It’s 2012 and (some) music videos are still hilarious, let alone still being made. Here are two of the week’s best.
Trash Talk— “Slander”
Tyler the Creator’s favorite hardcore punks released an EP entitled Awake last year, and this is the animated video for “Slander” off that album. The video features direction and animation from Eighty Four Film’s Jim Dirschberger, whose artistic style and plot content are reminiscent of some of Mike Judge’s work (by which I mean, could totally see Beevis & Butthead getting caught up in the scenario that takes place). One of the short clip’s three characters takes a few too many psychedelic drugs in an alley before a Trash Talk show, and some intense visual experiences quickly ensue. A half-naked fat guy in a sexy-cop outfit bellyflops off the stage, a guy rides a motorcycle over someone’s head and another guy crowdsurfs with an actual surfboard. All of these things, of course, wouldn’t be too out of place at an actual Trash Talk show. With about 50 seconds of dialogue and a minute of music, the video goes by fast.. but it’s worth watching a few times.
Real Estate— “Easy”
New Jersey indie rock outfit Real Estate also released an impressive album last year— Days. The video for “Easy,” the latest single off that album, is a hilarious exaggeration of the great lengths musicians take to promote their music. The clip was directed by the always-humorous Tom Scharpling, who’s also directed videos for fellow Jersey boys Titus Andronicus (who, at the time, included one Jersey girl) and Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. Real Estate’s fictional street team cares deeply about the success of the band, yelling at people, forcing headphones on pedestrians (not too far off from the rappers on Hollywood Blvd.), and even breaking into radio studios to kindap real-life DJ/host Jake Fogelnest (who once shamelessly embarrassed me on this blog). The video also follows the trend of being released exclusively through comedy website Funny or Die (as Mariachi El Bronx did last month and others have done in the past), as opposed to YouTube/Vimeo/Vevo.
