veneno

Veneno are the LA based team that created the incredible visuals for the last Madonna tour 'Confessions'. The song that really stood out for me visually was Forbidden Love, featured below, where blood cells float about on screen as Madonna sings. Two men stand to do an interpretive dance one bearing the symbol of Islam and the other the star of David. Their hands and wrists writhe together as they try to hold each other yet barely for a second manage it as the other slides away continually. Momentarilly they hug before resuming their twisted slippery hand tussle. Centre stage is Madonna with a huge Christian cross adourned in mirrors and the blood cell visuals starting to take shapes as symbols of religion behind. The message in forbidden love is that we are all one, made up of the same material, yet we fight for some perceived deity. Crossing each other we fight our brothers and sisters whom we should be loving. Mads really hit the nail on the head for me with this one. And although I don't necessarily agree with all her beliefs this one holds true with me. And I love the visuals. Check out more from Veneno on their homepage.

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aphex twins

Good golly gosh and grief. I stumbled across this list of the weirdest music videos ever made and this was number one. I've got to say I was bricking it whilst watching it at work. This honestly shocked and scared me to death. It is totally chilling and bizarre and gets more so as it goes on. Watch this with EXTREME CAUTION as it is liable to scar you for life. You have been warned.

michel gondry

So we went to see the Science of Sleep last night, Michel Gondry's follow up to the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And what a treat it was. Gondry is the master of creating twisted realities with his artful blend of experimental film techniques. In this he melds stop-motion with blue screen effects to create a world where dreams meet reality. Gondry is famed for his work on music videos which is a medium where his creativity can be explored. The Science of Sleep is his third foray into feature film and with it the challenge of creating a narritive flow over the course of 90 or so minutes. Hating CG effects he often goes to great lengths to achieve the shot he wants. I remember watching the making of Eternal Sunshine where Gondry wants his two stars to be laying on a sheet of ice on a frozen pond and a car with headlights on passes beneath. From a budget and technical point of view it just wasn't possible although probably achievable with some heavy After Effects work. His style is extremely distinctive and I really wanted to share this in my choices and highlights of his music video work. I am hoping that this little taster will encourage you to watch his movies which are undoubtedly challenging but ultimately rewarding.....

The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be (look out for a narrative style very similar to the Science of Sleep and obviously a great jumping point)



Gary Jules - Mad World (from an organisational point of view this must have been really challenging)



Kylie Minogue - Come Into My World (the narrative flow picks up on itself as past catches up with future)



Bjork - Joga (just visually stunning)



Daft Punk - Around The World (a classic)



The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl (anything involving stop-motion and lego is great in my book)



The Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar (incredible mix of film to match the music.... watch this to the end)

faithfull

I love love love Faithless anyway but this video is just a gorgeous realisation of their vision. Inspired by light painting (check out my light painting blog post tags), this video is edgy and sublime. Exactly how dance music videos should be. Inspiring. Love it.

today's sound

pssst did you know about this band....... what a great sound!!!! And what a voice....bless her and her knitting

silent knife

The Knife here with their incredible track Silent Shout. And with it comes this hypnotic nightmare of a music video. Done in the best tradition of youtube inspired stop-motion trickery. It starts out as a pulsating animation and then seems to pan out of its locale on a monitor to reveal a desk with marching figures and in the distance a shadowy reflection. Done in the best Lynch/Cronenberg mash-up style this really is a nightmare of a video. But ever so suited to this song. Huge fore-headed creatures sing to us as the horror continues. Low-fi visual eccentricity. Love it.