Quasi Non-Random Videos

Common people - William Shattner

2010-11-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

This is a cover of Pulp's magnificent working class anthem "Common People", by William Shatner (Cpt. Kirk, yes that William Shattner) aided, quite a bit, by Joe Jackson. This is improbably good, in fact one of the most improbably good covers I've ever heard. Ever.

Ομαρ Σουλεϊμάν, φαρφίζες με φαζ

2010-11-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

Συριακό πανηγυρτζίδικο γκαράζ-τέκνο: κυρίες και κύριοι υποδεχθείτε, από την Τζαζίρα της ΒΑ Συρίας, τον Omar Suleyman [πυροβολισμοί επιδοκιμασίας], δαίμονα του ντάμπκε [دبكة]:

Η Bjork επιδοκιμάζει και εγώ ακούω Ομάρ σχεδόν μονομανιακά την τελευταία εβδομάδα που τον ανακάλυψα. Έχω μείνει μαγεμένος από την φευγαλέα εμφανιζόμενη χορεύουσα καλλονή στο 2:01-2:05 του πρώτου βίντεο επίσης, αλλά δίνω ρέστα για τον ποιητή (σαν μαντιναδολόγος αναρωτιέμαι;) που τον συνοδεύει στις εμφανίσεις του (βλ το 0:50 του πρώτου βίντεο) και του ψυθιρίζει στο αυτί στίχους επί τόπου.

Όθεν φρονώ πως είναι στα γεμάτα
ενδεδειγμένος για να υπηρετήσει και αυτήν την χώρα,
όπως την προσφιλή πατρίδα του Συρία.

Imelda May: Proud & Humble, Johnny's got a Boom Boom

2010-07-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

Absolutely mad about Imelda May...

Control Machete - Amores Perros

2010-04-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

Control Machete, Mexican hip-hop group.

The artist formerly known as Cpt. Beefheart

2009-11-21T03:19:00.000-08:00

A BBC documentary (1997 I think) on possibly one of the wildest geniuses in rock music (narrated by John Peel):

pt1:

pt2

pt3

The Cramps at Napa State Mental Hospital (1978)

2009-10-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Possibly one of the most unique and most uniquely rock&roll live performances in history, the scene at Napa 31 years ago and in a different world, shows the most committed and participating audience I've ever seen. Even if this was some sort of promo concert, meant to establish the Cramps radicalness, it become something more: a happenning, a statement or, even better, a party, where the line between performer and audience seems arbitrary.

There have been others afterwards but I doubt that they had as much fun...

A belated goodbye to Lux Interior, yet another to join the horde of My Youth's Dead Heroes this past February. It is not a coincidence that Lux's obituary in Rolling Stone magazine contains exactly the Napa video.

Into the Universe - towards the stars we go

2009-09-15T04:51:00.000-07:00

B Mashina - Laibach
Tremendous youtube video. Mad props to Chris Roth:

Mercy

2009-09-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

Cover beats original: Selah Sue and Triggerfinger are begging for Mercy:

Oh and Triggerfinger? nice:

Ετσα γίνεται στην Κρήτη η Βεντέτα

2009-08-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

VIP featuring Νίκος Κυριακάκης - Βεντετα

Λείπουν οι μπαλωθιές στο υπόβαθρο, ή μπαντιές με τα τογιότα τα αγροτικά στα πλάνα και οι ύμνοι στην βοσκική, κυρίως όμως δεν εμφανίζονται όπλα στο βίντεο και ετσά ΔΕΝ γίνεται στην Κρήτη η βεντέτα, αν ομιλούμε λαογραφικώς...αλλά έχει χαβαλέ.

St. Pyotr Mamonov

2009-07-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

The information I have is close to nil, but somehow Pyotr Mamonov, who I learned about and listened to (impressed) in the mid-eighties through a friend living in Russia at the time, developed from a cross between a darker and more threatening soviet David Byrne in the 1980s, through his band Zvuki Mu (an amazing band that immediately draws attention to itself in a way that few groups did at the time)...

Zvuki Mu - na telekanale Kultura (1986?) - and more:

Zvuki Mu - "Grubiy Zakat"

... into an incarnation of some demonic figure drawn from the depths of the darkest russian literature performing his heart out in a way that doesn't really need translation.

Pyotr Mamonov - kak ya hotel

Pyotr Mamonov - Blues

In my unheroic quest to rediscover all sorts of artists I only had a fragmentary memory of, through the magic of online video, I learned that this phenomenal musician and actor has left the worldly spotlight and is leading a monastic life in some remote Russian village...

"[He] converted to Orthodox Christianity, left the capital, and settled in a village. He returned to play the lead role in Pavel Lungin's religious film "The Island" (Russian "Остров"), which closed the 2006 Venice Film Festival. His acting in the film was praised by Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow, and won him a Best Actor Nika Award."

This, to me, seems somehow appropriate. It concludes a path: a visible path through which an artist sculpts his own life into a meaningful (if variable) exhibit.

I'll be digging deeper....

Pyotr Mamonov - Tiritomba

Police Stories

2009-07-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

1980. The Dicks - Hate the Police. A classic of American early punk.

And circa ~1985. Black Flag: Police Story

Great Cave

2009-07-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - I'm on fire

Nick Cave - Babe, I'm On Fire
Ανέβηκε από samithemenace. - Δείτε γνήσια web videos.

A frigging masterpiece of a video, extra-long. Probably one needs some sort of tonic to last the whole piece in one go. After ~15 minutes, what follows is a sort of "...the making of" part. The whole band seems to have enjoyed this one...

Barry-o

2009-07-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

Black Amour - Barry Adamson

In which Barry Adamson, possibly mistakes himself for that other Barry, and produces a perfect erotic reinvention of the genre. For comparison purposes here's some real Barry White:

To top it off here's a love song by Cave & Adamson: The Sweetest Embrace...

Nick Cave ~ The Sweetest Embrace...
Ανέβηκε από JackXK7. - Μουσικά videos, συνεντεύξεις καλλιτεχνών, κονσέρτα και άλλα.

2009-07-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

Sonic Youth - Nevermind

Sonic Youth - Sacred Trickster

This second video is from their new album, The Eternal, which proves beyond all reasonable doubt that my age cohort can still rock.

Κάιρο

2009-07-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Νίκος Γούναρης - Κάιρο:

Αν και με πλήττει συνήθως υπαρξιακά αυτό το ελαφρό τραγούδι των δεκαετιών της γιαγιάς μου, το "Κάιρο" του Γούναρη είναι υπνωτικής μεγαλοπρέπειας κομμάτι που ξεπερνά την φόρμα του και παρακαλά να γίνει ροκαμπίλι/σαϊκομπίλι διασκευή τύπου Μισιρλού. Κάποιος πρέπει να το αναλάβει...

...H περιπέτεια φέρνει μονάχα δυστυχία...

2009-07-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

"Για λίγες σταγόνες ευτυχίας":

Όπου ο Γιώργος Αιγύπτιος εισάγει τα μεξικάνικα πνευστά στο λαϊκό τραγούδι - που μοιάζει στην εισαγωγή να φλερτάρουν με τα χάλκινα της Φλωρίνης στο δρόμο για την οριεντάλ ρούμπα. Πρόκειται για τεράστιο κομμάτι.

... Που θα ήταν ακόμα πιο τεράστιο αν το συνόδευε με την ειδική του τρομπέτα ο κάτωθι μη-Γιώργος Αιγύπτιος:

Led Zeppelin + Reggae + Elvis = Dread Zeppelin

2009-07-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

Dread Zeppelin is an American band best known for covering the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style sung by an Elvis Presley impersonator named Tortelvis (Greg Tortell), though their act now encompasses many other songs and other styles of music

If you're not moved by the wikipedic description of Dread Zeppelin you're in the wrong blog. Before the days of youtube instant musical curiosity satisafaction, their fame preceded then and I was looking all over for a musical glimpse of this band. Now it's easy:
Immigrant Song:

Stairway to Heaven:

Speaking of wildly cool Elvis impersonators, check out Metal Elvis doing some sort of G&R vs Elvis, in All Shook Up:

The Refused and their Aftermath

2009-07-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

Refused - New Noise

Refused - New Noise
Ανέβηκε από scootaway. - Μουσικά videos, συνεντεύξεις καλλιτεχνών, κονσέρτα και άλλα.

How can we expect anyone to listen
If we're using the same old voice?
We need new noise
New art for the real people
(the song was also covered to my amusement by Anthrax, no less)
From the overoptimistically titled album "The Shape of Punk to Come", their last in 1998, a hardcore punk classic from IMHO one of the few living punk bands in the 90s (which unfortunately I discovered something like 8 years later) AND one of the few meaningfully political bands of any genre at the time. The Refused (a Swedish band) dissolved and their lead singer Dennis Lyxzén inspired with Lars Strömberg by Phil Ochs' comment that the perfect rock band would be a "combination of Elvis and Che Guevara", went on to create the International Noise Conspiracy which is agit-prop for the dancefloor, on a level not seen the days of the Gang of Four.

And I do mean agit-prop (or, errr, agit-pop?). Take for example "Communist Moon"

Or "Smash it Up":

or, even better, "Capitalism Stole My Virginity":

The Gallows: Abandon Ship

2009-07-11T02:16:00.000-07:00

Archetypal hardcore from The Gallows, the world's loudest band...

Night of the Vampire - Roky Erickson

2009-07-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Acoustic:

Original:

Lyrics

The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist

2009-07-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

Messer fur Frau Muller - the Best Girl in UssR

2009-07-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Forefather to Messer Chups: Messer fur frau Miller

Stigmata

2009-07-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Ministry: The original

MINISTRY - Stigmata -
Ανέβηκε από zectarien. - Δείτε περισσότερα μουσικά video, σε HD!

Far-out rockabilly cover from the unbelievable Messer Chups, a Russian band from St. Petersburg:

Lyrics...