The Strokes dive back into the land of gleaming the Tron cube, Major Lazer takes a flaccid toe-dip into cold-water adventure with Justin Bieber, NOFX return from the LA punk gutter with a “moron bro” sex, drugs and rock and roll PSA, and more, in week 29 of the year’s Best (and worst) Lyric Vids.
The Strokes – ‘Oblivious’
In step with the Kidmograh-produced piece of VHS, Tron-esque lyric vid reel for “Drag Queen,” this fellow Future Past Present ep-gem gets the punk glam treatment it so deserves, pairing Casablancas’ gutter-chic swagger with cubist dada otherworlds, spliced with Rad Racer and flying eagle montages. Big-box movie theatre subtitles fill the void:
Major Lazer – ‘Cold Water’ ft. Justin Bieber & MØ
For every bad ass Ferry Gouw-produced Major Lazer the character video Diplo is smart about collaborating on, there’s garbage like this — an aqua-inspired digital cartoon splash of flaccid sentiments you have to hear Justin Bieber try to educate those young hearts who haven’t learned how to formulate their own opinions yet. Nevertheless, it does its job of communicating to those people:
Radial Face – ‘Ship in Port’
Magic hour America comes to life in another joint from Brad Cooper’s wispy alt-folk world, sun-setting on ducks and cows grazing, fields of canola for days, Cooper singing songs for lost ones set to scenery that rivals a Ken Burns’ National Parks documentary:
Every Time I Die – ‘Glitches’
Not sure what’s greater, vocalist Keith Buckley’s practice of transcendental meditation when not on the throat metal gnar mic, or this throat metal gnar mic reaction to the emotional absurdity of the Paris terrorist attacks. Buckley elaborated to the Alternative Press, “The system of peace and patience I thought I had established disappeared and what remained was my old ugly self. I learned quickly that nothing can prepare you for an anomaly. For a glitch.” Meanwhile, a hodgepodge of confusing images give ya something to chew on right at the perfect fade gradient in the vid:
NOFX – ‘Six Years on Dope’
For those of you anti-media LA skate-punks from the early 90s glory days, here’s that PSA you of course knew you’d hear from dummer Erik Sandin about being a “moron bro” drug addict swapping good times for interferon and Valtrex. Fat Mike and Erik Melvin narrate the tale in this shakedown street minute-and-a-half NOFX thrash standard:
