Videodrone: REM, Kate Nash, Faulkner
This week on Videodrone we are SHOCKED by Kate Nash having her heart ripped out! HORRIFIED by extreme violence in the Faulkner video & APPALLED by Lindsay Lohan photocopying her arse in REM’s clip.
But REM split up ages ago I here you cry! Well that maybe so but it hasn’t deterred Hollywood actor James Franco from having a go at directing a video for ‘Blue’ a track from the bands last album ‘Collapse Into Now’
‘Blue’ is a wistful/dreary lament that sounds like countless other REM tracks, but this one suffers with Michael Stipe talking his way through it, he literally couldn’t be arsed to sing. That actual singing you hear is by the divine Patti Smith so this isn’t all bad.
Mr Franco’s idea of ‘Directing’ appears to be capturing lots of neon signs around Sunset Strip, at night time.. Model types wander around in the dark, under those bright lights and it is almost tediously dull until they rescue it all by casting Lindsay Lohan!. Lohan turns up and promptly photocopies her genitalia whilst being photographed, that’s one hell of a way to save a promo video, Lindsay should put it on her CV but I feel James should maybe stick to acting.
REM – ‘Blue’
Videodrone regular Kate Nash is back again with the title track of her new EP ‘Death Proof’ and it appears that she is a fan of The Cramps with this bass fuelled, surf guitar romp. ‘Death Proof’ sadly doesn’t rip off the Quentin Tarantino movie of the same name but features instead Miss Nash arriving at a vintage looking circus. Before you know it, Kate is wowing the crowds with her new sound & image as she takes to the stage dressed in a sparkly outfit to perform. This is intercut with footage of her fainting and then being stretchered into a hospital tent where a deranged Doctor gets out a saw and then appears to rip her heart out! Surely such bodged medical practices can result in a hefty lawsuit?. Still Nash is able to go ahead with her concert before promptly dropping dead – or something. ‘Death Proof’ expands on a new guitar sound for Kate and it is certainly a grower, repeat viewings endear you to the songs talky bits, and that nifty surf guitar is appealing but as the lady says herself “I ain’t got time today”.
Kate Nash – ‘Death Proof’
Faulkner are up now and an entertaining/ extremely violent clip for their track ‘Triumph Of The Underdog’. As a spanking bass riff kicks off the track we are in an office, witnessing the daily grind of stapling documents and secretaries getting their asses pinched by pervert bosses. All of a sudden Faulkner burst in, tooled up with an array of weapons to hold siege. As the indie band shoot up everyone and everything, they hadn’t accounted for the office workers to have seen the film Die Hard and soon the oppressed staff are going Rambo on them. We get a Reservoir Dogs style stand off at one point, and a guy strips to his vest before channeling his inner Bruce Willis and punching out people before he gets shot in the back – I told you this was violent.
‘Triumph Of The Underdogs’ is a hummable indie tune not unlike Mumford growing a pair and ditching the Mandolins for some serious bass riffs (I mean this in a very good way) as the song fades out we learn that they hacked into the office computers to send money to loads of people like cyber Robin Hoods, I’m not sure if that excuses the massacre of those office workers but it sure is entertaining.
Faulkner – ‘Triumph Of The Underdog’