Tag Archives: animated

Music, Pop Culture

Video Clip of The Week: The Shins, “Cherry Hearts”

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Welcome back, Earthlings. In this week’s Video Clip, The Shins draw on their finest influences of the ’80s British New Wave (see The Human League, Heaven 17, Gary Numan) with an enchanting stop-motion animated video for “Cherry Hearts.” The Stefano Bertelli-directed clip, made entirely out of folded paper here, takes place inside an amusement park, so enjoy the ride!

“Cherry Hearts” can be found on The Shins’ fifth album, Heartworms, which is available everywhere now via Aural Apothecary/Columbia Records. Check them out on tour (dates below) right now! Enjoy!

The Shins On Tour:
10/08 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
11/02 Washington, DC The Anthem
11/03 Brooklyn, NY Kings Theatre
11/04 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore
11/05 Port Chester, NY Capitol Theatre
11/07 Detroit, MI The Fillmore Detroit
11/08 Columbus, OH Express Live! Indoor Pavilion
11/10 Dallas, TX House of Blues
11/11 Houston, TX House of Blues
11/12 McDade, TX Sound on Sound Music Festival
11/14 New Orleans, LA Civic Theatre
11/15 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
11/16 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore Charlotte
11/17 Atlanta, GA Coca Cola Roxy Theatre
11/19 Ciudad de Mexico, MX Corona Capital
11/30 Auckland, NZ Powerstation
12/04 St. Kilda, AU Palais Theatre
12/05 Brisbane, AU QPAC Concert Hall
12/08 Newtown, AU Enmore Theatre
12/12 Honolulu, HI The Republik

Cherry Hearts Cover Art

Music, Pop Culture

Video Clip of The Week: Steelism, “Eno Nothing”

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It’s always an extra-special treat when I can find an animated clip for the weekly Sunday Jam, because it brings the whole concept that much closer to a ‘Weekend Morning Cartoon’ vibe, which I secretly live for. You’re Welcome.

Today we have an instrumental clip with the enigmatic title “Eno Nothing,” from Nashville’s Steelism — a group comprised of core-members Jeremy Fetzer (guitar) and Spencer Cullum (pedal steel player). “Eno Nothing” kicks off with our fearless duo leaving the house, embarking on an existential journey, and getting beamed aboard a drone-like craft. After stopping at an inter-galactic gas station to fuel-up, they visit many, many strange planets where they encounter such creatures as a gigantic purple tortoise, a Cthulhu and one of the benevolent aliens from Star Trek (I think). Later, they drop in on avant-garde composer and bonafide music legend Brian Eno, before ending up back where they started. Musically, “Eno Nothing” is The Toadies meets Steely Dan. Trust me on this one. It’s like Flight of The Conchords are writing the soundtrack to an imaginary sci-fi/fantasy flick!

“Eno Nothing” can be found on Steelism’s sophomore album, Ism, released in June via the band’s own imprint, Intoxicating Sounds (distributed by Thirty Tigers). Ism marks the first time the band brings featured vocalists into their instrumental canon, with guest appearances from Tristen, Ruby Amanfu, Andrew Combs and Jessie Baylin. Enjoy!

Steelism Album Cover

Music, Pop Culture

Video Clip of The Week: Amy O, “History Walking”

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Happy 4th of July Weekend, Bitches! Today we have a real ‘Fire Cracker’ of a video clip for you: singer-songwriter Amy O’s high energy tune, “History Walking,” visualized by our favorite thing, an animated video! Yay! Amy offers that “History Walking” is about getting stuck in ruts with the people you love and have known for years, the comfort and frustration of long term relationships, getting lost in the banality of life, and not always being able to access gratitude. It’s also about getting confused in your own timeline by letting the past affect your present and the present cloud your perception of the future. Basically, my personal understanding of the theory of relativity as explained by a pop song. Excellent!

Backed by an excellent power-pop band,  Amy O’s wildly contagious sound has been described as tightly coiled indie-pop music indebted to Sleater-Kinney and The Roches, Helium and Laura Nyro, defined by unruly guitars, excitable vocals, rambunctious performances, and supremely hyperactive hooks.

Visually, the vibrant abstract animation, courtesy of BrainTwins, is a splash of pop-psychedelia at its finest!

“History Walking” is the third single from Amy’s forthcoming LP, Elastic – out on Winspear on August 4th, 2017. Enjoy!

Amy O Elastic Album Art

Music, Pop Culture

Video Clip of The Week: Garren Sean, “Lift Off”

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On this fine Sunday morning in June, when we are just on the cusp of summer, The Worley Gig brings you the chill funk of Bay Area artist Garren Sean’s “Lift Off” and its accompanying animated video! Best described (if only by me) as Steely Dan meets Sly Stone, “Lift Off” is characteristically warm and upbeat, the perfect introduction to Garren’s guitar-driven sound. Raised on soul and R&B, Garren then discovered Classic Rock and 80s Funk, and went to mix the two influences, creating a refreshingly unique style. In a word: Sublime.

I also love how the artist distracts us momentarily from the song’s obvious sexual metaphor by sampling audio from the July 16, 1969 liftoff coverage of the legendary Apollo Eleven moon mission, manned by Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins! “Lift Off” can be found on Garren Sean’s eponymous debut album Garren, which promises a “sense of exploration, and is set for release this summer. Enjoy!

Garren Sean Photo
Garren Sean by James McCloud

Film and Television, Pop Culture

Recommended Viewing: The Stolen Lyric

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Stolen Lyric Cast

If you’ve been around long enough, you might remember a genre of extremely clever novelty records — super popular during the ’70s  —   that parodied current events and news stories with fake interviews made up of audio clips taken from charting pop songs. Those early mash-up records were lots of fun, and if you miss them, and wonder why somebody hasn’t picked up on that idea for a long-form project, then a new animated film called The Stolen Lyric is going to really turn you on. Continue reading Recommended Viewing: The Stolen Lyric →