Type

When I started out working in print design and advertising twelve years ago, one of the designers took time out to explain to me the power of type as a graphic medium. "A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it has nothing on some perfectly crafted type." he said.

Type has the ability to instantly convey a mood or a message before the reader even has a chance to read the words that it constructs. Below is one of the best examples I have seen in a while...a new twist on some familiar dialogue.

Kasabian :: Live

One of the blessings of living in this city is that you get to see most of your favourite bands up close and personal. Bands always fit a stop in to Amsterdam on the European leg of their tours and there are really only two venues - Paradiso and Melkweg - both of which are small. So whereas in London you'd be struggling for a decent view, here in Amsterdam both venues have wrap around balconies and excellent acoustics to allow for maximum enjoyment (for even the latest of stragglers).

Last night's Kasabian gig at Paradiso was a perfect example. We turned up about 20 minutes before they got on stage and still managed to claim a spot on the 1st floor balcony so close I could have poured my beer on to Chris's bass. We had some friends turn up late and they managed to slot right in behind us...all at a sell-out gig. So good.

Though Kasabian's swagger is something of an anachronism in these days of indy winsome posturing, it is nothing if not infectious. They picked up the place from the moment they belted out Reason is Treason and never let up. They were totally wired and were clearly enjoying themselves whipping up an extremely responsive and largely British crowd. With the chanting echoing throughout the venue, the whole experience was like being at a football match. One skinhead up the front got so amped up he started throttling other gig-goers out of sheer over-excitement. Luckily for his victims, his big breasted girlfriend intervened each time to calm him down.

While Kasabian may not be breaking any new ground, they are the masters of guitar AND synth driven rock. Last night they rocked the venue with flawless workmanship. Leadsinger Tom whipped the crowd into a frenzy with his Mick Jagger swagger and 'come-on-let's-have-it' gestures (like Mick, Tom's stage routine is just the right side of camp for rock n' roll). Serge stayed as still as possible so the girls could get a good look and swoon, Jason looked like he was dressed for a Jesus and Mary Chain convention and Ian and his ever increasing girth bashed the hell out of his tom-toms.

It was an excellent gig that mainlined rock n roll into your veins. Even the most cynical hipster couldn't have stopped his foot from tapping. Kasabian are good and they know it.

They also give good video. See below for their Banksy-esque 'Reason is Treason' clip

Jetman

I want one.

The Rapture 'Pieces of the People We Love'

I am but one of many that has been loving The Rapture's latest album, 'Pieces of the People We Love'.

Their video for their hipster dissin' 'Whoo! Alright-Yeah... Uh Huh'directed by Ben Dickinson was the most fun had on a Brooklyn rooftop since I don't know when.

So what are band and director to do for a follow up?

Change direction it seems. Ben Dickinson shares the directing credits with Jon Watts in this video for album title track 'Pieces of the People We Love'. The boys drop the superhero capes and Beastie-Boy-goofiness to go for a more stylish and paired down vibe. Colour and animation also step aside to allow for desaturated and minimalist photography in a white studio egg - with characters literally emerging from the shadows.

It works.

Oh - and they throw in a glitter suit to let us know they're not taking themselves too seriously.




Streaming Quicktime here

New design

I finally found some time this weekend to have a bash at re-skinning this blog and lose that bland template. My Photoshop skills were a little rusty but I got there in the end.

I also checked in on my analytics this weekend and was happy to see a decent amount of global traffic passing through. There was of course the expected European and Stateside traffic, but also some from China, Argentina, Turkey and Indonesia too. Welcome to all of you and if you have time, please feel free to leave a comment on the blog or Gmail me at hairybones. Let me know what you like about Hairybones Blog, what you dislike, what you'd like see more or of etc. I need the input...it is after all only early days.

Stay hairy.

Bright Eyes 'Four Winds'

The king of performance-based indy music videos, Patrick Daughters, has directed this effort for Bright Eye's 'Four Winds'. Patrick has an enviable reputation for eliciting powerful performances from the artists he works with - most notably for Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Maps'. Coner's performance doesn't disappoint in this video and Patrick's photography is typically sharp and captivating (and there's the signature gig-in-an-irregular-venue setting), yet the core concept somehow falls a little flat with me...



...maybe it's the plastic cups. I can appreciate they are the only thing venues will let you drink out of these days, but it's all a bit soft compared to what the Blues Brothers had to put up with:



PS. I'm yet to find a version of Four Winds without a screwed aspect ratio. How do you manage to fuck that up? Did they get their grandmother to capture it on her new widescreen TV? Tsk.

Music

In all the navel-gazing about new genres, breaking acts, what's cool, what's not and general hipster chin-stroking - it's easy to forget what music is really about and how it has the power to break down the boundaries of genres, generations, backgrounds and cultures.

I'd never heard of Naturally 7 until I saw this. They are a New York based a cappella group that only do covers. Watch below as their impromptu performance on the Paris Metro slowly takes effect on some of the glum Parisian commuters around them (regardless of background).

This really isn't my style - yet it made the hair on my bones stand on-end and put a smile on my face.

That's the power of music.

Lilly News

While still being a long way off Pete Doherty levels, Lilly Allen is doing a pretty good job of accruing pop-rag headlines. I've decided I'm going to keep an eye on her progress and post any newsworthy stories. This week's tidbits come courtesy of Popjustice - and it seems Lilly is gaining something of a reputation for being a brawler:

":: Lily Allen has been photographed looking 'teary' (maybe hungover) on the morning after the Brit Awards. She also had some sort of fight with Amy Winehouse at the show.


:: Lily Allen has been fighting in Australia with rubbish rock band Jet and had to be saved from a fight with Mike Skinner by her mates Kasabian."

Bless

Hairybone Pick:: Arcade Fire 'Neon Bible'

This has been leaked on the web for some time, but we finally had a promo copy arrive today. I have had several listens and can safely say this album is an all-conquering masterstroke.

I loved 'Funeral'. It was a new musical language that was warm, chaotic and exciting. And this time around that language seems even more sure-footed and confident. I had a debate with some AF fans that this sophomore effort is a more accomplished album than Funeral. They felt Neon Bible (while excellent) lacked the magic of the debut. I counter that Funeral's magic had more to do with the discovery of something fresh and unique...a ramped up perception conjured by the element of surprise. Neon Bible can't possibly live up to that as there is no mistaking that this is an Arcade Fire creation. This album treats fans to the familiar Arcade sound, but it's a brand new rollercoaster - with newly engineered flips and turns thrown in to really pile on the G's.

The album is also subtly political without getting preachy. The band is really down on religion, war, economics and global warming, yet it's the power of Win's lyrics and vocals (not the issues) that get to you.

I couldn't possibly trivialise this album with a song-by-song review. But for some reason on my first listen, I felt compelled to write a comment down for each song...a kind of word association game...but with tracks. Results below:

Black Mirror - Too much fun to be a nightmare
Keep the Car Running - Win's wail sails the blues
Neon Bible - Nursery Rhyme twisted into a playgorund taunt
Intervention - A hymn for here and now
Black Wave / Bad Vibrations - Orchestral indy's 'Dusk til Dawn'
Ocean of Noise - What it says on the tin (of refried Mexican lovebeans)
The Well and the Lighthouse - Punks on 1990 ecstacy
(Antichrist Television Blues)- Springsteen on slide guitar
Windowstill - It's getting dark out, best come inside
No Cars Go - Hey!
My Body Is a Cage - Bigger than Meatloaf

tpc 'Smoker's Delight'

I'm no fan of your generic hip-hop video, but me here at hairybones has an open-minded approach to music and videos and if it's good, I feel the need to call it. I stumbled across this on Antville. The track has a "somethin somethin" and I found the photography and editing smoothe (last time I promise) on the visual palette.

Apart for a love of Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Jurassic 5 and Tone Loc's not so popular 'Cool Hand Loc' album (yep)...I'm not really knowledgeable of the Hip-Hop genre. So I decided to call in my resident hip-hop specialist Cherribones. She didn't mind the track and thought that the director was obviously aiming for something Paul Hunter-esque. Cherribones didn't think it was any different from any of the other big hip-hop directors and not much of a stand-out.

I think Cherribones might be a bit harsh - but what would I know. Best you judge for yourself.



High Quality QT here

Update: Cherribones does soften the blow by saying this video is indicative of a welcome trend in the world of hip-hop videos away from ho's shaking their booty just for the boys towards a more minimal aesthetic and artistic use of performance and framing (see Justin Timberlake's 'My Love' by Paul Hunter, Jay Z's '99 problems' by Mark Romanek, Kelis' 'Trick me' by Mr X)

A bicycle wheel of ever increasing spokes

Video.Antville regular 30 Frames has once again posted a considered dissection on the state of the music video industry both here and here. And while I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, it's hard to argue against the facts and figures that clearly point to a music video industry in a critical state.

Checking in on niche outlets such as the UK's MTV2 and sites such as Video.Antville you would be forgiven for thinking the industry as being in rude health. You'll see a panoply of creativity - a medium and industry that is bursting with new ideas, techniques and talent. Yet scratch beneath the surface and you'll see that the dollar is slowly undermining the good fight. MTV doesn't show music videos anymore - and those they do show are overblown, overproduced mainstream monstrosities. Videos at the low to medium end of the spectrum aren't displaying any hard evidence of driving sales and some say this is responsible for ever decreasing video budgets. Video budgets are stupidly low- to the extent that it is virtually impossible to produce a music vid without calling in favours from every single person on the call sheet and many a blind eye turned at the post house. But what is the root cause of this? Is it that vidoes have lost their value added and promotional punch due to the manner in which we access our media? Or is there a higher cause?

This problem is not unique to music videos. It is applicable to any media that is obtainable as a digital file. Print Media and Music felt it first and soon TV and film will receive their wake up call. Even advertising TV budgets are feeling the pinch with clients increasingly expecting web viral campaigns to be produced with budgets that would make a music video director blush (5-10k).

It's all down to a larger problem. We are no longer accessing our media through controlled and confined sources. This means the numbers of people seeking their media, information or entertainment are being dispersed in vastly smaller numbers across a vastly increasing number of outlets - alot of which provide previously paid for content for free. The money available for producing, marketing, buying and selling this media has not increased and this means everyone is getting a smaller piece of the pie - with the pie becoming a bicycle wheel with ever increasing spokes. Spencer Reiss' wired article discusses how the web fragments our media experiences:

"The Net in particular is brutally centrifugal, fragmenting newspapers into articles, movies into clips, and CDs into songs, all dispersed to servers across the earth. It has never been kind to enterprises that try to gather everything under one roof."

The music video industry is just another victim of this phenomenon. You no longer have sure fire platform (such as the MTV of old) where videos are curated to ensure quality music and music videos are being consumed by large numbers. Even Antville is becoming a victim of its own success, with a new 'monthly faves' posting to help cut through the increasing amount of crap being posted. Blogs such as Cliptip and SRO help...but are also indicitve of the above mentioned fragmentation.

While videos aren't showing any evidence of really driving sales with breaking acts, fans and potential fans (those interested in a band due to any buzz or hype surrounding them) are always on the lookout for material to sate that interest. Bands are still looked upon as 'brands' by the record companies - and as a result they will still welcome any exposure or added value provided by music videos. Their larger issue is download and P2P culture and the fact that their product (the music itself) waltzes straight out the back door and on to the black-market the moment it is produced. I think it is more this trickle down effect of less money being pumped into the industry that is effecting music video budgets rather than their lack of effectiveness as a promotional tool.

I've loved music videos from the moment I saw Thriller as a kid. Fans will always want that extra level of engagement with the musicians they're into. Videos give you an extra dimension to the personality of the music and its creators. When I was a kid, I'd sit there for ages going through the album/cassette sleeves of a new purchase to glom any extra possible info about where the music came from. Kids don't have that hands-on, tactile experience in these digital days - and web content and video will be (and is) the new medium to fill that gap. The moment (if ever) the record companies manage to protect their property with watertight security, the cash will flow back into music videos.

It's a brave new world/the wild west/open season/(insert cliché here)...and who knows how it's all going to pan out. Everyone (especially the trailblazers) is making it all up as they go along. Soon enough, somebody is going to come through with a vision and some killer code that numbers the pages churned out by the printing press. Until then - there'll be wunderkinds who keep on creating masterpieces with zilcho money (and people like us who lap them up) to keep the embers glowing.

Deerhunter

Shoegazers of the world unite. A band worthy enough to bring this much maligned genre back to the fore has emerged. Guitar pedalism is on the menu and we can bathe our ears in a swell of feedback and amorphous delay once again.

Atlanta group Deerhunter's new album 'Cryptogram' is darkly stunning. There are echoes of Ride, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and even Sonic Youth. Yet this is no mere regurgitation of the past. This album shows a versatility, depth and luscious darkness that makes it stand on its own . It drags Shoegazing out of the musty past, dusts it off and kicks its ass well into the future.

I've never been comfortable with lengthy adjective and metaphor laden album reviews (as Elvis Costello said "writing about music is like dancing to architecture"), so I'll stop right there. This is merely an album recommendation. Click here to buy it from Amazon and here to download it from Emusic

Below is their video for album track 'Strange Lights' (directed by James Sumner).

Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Another music oriented comedy post. Last night I got home in time to catch the always entertaining comedy/music quiz 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks'. Simon Amstell's razor sharp wit has always cut straight to the bone on most of his victims (especially those whose celebrity vastly outweighs their talent). His research on his subjects borders on the academic and provides him with a devastating arsenal of material.

On last night's show he carried out a demolition job on The Ordinary Boys' Preston - one so crushing that Preston stormed off the stage...never to come back. For those not UK based - Preston is the lead singer of MOR group The (Insipidly) Ordinary Boys. He shot to fame not for his music, but for the questionable honour of being a contestant on England's Celebrity Big Brother. His next (and possibly last) cynical publicity stunt was then to marry fellow Celebrity Big Brother contestant and Paris Hilton wannabe Chantelle.

The poor bastard never stood a chance. See U2b below:

The Mighty Boosh

With everyone in the UK banging on about Little Britain and Mitchell & Webb - my fave UK comedy duo haven't had much press lately. Their humour is sometimes on the oblique side, yet they manage to pull it all off with the understated charm of two mates just messing about. Check out some classic Boosh with their Tundra Rap:

Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain

For those of you perplexed by my reference to these guys below, they are a band of ukulele players that cover whatever takes their fancy...from the Sex Pistols and Nirvana to Kate Bush. Their covers have a quality that goes way beyond novelty and somehow balance humour with reverence towards the material they are covering. Below is a YouTube of them covering Nirvana's 'Smells like Teen Spirit' on the excellent Jools Holland Show (apols for quality):




and a Qt here of their cover of Kate Bush's 'Wuthering Heights'.


.

Aracade Fire

When I saw these guys play in London a few years back, the gig made my top 3 live gigs ever. They are true musicians. They swapped instruments every few tracks and played as though their lives dependended on each and every note posessing maximum intensity. Their encore rendition of In The Back Seat even made me well up they put so much emotion into it.

Now they've started off on their latest tour and have developed the habit of playing post-gig acoustic sets in lobbies and foyers of venues. Checking their site out, I discovered this hairybone - a video of them covering my fave track by my fave late 70's band - The Clash's 'Guns of Brixton' - in the lobby of Westminster's St John's Church in London. Even in this grainy film, with no amplification (except for a megaphone) their magic comes across.

Check it out and click '6 Guns' to watch. If you get a slow stream, click on the image to pause and let it catch up for a few minutes.....it's worth it.

1st Ave Machine

I've been following these guys for a while. Their photoreal work for Adidas and self-promo work is outstanding and their first video clip (for Alias' 'Sixes Last') took their mechanics into the realm of organics and blew me away.

Their 2nd clip (for Clark's 'Ted') isn't much of a departure from their first unfortunately. Don't get me wrong, it is a marvel to watch and sufficiently creepy and shiver inducing - but they did the warped take on a BBC doco thing the first time around. Before we had the 'Robotic life of plants', now we have the 'Alien life of insects'. And with our insect friends being sufficiently creepy and alien enough in reality...it just doesn't pack the punch of 'Sixes Last'. On the tech side, they have upped the ante with their seamless blending of animation to live action. This film required tracking to moving insects as opposed to the more static plantlife...and for that they deserve props. But personally I'd like to see them team up with a director with a storytelling bent and go all out on a strong narrative piece and fully realise their potential.

I'm still watching their space





Embeded QT here

Web TV

It's apparently just around the corner. It's called the Venice Project (or Joost) and it's brought to you by the makers of Kazaa and Skype.

Could this be the breath of fresh air the waning music video industry has been waiting for? Money quote:

"Zennström and Friis are making a run straight at the most reliable early adopters: young men. Watch for sci-fi shows, rock videos, sports, comedy—anything with a testosterone angle. Deals are in the works with the three music majors, plus top US broadcasters and cable channels."

Bones for free

If there are any bored musicians out there looking for a cash cow - let me throw you this hairybone for nothing.

I was thinking about how the musical tastes of my generation have evolved and mellowed over the years. Alot of us saw out our teenage years chucking shapes at lasers to the latest four-on-the-floor delectations in breezy warehouses. While these days we like all sorts and even delve into some folkiness and singer-songwriter acoustic balladry. Some of us even enjoyed Nouvelle Vague's bossanova cover versions of new-wave and punk classics (until it became music for mobile phone ads).

And with the Klaxons covering Grace's 'Not Over Yet' (as mentioned below) what better way to jump on the zeitgeist and reference the old school than to release an album packed with acoustic covers of classic rave anthems (Fluke's 'Slid' immediately comes to mind as a candidate for cross-over).

Ok - so it's not entirely original and we are venturing dangerously close to 'Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain' territory...but it would sell.

Klaxons

I don't watch much telly these days - but with BBC1 & BBC2 being shown here in Amsterdam I always make sure I catch the The Culture Show. Whether it's high art or or pub rock, they treat each piece they cover with consideration and objectivity.....while leaving a platform for letting rip with opinions in the on-set discussions.

Watching this week's episode I was not surprised to see the Klaxons on there....but I was surprised to see what kind of Klaxons. You see, about this time last year I saw them perform here in Amsterdam at the Vice Magazine launch. Everyone was pissed-up on free Heineken and not paying them much attention. I was transfixed though. Not because they were good (they were fucking terrible), but because I couldn't believe the audacity of these guys. They looked like first year uni students who'd attacked their little sister's fluro paint set in the midst of a cocaine psychosis and had decided to form a band...only days before. They were off key, off tempo and looked as though they'd done one gram slugs of coke moments before hitting the stage. Yet much like the first time I saw The Libertines, I couldn't take my eyes of this car crash waiting to happen. And much like The Libertines....there was no inkling that you were seeing future stars in ascendance....just a feeling (which may or may not be amped-up by hindsight) that you had seen something different.

Fast forward a year and they have a strong debut album, NME hyping them to the stratosphere by way of claiming they've pioneered a new genre (Nu Rave), legions of fans...and a slot on the Culture show no less.

During the segment it seemed as though no-one has been more surprised by their success than they themselves. No false modesty here - just shellshock that what was seemingly a laugh by a bunch of chancers (and believe me they were chancers) has paid Gold.

It seems they've already calmed down on the drugs....no Doherty disintergration here. They spoke of a time in Paris where one of them had gone missing, one was roaming around the city in a bunny suit and the other was projectile vomitting and how at this point they realised that the extreme hedonism wasn't part of their success, but detrimental to it. They've been given their big chance and they're not going to fuck it up. They're smart kids. They're managing their image...their way. They do their own album artwork, know which directors they want to shoot their music vids and even manage their web comms with their fans. Good luck to em (and anyone labelled with Nu Rave that thinks to cover Grace's 'Not Over Yet' is fine by me).

Below is their latest release Golden Skans where they've moved on from the fluro (and possibly Nu-Rave) and on to glitter and streamers in this Jackson 5esque effort from director Saam.





Update: QT here (hat-tip to cliptip)



And the drug-fucked fluro Klaxons I'm more familiar with (also directed by Saam):



Large QT here

Simple Kid - Serotonin

For some reason this track totally slipped under the radar towards the end of last year (maybe it had something to do with its radio unfriendly 6 minute length). But the other day a friend sent it to me and I haven't stopped listening since. I found this ode to depression profoundly moving with his straight-from-the-gut streaming conciousnous lyrics backed up by swelling strings, rough plucked guitar and scratchy recording. It has that teenage, lying in bed with head phones on, singing to the ceiling quality to it.

I've tried to track down the official clip for this and haven't had much luck. Nick Collett at Fynn Productions has directed, shot, lit and cut a low budget clip for it - but the only evidence is this excerpt. It doesn't seem that special, so I can't see why they're being so coy about letting it out.

What I did find though is this seemingly unofficial DIY effort (YouTube only I'm afraid) with Simple Kid (aka Ciaran McFeely) shaving off his beard as lyrics scroll up the screen - it had me scratching at an imagined shaving rash just watching it. I normally wouldn't post this, but it's all there is (and at least this way you get to sing along bouncing ball style to the genius lyrics).



If anyone finds anything better - please let me know

Grizzly Bear - Knife

I'm a fan of Grizzly Bear's low-fi folkadelia - and in particular this track. As a band they seem pretty out there, so it's no surprise that their clip for their new release is on the bizarre side - but this really pushes the boundries of weirdness.

Directors Isaiah Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch (Encyclopedia Pictura) have gone all out on this. All out on the prosthetics, all out on the bizarre symbolism, all out on the schedule (it took them 6 months to produce)...and all out on the camera case full of drugs. I still don't know if I like it or not. It's different, but is that enough?



QT here


Maybe the problem I'm having with taking this clip seriously is that 3/4 of the way through - I can't help but think of this:

Unklejam - 'Love Ya'

When I first saw this clip, it made me feel old. Referencing 90's retro already? Damn.

Jam!...more like.

This track kicks, is dancefloor gold and will be huge. The clip isn't too bad either and Director Paul Gore has his tongue firmly planted in his jowels for this (almost) one take extravaganza. Filming the guys dancing on slow then cranking it up is a nice touch too. Check it out.



QT here

Intro #2: Meet Cherribones

From New Album 2/9...

This blog won't be big on personal posts - but this is the intro and I'd like you all to meet my future wife....the beautiful Cherribones. We just recently got engaged while out in Australia visiting friends and family in January. I popped the question at the Sunset Lounge in Port Douglas...and thank God she said yes. It was seriously the scariest thing I've ever done. We'd skydived over the Great Barrier Reef on to Mission Beach the day before and I have to say - leaping out of a dodgy Cessna at 14,000 feet and freefalling for a minute isn't a patch on asking the girl you love to spend the rest of her life with you.

The date is set for some time next year. Location: Somewhere in India

Pic: Tulum Mexico

Intro #1: A container in a space between my mind and the interweb

Hello and welcome to Hairybones Blog

By way of introduction, I am a 31 year old Australian living in Amsterdam. After barely surviving London for 4 years I made the move to this beautifully warped city to pursue a career in broadcast and content production.

After having worked in design and print for ten years, I am loving being able to immerse myself in my passions - namely music, music videos, film and culture.

A major part of my job is research. I have to spend days and nights researching directors, music, films, animation, websites, cultural references and all manner of obscure shit.

I love it and come across all sorts of stuff which gets my synapses connecting dots that exist somewhere between my mind and the interweb. So it got me thinking...I needed keep some kind of container within this space - something that I could put some of the more interesting and cohesive finds and thoughts in for analysis and safe keeping. And that is the space in which 'Hairybones Blog' will reside...between my mind and the interweb.

At this stage I have modest hopes that just maybe a few people will frequent it...frequently. Of course I'd be lying if I didn't say I had higher hopes for it and they will hopefully present themselves as the blog evolves. At this point I at least need to master some of the technicalities. Naturally any advice is welcome - just go easy on the hate. Hate is bad for your bones.

MATT

NB Big shout to Parso helped me get this blog started up. He has a great techie blog of his own which is well worth checking out for all your latest techie news.