About Today

Harlem Shakes, Strictly Game

Oh, man. That is an incredible video. I don’t want to say too much and spoil it. Well-played, sirs. Well-played.

Capital Children’s Choir, Chinese (Lily Allen cover)

Lily Allen just tweeted a link to this video of a gaggle of little English moppets doing a terrific version of one of my favorite songs off Allen’s new album It’s Not Me, It’s You.

Bishop Allen, Shanghaied

What? The new Bishop Allen video is adorable? It features a bunny rabbit? That is shocking! Here I expected their next video to be directed by David Lynch. Sarcasm aside, it is directed by Bob Byington who also directs Bishop Allen frontman Justine Rice in Harmony and Me which looks pretty darn good. I loved Rice in Mutual Appreciation (ignore the pretentious critic quotes). Check out Harmony and Me here.

Dirty Projectors, Stillness is the Move

crumbler: “Stillness is the Move” sounded cloying to me until someone suggested it was actually an R&B song, the sort of thing Beyonce might sing if she went to Yale with DPs frontman Dave Longstreth. Like so much modern R&B, it’s built around a repeating, chiming figure that the vocal mostly ignores. Keep an open mind — the same kind of open mind you needed to love “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” which was built on what sounded like a Frogger sample — and you may fall hard for it.

Nice observation. Now where’s my Diplo remix? Seriously, though, 2009’s going to be remembered as a great year for music, and this is going to be one of the highlights. It’s also going to be known as the year the indie rock ladies struck back, and Angel Deradoorian definitely does that here. She just kills it.

Nick Cave @ Glastonbury 2009

Now, you can’t tell me that isn’t one bad motherfucker right there. (via)

The Capricorns, The New Sound (live 10.8.06)

My buddy Chris just reminded me of this song. This was our jam a few years ago. Girls and Casios, man. You can’t beat it. (Chris also points out that some people leave the show in the middle of the song, and they exit by walking right past the stage. What jerks!)

The Very Best feat. Michael Jackson, Will You Be There

Ok, since this is a music blog, I can’t not comment on Jackson’s death. I chose this MJ remix by the Very Best to show that even some of his later stuff was pretty darn influential, even this sentimental fluff from the Free Willy soundtrack. This is the last track off Very Best’s mixtape, and the first time I heard it, it kinda snuck up on me. That part where MJ’s like “But they toohollld me! A man should be faithful-ah!”? Yeah, that’s the shit. (Forgive the shoutout stuff at the end of the track, which has nothing to do with MJ, but everything to do with the upcoming, sure-to-be-awesome Very Best album. Plus everyone’s already posted all the classics, so I gotta try and be different.)

My favorite Michael Jackson story involves an even schlockier song - the R. Kelly-penned “You Are Not Alone.” I was having lunch at a Chinese buffet with my buddy Chris, and when we walked in, “You Are Not Alone” was playing over the restaurant’s speakers. We filled our plates with chicken teriaki, lo mein, and such, and started chowing down, talking about work. About halfway through our plates, I noticed that “You Are Not Alone” was still playing. Almost as soon as I pointed it out, it ended finally - but then it started again! In fact, it played during our entire lunch. I can only assume that this particular Chinese restaurant had put in the Japanese single version of the song, which looked like this:

1. You Are Not Alone - 5:48
2. You Are Not Alone (Radio Edit) - 4:54
3. You Are Not Alone (Franctified Club Mix) - 10:40
4. You Are Not Alone (R. Kelly Mix) - 6:23
5. You Are Not Alone (Classic Club Mix) - 7:40
6. You Are Not Alone (Jon B. Main Mix) - 6:55
7. You Are Not Alone (Jon B. Padapella Mix) 6:55 

Yes, folks. That’s almost fifty minutes of THAT SONG WHERE HE WAS NAKED WITH LISA-MARIE PRESLEY IN THE VIDEO. And it was on repeat! We listened to the entire thing. Singing along occasionally. Once or twice yelling out, “Oh, shit! It’s the RE-MIX!” I’m sure to the delight of others in the restaurant.

Point being, even as craptastic as that song was, I didn’t really mind listening to it for an hour.  And yes, MJ was pretty crazy towards the end there, but dammit, when I was a kid, I rode the “Captain EO” (Angelica Houston!) ride twice. I put on a single white glove and tried to moonwalk across the kitchen floor. I still give Off the Wall and Thriller a spin on the turntable constantly. And you know what? I thought that “Do You Remember the Time” video with Eddie Murphy and Magic Johnson where MJ turns into sand and disappears was bad freakin’ ass! So yeah, cheers to you, Mike.

Bat For Lashes, Daniel (live on Jimmy Kimmel)

Oh, man! I didn’t even know that this happened last night. Was it the best night for late night musical guests or what?

St. Vincent, Marrow

Just a stunning, stunning performance. Terrific arrangement and damndamndamn that horn section!