The Bocker.com

I’m feeling lazy tonight and naturally I turned to the lazy blogger’s best friend, youtube. I’ve been watching lots of music videos recently that I want to call everyone’s attention to for one reason or another. Forgive me if you’ve seen some of these before and if you’ve seen all of them, you might want to get outside more.

Hot Chip’s new album, Made in the Dark, has been on my ipod ever since it came out earlier this month. I’m not really sure how to describe Hot Chip to those of you that haven’t heard of them before. According to wikipedia they are British Electropop. But, since that means nothing to most people, think of them as a weird, electronic, catchy, hummable group of British oddballs. There is one song on their album that I just can’t get out of my head, Ready for the Floor. The video is a color extravaganza and is a great example of the band’s odd sense of humor. The lead singer fluctuates from looking like the Joker, to looking like himself, to being a half-joker, half-man bouncing crooner. If that last sentence was confusing, just wait until you watch the video. At one point a group of brightly colored women dances while a rainbow wall moves behind them. If you dislike clicks and beeps, this song probably isn’t for you.

After that I figure I have to give you guys something a bit more normal. So I’ll go with the “it” girl of the moment, Adele. Adele is a British Soul-Singer who, at only 19, has seen her album (surprisingly titled 19) go to number one in Britain. Her big song, Chasing Pavements, is ready made for Top 40 radio, with Adele’s vibrant voice backed by a relaxing melody. (Wow, I’m terrible at describing songs. That last sentence took me 10 minutes to think of and all I could come up with was “vibrant” and “relaxing”. That’s why you have to watch the video.) The video shows two lovers, who were thrown from their car after hitting a tree, dancing together on the sidewalk in between shots of the paramedics trying to save them. Intriguing?

Many of you might not know this, but I used to be in a serious relationship with Sri-Lankan Hip-Hop artist M.I.A. Her song “Jimmy” is about how hard it was for her to leave me and how she wants me back. She’s a beautiful woman but I mean honestly what was I supposed to do? I had dreams of becoming a government employee at a regional waste treatment facility and she was a famous artist known throughout the globe. How could we make it work? She’s on the road most of the year and my job requires me to be on-site 5 days a week. Sometimes I sit and wonder what could have been…..Ah, well, at least I got a song out of the deal.

Lupe Fiasco’s “Dumb It Down” from The Cool. I love Lupe Fiasco who I believe to be the best rapper around today. His rhymes are witty, complex, technical and he can switch flows to adapt to any beat. “Dumb It Down” is his response to people telling him that his lyrics are too intelligent. The video is simple, a black and white shot of Lupe rapping to the camera with various characters singing the chorus.

I don’t know what how you feel about soul music but Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are a group that seem to have been sent here from the past. The video for their single “100 Days, 100 Nights” looks like it was recorded at some 60s TV show and Sharon Jones shows her command of the stage as she belts out the song. If you like listening to the classics, this song should tickle your fancy.

I don’t really watch Flight of the Concords on HBO, but this song is funny. I’d tell you more about it but it’s pretty self-explanatory.

And finally Mr. Charles Bronson everybody. Please, give the man a hand.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, or any other post. Email us at editor@thebocker.com