Wednesday, February 25, 2009

You don't have to lie, we're on the same side

This entry is mainly for my one reader's benefit (logical, right?). A year or more ago I first heard of a band from England called The Mystery Jets. They looked like they were barely out of high school, had messed-up hairdos, and LOVED the 80's, clearly. I was sold immediately. The first song I heard was actually the video they did for a single from the their latest album, Twenty One, with Laura Marling (also recommended), called Young Love.






After falling in love with them, I dug up their previous album and the songs actually have a much more effortless and innocent feel. The video for Diamonds in the Dark is adorable and looks like my grandma made it, and it's also my favorite song by this band. Just to clear things up a bit I will say that the lead singer has health issues (hence crutches)and his dad used to be in the band and write the lyrics. This song's lyrics are so good, I almost miss the old dude.







But all truly great things can't remain a secret forever and thusly I must tell you that the Mystery Jets recently signed to Rough Trade and they must already be hard at work, as their song Two Doors Down was featured in a JcPenney ad during the Oscar telecast. I highly anticipate their first album with the esteemed label and I really don't expect them to let me down. Also, warning, this video and song are so unabashedly 80s-obsessed I fear that Casey herself directed it.





Thursday, February 5, 2009

Je voudrais passer ma vie dans tes bras






Now, I'm not going to lie...this is the best thing I've ever seen. You can really never go wrong with 80's 'punk rock' videos from France. The lead singer has a mullet, everyone looks like they were dressed by Casey (in other words, lots of animal prints and tight pants and other 80's gear), a guy drinks milk and it spews out from holes in his body, they parody Psycho, and for a millisecond at the very end someone pretending to have been shot humps the ground. The best part of all is something I cannot show you, as alas there is no online video for the scene toward the end of J'embrasse pas (I Don't Kiss) where the pimp kidnaps the male prostitute who is in love with one of his women, and makes everyone in the car sing along to "Petite Fille" by Les Wampas. It's the most absurd thing I've seen lately,(made more absurd by the horror that ensues after the scene) and pretty much all I do is watch absurd scenes in French movies, if that give you any indication. If I ever find the scene, I will post it. As for some fun facts about Les Wampas, they had a video directed by Michel Gondry in the early 90's (but I won't make you watch it) and they tried and failed to make the Eurovision contest in 2007, among other 'accomplishments'. And now, as Shiv would say, please to enjoy!