Cut Copy has an amazing new video for an amazing new song called ‘Need You Now’. It’s the kind of epic that Cut Copy does so well. The video starts out semi-normal enough, with various athletes running in slow motion but as it goes on it just gets more and more ape shit crazy. This is a really fun video to watch.
I was watching the Grammys this Sunday–which, by the way, was not that bad this year (especially when you DVR it and fast-forward through all the boring crap)–and for some reason I can’t explain I decided to go back and watch the In Memoriam segment. It was in watching that segment that I heard a song instantly familiar to me, and yet totally foreign. It should be no surprise to anyone now that dance and hip-hop music frequently sample older songs and I’m always excited to discover these original samples to newer songs I’m more familiar with, so it was with great joy that I finally figured out who originally wrote the song ‘Sunny’. For a while I’ve been a big fan of the Boogie Pimps’ song and video, which you can see right here. Roller disco has never been sexier.
The song was originally written by Bobby Hebb in 1966, in response to the Kennedy assassination and his brother’s murder, which happened right around the same time. Instead of slipping into a great fit of depression, the guy decided to right a really catchy uplifting tune to cheer himself up.
Upon further investigation I discovered that the Boogie Pimps didn’t just rerecord this song, but actually sampled another version of it. In fact it turns out that ‘Sunny’ is actually one of the most covered songs in pop music. Everyone from James Brown to Cher did a version. The most famous version though, outside of the original, is Boney M.’s, which is the one that was actually sampled by the Boogie Pimps. In 1977 they decided it would make for a great disco tune, and I was kind of surprised at how similar it is to the Boogie Pimps’ version.
No matter what version you prefer, they’re all guaranteed to make you feel better on a shitty day, so take a listen and enjoy.
I could have swore I posted the video for Kisses’ ‘People Can Do The Most Amazing Things’ before, but I looked through my tags and I guess I missed that one. It was on my last mixtape, but somehow I forgot about posting the video. ‘Tis a shame, because it was absolutely one of my favorite songs of last year, which I’ll share for you here:
Kisses – "People Can Do The Most Amazing Things" from Kisses on Vimeo.
In honor of Valentine’s Day I guess I’ll make this into a Kisses’ themed post. Their debut, The Heart of The Nightlife is fantastic, as can be seen here, in the song called, oddly enough, ‘Kisses’:
Kisses – Kisses from Kisses on Vimeo.
And finally we get to the new video that made me realize that I never posted any of the old ones: ‘Bermuda’. If you were jonsing for a great track to play while watching old travel videos on VHS, well, do I have the right music video for you:
Kisses – Bermuda (Official Video) from Kisses on Vimeo.
Memory Tapes (sometimes known as Weird Tapes, sometimes known as Memory Cassette, always known to be awesome) put out a fantastic album called Seek Magic a while back and they are gearing up to release their second LP soon. The first single they’ve released from this yet to be titled album is ‘Today Is Our Life’. It’s a great track that has a little bit of everything in it. It starts off slow, builds up steam, has a great guitar solo, and then slows back down again. The video takes footage from Busby Berkeley, Man Ray and Herman C. Weinberg films and combines them to dynamic effect.
Memory Tapes : “Today Is Our Life” from Jamie Harley on Vimeo.
And for good measure here’s a track from Seek Magic called, ‘Bicycle’:
Memory Tapes – “Bicycle” from Jamie Harley on Vimeo.
Robyn’s had a great year. First she released her two Body Talk EPs last summer and then followed it up with a full-length Body Talk album that cherry picked all the best songs from the two EPs and included several new songs that were just as good as the others. Then she recorded the vocals to Savage Skulls & Douster’s “Bad Gal”, which is on their Get Rich Or High Tryin’ EP. The song has a really funky, almost Basement Jaxx-like beat and some great vocals by Robyn. Plus the video has a fun 1970’s Parisian genre movie vibe.
Speaking of those Body Talk albums, you should really pick them up. Need more proof of Robyn’s greatness? Check out this kickin’ video to “Dancehall Queen”. It has a bouncy dancehall/dubsteb beat that you’ll be humming along to all day long.
Dance music out of Australia right now hits just the right balance between 80’s New Wave nostalgia and modern electronic club music in a way I’ve absolutely fallen in love with. Right up there with a band like Cut Copy is Bag Raiders, who finally after what’s felt like years of great singles released their self-titled debut in Australia back in October. While it’s still not available in the States yet, there’s plenty of ways to find it on the internet. Here’s a few tracks to show you why it’s worth tracking down.
On "Sunlight" they show you why love is a beautiful thing…and also why you shouldn’t get into a relationship with a chimpanzee.
Bag Raiders – ‘Sunlight’ from Modular People on Vimeo.
Bag Raiders have fun with art, Stan Brakhage-esq film techniques and tribal drums in "Way Back Home".
Bag Raiders – Way Back Home from Modular People on Vimeo.
"Shooting Stars" is not only a great song but it’s also probably one of my favorite songs ever, as I mentioned in my write up for my Lazy Mountains Mixtape. If you forgot what it sounds like, here’s a reminder:
A lot of bands put out free EPs for download these days, but very few EPs seem to be as awesome as the ones Elite Gymnastics put out. Their new EP, Neu! ’92 is available for download now and it’s totally worth picking up.
Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours is definitely on my top twenty greatest albums of all time list, and along with that somewhat honor they’re also one of my very favorite bands. Their new album, Zonoscope, is out this Tuesday and I definitely suggest you pick it up, because it is pretty darn amazing too.
The first video for the album is “Corner Of The Sky” and it’s a mindbogglingly beautiful video. It looks like a Chronos/Planet Earth/IMAX movie. If your computer display supports HD I definitely recommend you turn it on and watch this video full screen.
The last time Cut Copy came to Seattle it was not only the greatest live show I’ve ever seen, but it was also one of the greatest, most memorable experiences of my life. Cut Copy are coming back to Seattle at the Showbox SoDo Tuesday, April, 12th and if anyone’s willing and in the area I’d love to have someone to go to the show with. On the off chance that actually applies to anyone reading this, let me know, because I’m dying to buy some tickets.
I love, love, LUV Best Coast. Everything new they do happens to be my new favorite. If you haven’t already picked up their debut album, Crazy For You, you really should. It’s awesome. Doesn’t hurt that founder/lead singer/guitarist Bethany Cosentino is super hot either.
This video for the title track and newest single “Crazy For You” is super cute. Basically cats film their latest music video. I love that the cats set the camera to LOLZ. Check it out:
What’s not to love about this video? Its simple concept has people shaking their backsides to some free-and-breezy retro disco grooves, with a little tongue-in-cheek humor thrown in to make sure everyone’s having a good time. If you liked Sébastien Tellier’s "Look" video, then you’re bound to love this one too.
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