Bizarre Music Videos

I know I usually reserve this blog for album reviews, but there are a few (relatively) new music videos floating around that deserve your attention if you haven't seen them already.  Enjoy.

Yeasayer - I Remember

An old biker guy rides out into the desert and makes a plaster cast of his own head. Which he then smashes. After seeing Yeasayer live where they admitted to having been searched by the police for drugs just minutes before they went on stage, I can't say that I find this video surprising at all.

Cut Copy - Need You Now

Various athletes swap the instruments of their sports...then take up medieval weapons? And start fighting each other? Sure. Why not?

Sparkadia - China

Umm...just plain strange. Catchy tune though. Balloon popping has never been sexier.

The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness

Not really all that bizarre, in fact the video isn't even all that interesting. But the return of The Strokes is welcome in my book, and the long takes are pretty cool.

The Black Keys - Howlin' For You

Not really bizarre unless you take into account that the actual music this video is showcasing is often relegated to background music. One of the coolest videos I've seen in a while, it's a lot of fun and frankly, pretty awesome.

Bizarre Music Videos

Once upon a time, one of the main ways people were exposed to new music was by watching music videos.  This was a simpler time, when MTV actually aired music videos instead of "reality" shows and VH1 had interesting programming based around music, like Storytellers (I should note that this show still airs, albeit sporadically), and Pop-Up Video.  Most people would probably argue that the music video era is dead, that there simply isn't any outlet for exposure via the music video medium.  In a way, they are correct.  The only channels that are dedicated to airing music videos are often bundled up in expensive digital cable or satellite packages, and let's face it, most people would rather hop on the internet than sit through blocks of programming that might play songs they don't care for.

So, just as video killed the radio star, the internet has killed the music video star.  Interestingly enough, this has not caused musicians to abandon music videos, with sites like YouTube, musicians and music labels now have a new way to reach potential fans and consumers.  The problem that presents itself is that the videos are no longer thrown into a rotation by the programmers of a television station, instead the videos are uploaded and only viewed on demand.  This has caused bands to make interesting and sometimes bizarre music videos that will get the internet community talking about them, in the hopes that people will be curious about the video enough to have a look.

Strange music videos have been around for a long time, one only has to hop on YouTube and check out the videos for Tool's Stinkfist, Radiohead's Paranoid Android, Aphex Twin's Come To Daddy, Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun, Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up, or The Avalanches' Frontier Psychiatrist, to name just a few.  Since their inception, music videos have provided musicians with an outlet to further brand their sound or to promote some kind of concept or cause, and sometimes bands create videos that are just downright bizarre to generate some buzz and hopefully convert some new fans.  The following three videos are strange and sometimes disturbing, but it got me talking about it, and my bet is that you're going to check them out, so I guess these bands are doing something right.

First up, Miami Horror "Holidays"

Miami Horror is a band from Melbourne who are getting quite a bit of airtime on Triple J. Certainly the least bizarre out of the three, as it's quite tame after the initial shock around the 30 second mark.

Yeasayer "Madder Red"

Yeasayer has quite the track record for weird music videos, but the one for their newest single, "Madder Red", takes the cake. The video opens with Kristen Bell in bed, luring us into a false sense of security and then HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!

Beach House "Walk in the Park"

This video opens up with your average down on his luck wolf-boy and his longing for your run-of-the-mill alt girl, but things become increasingly weird until events culminate in...a sandwich?