What-What » Videos

Waking Up With: Billy Joel

defselektor — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:13:13 +0000

This one’s a bit embarrassing, if only because the Piano Man is so out of style these days. I heard this tune on the radio the other day, and it’s been stuck in my head since then, so this is partly an effort to purge the saccharine sweetness from my cerebral AM playlist.

When I was a kid I was super into BJ, and probably knew all the lyrics to every song on the Greatest Hits compilation of 1985. I possibly even purchased the album that came out after that one, River of Dreams, but I lost the habit for this style of musical theatre pop when I met a kid at computer camp who was WAY more into Billy Joel than me. Like, superfan status. Knowing I couldn’t compete with that level of sheer cornball, and also anticipating a time when I might want to actually *date a girl*, I started listening to gangster rap instead.

Anyway, check out the awesome video above (not so subtle racial stereotyping included!). 1984 was a million years ago, huh. If you’re feeling extra nostalgic, check out this one too.

CA Midterms 2010: Why You Should Vote

defselektor — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:20:09 +0000

They’re voting. And if you don’t, they win. And everybody loses.

This article is part of the CA Midterms 2010 series.

Waking Up With: Ratatat

defselektor — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:43:15 +0000

Thankfully, I woke up this morning only hearing the music of this infectious electro duo, because the following video is effing creepy. It uses stock commercial footage (you can almost hear an ad for some pharmaceutical, or Tampax, or a car rental company just by watching) and very subtle “enhancements” that pretty much make these mopes into hellspawn.

Which is to say, it’s still a pretty good video.

Waking Up With: Dangermouse, The Beatles and Jay-Z

defselektor — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:54:16 +0000

Had this song stuck in my head when I woke up this morning. The Grey Album remains solid six years on – a testament to Dangermouse’s talents. I think it would be easy to mess up a Jay/Beatles mashup, and I’ve maintained that this version is better than the beats on The Black Album.

Anyway, here’s the tune (no official video).

Constituent parts after the jump.

The Beatles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Jay-Z – What More Can I Say?

Waking Up With: The Legendary K.O.

defselektor — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:08:32 +0000

This one’s not hard to trace. I went to karaoke last night (it was crazy expensive – $9 beers anyone?) and attempted to sing Kanye West’s “Gold Digger“. Although I thought I knew the lyrics, the delivery is actually really hard. Say what you will about Kanye, but his style is hard to emulate. Also, it was pouring rain, so it made me think of flooding, and then probably the disaster that was New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. In the wake of that tragedy, during a benefit fundraiser, Kanye, in one of his first outbursts, said on live television: “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Hence, the inspiration for this amazing song.

(Editor’s note: I’m not sure if this is the original video, but it’s the only one I could find.)

Waking Up With: Mayer Hawthorne

defselektor — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:08:09 +0000

A local hero who has been blowing up the LAirwaves. Great stuff, buy the album.

Here’s a video for the lead single, Maybe So, Maybe No. It features a bunch of iconic LA spots, from Venice Beach to the Santa Monica skate park to Crane’s Tavern in Hollywood.

Waking Up With: Jay Electronica

defselektor — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:37:12 +0000

The newest frontier of wordplay. I can’t quite figure out which beat (got it – Exhibit C – thank you KCRW playlists!) was on repeat upstairs when the alarm went off, but that might have to do with the fact that I was having a dream about zombies (I totally hit snooze and jumped back into the fray). So I’ll post two videos. The first is a teaser for his first big single, titled Exhibit A:

Listen to the full song here.

The second track, called Dimethyltryptamine, is a heavy hitter, politically and visually. Be warned there is some disturbing imagery.

Waking Up With: Morcheeba

defselektor — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:47:39 +0000

Hmm, for some reason the song playing on repeat in my head this a.m., called “Slow Down” by the lounge-hop group Morcheeba, seems to be sending me the wrong message. 2010 is the year I want to kick ass, and that’s making me think it’ll go fast. But it’s a good message any other day I guess.

Videogum: The Best Viral Videos of 2009

defselektor — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:30:52 +0000

And pretty nicely edited, as well. See the original post here for links to all the original videos. Favorites?

Waking Up With – K’Naan

defselektor — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:37:13 +0000

Bizarre dreams last night. Unfinished business or something.

I keep coming back to K’Naan’s second album, Troubadour, as a place to remember why music is made in the first place – to tell stories. The song “Fatima” was playing on repeat in my head when the alarm/call from the photo lab/text from my sister all went off at the same time. There’s no video, but here is a decent version of the track.

Also, if you have 45 minutes to kill, watch this fascinating and moving in-studio performance/interview on KCRW: