The decade started out with perhaps the golden age of the auteur (Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Mark Romanek, Chris Cunningham, et. al.) and ended up as perhaps a more creative time regardless for the format.

“By the middle of the decade, outlets for videos dried up, and budgets for them shrunk, only for the art to be revitalized by the Internet, the art of the viral video, the fanmade video, and the ubiquity of YouTube. We at Pitchfork even carved out our own place to host and display high-quality videos, Pitchfork.tv,” they write.  And it’s true!  I’ve always admired the music videos’s cockroach-like approach to life.  How it’s managed to stay a viable art form is beyond me.

Very solid choices all around.  Hard to argue with their top choice.  It even kicked off a decade’s obsession with all things Lego. More enjoyable than the video is listening to Michel Gondry talk about the process of creating this treat.

Honestly, these guys are my favorite new band this year.  Maybe it’s because they sound so familiar, like a warm Talking Heads/Arcade Fire/Sigur Ros blanket, or maybe it’s just because their album is enjoyably uplifting.

“Fugitive” works as a reminder of how likable David Gray is.  The mid-tempo tune has some nice guitar work in the middle portion of the song and Gray’s vocals go down like warm gravy.

The new album Draw the Line is out September 22 on Downtown Records; he’ll perform “Fugitive” for David Letterman on September 25.  His tour begins in Boston on October 23.

Luckily, Tracy was cool enough to catch his secret show here in Portland and couldn’t say enough good things about his performance.

TOUR
October 23, 2009      The Wang Theatre       Boston, MA
October 24, 2009     WAMU Theater at Madison Square Garden     New York, NY
October 26, 2009     Massey Hall     Toronto, ON
October 27, 2009     Tower Theatre     Upper Darby, PA
October 29, 2009     Chicago Auditorium Theatre     Chicago, IL
October 30, 2009     Orpheum Theatre     Minneapolis, MN
November 01, 2009     Paramount Theatre     Denver, CO
November 02, 2009     Kingsbury Hall     Salt Lake City, UT
November 04, 2009     Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall     Portland, OR
November 08, 2009     Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium     San Francisco, CA
November 09, 2009     Orpheum Theatre     Los Angeles, CA

The first single off the new Clipse record is bangin’.  The duo’s 3rd studio LP, Till the Casket Drops hits streets on October 20.

This is one of two music videos Heath Ledger had been working on prior to his death.

From the press release: “The video was fully conceived down to the last detail but unfinished when Heath passed away in January of 2008. In the interest of fully realizing Heath’s final work as a visual artist, THE MASSES (a film and music company which Heath was a partner in) finished the video in his honor, with the support and advocacy of Isaac Brock.”

According to Peter at Slashfilm, “When the news first came out, Terry Gilliam was reported to be the animator, which turned out to be false. But you can see some very evident Gilliam influence in the clip regardless — those trumpets emerging from clouds are just one little touch of Gilliam’s very recognizable style.”

The idea behind the video is to bring awareness to illegal whale hunting.  The animated video does just that, in a horrifying manner.  Still, great Modest Mouse tune, with a great video to match.

No one’s gonna argue that U2’s latest album was a disappointment both commercially and artistically.  It was released into the wild and landed on the doorstop with the dull thud of a UPS package.  People justifiedly treated it indifferently as well. 

Even schilling for Blackberry can’t help the Irish lads.  Still, this song and video were one of the album’s bright spots.  Relatively, speaking of course.  It’s a not bad song with clunky/awkward lyrics.  So there ya go.

Kid Cudi teams up with Ye and Common to drop this track, with a sample from Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face” and what sounds like classic Ye beats. Can’t stop listening. [via]

I’ve been digging the hell out of BMSR lately.  They’ve got a summery, psychedelic vibe going.  It’s a bit trippy, but when the windows are down and the sun is out shining, those distorted vocals and heavy hitting drums connect on all the right spots.  The video itself feels like one of those old family home movies from the 70’s that turns decidedly dark (but still funny).

The Dirty Projectors have an excellent album and “Stillness is the Move” has been the summer jam and a solid contender for any year end list of 2009’s best songs.  And now, the slightly askew pop song has a slightly askewed video to go with it.

According to Stereogum the video (which looks shot somewhere on the west coast but specifically the Oregon coast and more likely Northern California) was directed Matthew Lessner.  The video, much like the song, has recognizable features to it but it’s strange and weird just the same.  It showcases the synchronized dancing (single ladies dance from Beyonce?) of the Dirty Projector ladies in light blue jumpsuits and Dave Longstreth is some sort of llama herder.

This is the third single off Lily Allen’s sophomore effort.  It’s not exactly radio-friendly with the chorus and all, but it’s certainly the most hummable and infectious song on It’s Not Me, It’s You.

Admittedly, I haven’t listened to this album as much as I thought I would, but it’s still an enjoyable spin.  I wonder if it came out in the springtime, if it would have had more buzz surrounding it.  The problem with Lily Allen is trying to separate her obnoxious celebrity life with her very, very good musical life.

It’s all apart of my quest to help these guys become the biggest band in the world. Mwaahahah. No, but seriously, The White Rabbits have it going on. Some people reduce them to being Cold War Kids-esque and well, fine, okay. But it’s like comparing Mean GirlsLindsay Lohan to whatever she’s doing today. See where I’m going with this?

It’s Frightening is out now on TBD Records.

The jam of 2008 and still kinda rad in 2009 finally gets an official video. The scary clip is directed by Ray Tintori and the animation at the end was directed by Superjail co-creator Christy Karacas. It’s sorta three videos in one. Also, I think the quote the drop in the beginning is Nietzsche and not Mark Twain. Anyone? [via Stereogum]

Best new artist this year; most exciting band to come down the pipes in a few.  Check out Catbirdseat for more deets on getting your hands on their excellent record Hastings Sunrise.

It’s a beautiful day out and I’ve decided to enjoy my vacation back in Boston by hitting some golf balls; plus I’m a little wrecked from the amazing Viva Voce show last night.  They tore up Great Scott’s and represented Portland well.