also dabbles in a little bit of everything to produce its supercharged ska on crack sound. A notorious perfectionist, Streetlight Manifesto doesn’t exactly produce new material at warp speed, but finally, “Somewhere In the Between” is dropping in mid-November. Here is the first video, “We Will Fall Together”
Armor For Sleep - Williamsburg
Maplewood, New Jersey
Armor For Sleep is (almost) back with a new album, and guess what? They’re going to be playing on TRL. Which is most hilarious. It seems being on a label owned by a major (Sire Records, owned by Warner) does do a great bit of good for this band that was formerly on Equal Vision. Well, below is a video of their new single, which I’m not particularly feeling, but maybe you will. Maybe this newfound success has made them a bit happier because their music on this new album, Smile For Them, is pop-punk if I’ve ever heard it. Gone are the days of woefully imagining what it would be like to be dead. I don’t know that I like this precedent. I liked their old stuff. The new stuff sounds a bit more generic to me, but it will no doubt gain them some fans. Anyway, you can be the judge yourself. Head over to their MySpace to listen to the whole album or check out the video below and see if you’re feeling it!
Grieves & Type - “My Girlfriend Beats Me”
Seattle, Washington
This here is an amusing video which just came out today. Grieves & Type are two emcees from Seattle, and this song is goofy as hell. It’s a dedication to all of the guys who are bitches in their relationships, I suppose! But despite the fun, games, and beatings, these guys can crank out some worthwhile rhymes. If this isn’t exactly your bag of chips, though, don’t write them off just yet. Also notable is a track called “Irreversible” off of Grieves’ upcoming album, Irreversible (creative) — the track features Mr. Lif and can be streamed from his MySpace.
An amazing Mutemath performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show last night. Certainly backwards music videos are nothing new at all, but backwards performances are pretty new. Now, I was confused at first because I thought they were MOVING backwards, but in fact, they are not. The clip is played in reverse, but the members still had to learn the roles and do the tricks accordingly. I’ve loved Mutemath since the first second I accidentally came across them at a show two years ago, and I’m thrilled that they’re finally getting the attention that they deserve. We’ll be interviewing them this Saturday with more details on the performance!
For your shits and giggles, here are some streaming Mutemath tracks, courtesy of music conglomerate Warner Brothers.
Feist - “One Evening”
File Size: 4.8mb, Length: 3:36
(Right-click above link to save on a PC, control-click to save on a MAC)
Let’s have a Feist party right here All sparked in part due to this Feist performance below which was on David Letterman. Like Feist or not, if you’re a fan of mainstream indie rock, you probably will recognize a few faces in the performance below, including individuals from Minus The Bear and Broken Social Scene! Of the tracks above, “Mushaboom” is a Postal Service Remix. “One Evening” is a track off of Feist’s last album, Let It Die! Enjoy!
All sparked in part due to this Feist performance below which was on David Letterman. Like Feist or not, if you’re a fan of mainstream indie rock, you probably will recognize a few faces in the performance below, including individuals from Minus The Bear and Broken Social Scene! Of the tracks above, “Mushaboom” is a Postal Service Remix. “One Evening” is a track off of Feist’s last album, Let It Die! Enjoy!