Threat Shark A/V: 1 and 1 #4

This week it seems to be a comparison of trying to hard and just being naturally clever. Some people just have it. Others choose pop stardom, since critical success isn’t in their bag of future achievements.

Ok, there was going to be a Cat Empire video eventually. This is actually the first song of their’s I heard, since it was a music video. Much More Music used to do a clip show called Clip Trips or something like that which featured songs from outside Canada and the US. Unfortunately it appears to have disappeared. On the upside, this piece of wit in the form of a Psychoanalytical Basketball Association game is still around. Of particular note, the total lack of respect for normal basketball rules and physics, and the great mouthing. Yes, we now they aren’t singing, but they do a damn fine job of keeping it on time.

A great source for strange music videos is metal. This one isn’t awful, it’s just…not what you’d ever expect. That’s the Swedish Women’s Curling Team from a few years ago. The song itself isn’t actually horrible, although this isn’t a great version.  A little overly dramatic, but that’s tempered by the guitar solo on the button. This video does seem to continue the stereotype of Swedish blonds though.

Tah,
Kergin

Threat Shark A/V: 1 and 1 #3

Today we’re going to take a look at a salute to originality and independence and the exact opposite.

A slight lead up to this first one. I lived in Germany for a little while, and the Beatsteaks were one of my favourite discoveries. On top of them being great, they’re fans of Joe Strummer, a great man. He passed away a few years ago, and a few punk bands have done tributes. This is one of them, with a sweet video, in both uses of the term.

With the first couple of strums reminiscent of London Calling and many other hidden references in a tribute song, these guys are layer on the tribute here. On top of that, the video has a good-vs-evil plot, which I’m always a fan of, with a great lead character. And he’s dressed like a pirate and there may be a sword fight.

Then there’s things like this out there:

Nothing here is authentic or original or anything less then planned out by a marketing team. Ok, so it may be intended to be an ad, but it cloaks itself in a music video, and therefore, I’m using it. If nothing else this shows how corporations mimic culture in order to sell people products or concepts. The song is from some corporate ad library and the band was put together by marketers as a way to give the song authenticity. They don’t actually play the song, they just learned it so they could act it as a band on TV. Hope it was a good pay cheque.

Bye, Kergin

Threat Shark A/V: 1 and 1 #1

Ok, so this is going to be a new series in our Threat Shark Blog. As a big fan of short form videos I watch a lot of them. I’d like to share them with you. I’ll be pulling from around the globe and around the genres. There will be two categories. There will be videos I like a lot and think have a great execution or concept worthy of note (coupled with a song I at least respect). And there will be…other ones. Ones that are, insane or horrible, or laughable in someway that wasn’t necessarily intended by the producers. Sometimes they might just be odd ball.

In short, one good and one WTF?! That’ll give you the option of watching one or both, depending on mood or time limit.

Oh, and I’ll try to pull videos I don’t think people have seen, just a heads up in case you’re wondering where greats like Thriller, and flops like Friday, are.

So for the first week I’m going with:

Cuff the Duke’s “The Ballad of Poor John Henry”

Ok, so this is a bit of a hipster vid, but it’s a gem as well. I’m a fan of the sepia and old fashioned look, especially since it kinda fits the old-timey sound the band has with that twang in he guitar. The other reason I chose to share this is the competition. If you haven’t reached that part of the show, I won’t spoil it, but the cheesey acting and feel good nature mixed with this down-on-their-luck couple makes it a one of those little winner, imo.

And now for something completely different:

Nothing will prepare your brain for this, and I’m not sure if I can do much more than let you hit play…
The first 30 seconds are just brightly coloured. Wait until the chorus drops. There is no way to even begin to list all the bizarre things going on here, but I think the most disturbing for me is the one faceless back-up dancer. When you see it, you’ll know.

OK, I hope you won’t doing anything important, ’cause that second one may have caused permanent brain damage. If anyone can translate what she’s singing there, that might help? But I doubt it.

G’night,
Kergin

Taking Advantage of the Internet

As its still a week away from our first broadcast, I thought I would take a minute to share something we will never have the chance to share on the radio.
I’ve (Kergin, btw) been a fan of the art form know as music videos for quite awhile. Yes, I said art form. It is, when done well, mixing visuals and music. Sure, there are lots of schmucks doing crap work, but there are other videos that are really interesting. In that category, I put forth the work of Ok Go! The band is better known for its videos which are, by far, more creative than their music. Sorry, but they make pretty average indie pop. Its good, but nothing special for the most part. I’ll pay money for it, but not going to nominate them any prize.

Except, though, for a prize for best series of music videos. These guys repeatedly produce some of the most interesting and creative pieces of work out there. Its more about effort and experimentation than budget, boobs and binary. And after all that I think I’ve given myself enough of a reason to post this video:

Ok Go – WTF

No, this isn’t the most recent video of theirs, it’s just the one I decided to use. In this case it’s visuals and a bit of CGI, but mostly it took time for the concept and rehearsals. Check out their youtube for, like, a half dozen more gems. It may depend on how much you like dogs.