The First Annual Los Angeles Music Video Festival (LAMVF) took place January 23rd at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. To celebrate a communal love of music videos, guests spent the day watching screenings, listening intently to speakers, and participating in discussions.
Out of 200 submissions from directors in over 16 countries, the screenings for student and independent videos resulted in awards being offered to:
After having the weekend to marinate on both this year’s Grammy nominations and the college football bowl selections, I’m having a hard time figuring out which entity frustrates me more, the BCS or the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. For both, a lot of money is riding on who gets anointed with top honors, but every year both groups seem to get more wrong than they do right. (Except for the year NARAS picked 60% right on the Album of the Year nomination with Radiohead’s OK Computer, Paul McCartney’s Flaming Pie and Bob Dylan’s Time Out Of Mind.) But the sad fact is, both entities aren’t going away anytime soon, so we must make due with what we’ve got. I’ve highlighted a few categories below and picked some crowd favorites and dark horses. (You can see the entire list of nominations here.) Sit back, crack open a juice box, and prepare to shake your fist at the screen. And don’t forget to check out some of our very own nominations at the end. We think they deserve a little shine, too!
Hello! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine was wonderful and I’m actually writing to you today from good old London. Woke up this morning to an email from my (awesome) eldest brother with the subject: “I Made You a Mixtape – RUN IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC MUSIC” (an on-going joke with us about music that gets you amped up). If that, Ribena, a Bacon Butty and kickin’ it with one of my favorite people in the world doesn’t make for an excellent start to the weekend, well, I just don’t know what does.
Marina & The Diamonds’ “Obsessions,” “I’m Not a Robot” and “Mowgli’s Road” (all off The Family Jewels, officially released February 22, 2010) got a lot of play Summer 2009, but to be quite frank, I honestly haven’t given her much thought since then. So I was a bit surprised to find Christopher Dexter Greenspan (aka OOOoOOO… which reminds me of the (awesome) song by Oberhofer “oOOOoOOOo” recently remixed “Obsessions.” That being said, I’m really effing glad he did because he reminded me how much I love Marina & The Diamonds. His take is decidedly more synth heavy and has a gorgeous operatic feel; totally loving it.
Another gem from croontastic crooner, Cee-Lo Green off his upcoming The Lady Killer (out November 3)! Pretty Much Amazing has it exactly right when they say “… ‘Old Fashion’ sounds like a classic, like a song you’ve known all your life.” Loving this track; makes me want to get dolled up 1960s / “Mad Men” steez, sip an Old Fashioned in some dark bar and dance with Don Draper (He’s so dreamy… Apparently this song also makes me use word’s like “dreamy”).
Today’s bloggin’ best…
- Can you skateboard with an iPad? PopMatters
- Rich and bored Jason Bonham is doing a Zeppelin tour by himself. AV Club
- Roger Waters apologizes to Elliott Smith. LA Times
- Weird remix: Phoenix x Grizzly Bear x Brian Eno. Pitchfork
- Weirder remix: Hot Chip x Bonnie “Prince” Billy. The Fader
- Clipse pull an Outkast, announce two solo records. Hypetrak
- Richie Hawtin auctioning of gear for charity. URB
- I pity the fool who has to sit through the 52-hour freestyle. Booooring Exclaim
- Did Kelly Clarkson rip off Arcade Fire? TwentyFourBit
- Shock and Awe: Die Antwoord MC gets album cover tattooed on his back from promotional use only. Boing Boing
Today’s bloggin best…
- It didn’t take Mr. and Mrs. Reznor to start making music together. TwentyFourBit
- Life imitates art, George Costanza Jason Alexander hits teenage cyclist. LAist
- “Fah fook sake, Shaaaroon!” Ozzy biopic is happening. The Playlist
- Holy Ghost remixes LCD Soundsystem “Drunk Girls.” Hypetrak
- Johnny Marr is recording the score for film, The Big Bang. NME
- Kid Sister covers “More Than Words.” Fools Gold
- RZA wears a motion capture suit for Activision. Prefix
- Arcade Fire/Spike Jonez seek “Bigger guys. Facial hair OK.” Prefix
- Kanye West is “the black Zac Effron” on The Cleveland Show. Miss Info
Today’s bloggin best…
- Ultra rare 1968 Zepplin live recordings surface and they rawk. NME
- Ultra rare Dimebag Darrell track surfaces. Blabbermouth
- Is Comic-Con moving to Los Angeles? LAist
- Blur to release new single on our new favorite holiday, Record Store Day. Stereogum
- Hedi Slimane x Rolls-Royce photography is sexy. Hypebeast
- Beastie Boy Adam Yauch buys rights to Holocaust documentary. Gigwise
- Arcade Fire is collaborating with Spike Jonez. LA Weekly
- Over it!: The Green Hornet might be going 3D. The Playlist
- Black Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski is selling his records. True Slant
- Alex Chilton might have been saved but didn’t have health insurance. Village Voice
- Pharrell’s Porshe Spyder by KAWS is super amazing. BBC
Today’s bloggin best…
- Lil Wayne is burning down the [court] house. Prefix
- Guru of Gang Starr is expected to make a full recovery, thank goodness. Hypetrak
- Banksy just ain’t as mysterious as he used to be. Format Mag
- Nirvana On Ice. No really, Nirvana on ice. Boing Boing
- It’s about time someone sued Prince for being a buzz kill. Prefix
- New York Times lied, the Arcade Fire’s credibility died. Pitchfork
- The Clash Converse are the punkness. Converse Blog
- Will people pay to hear Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook talk? Spinner
It seems like Eastern Europe is finally starting to get some respect from Americans. Nico Bellic and the GTA giant made thick accents cool. Gogol Bordello has been able to take his mustachioed gypsy punk to a mainstream audience while smaller acts like Golem and The Sway Machinery are putting a fresh spin on ancient sounds.
The Sway Machinery’s Hidden Melodies Revealed: “Anim Zemiros”