music video pick

Whew---what a wonderful twelve days Squid Christmas has been. Now, however, Squid Christmas comes to a close. While you've been hearing oldies all month---in the department store, on the radio, in offices and schools---here's a final tune for some Christmas reflection. Then, to top off Squid Christmas, enjoy a few seasonal clips. Five more videos after the jump.

Download "O Come All Ye Faithful" by Eddie Fisher

I tried to find a larger portion of this special (from the X-Men animated series), but I think the thing was just so irredeemably bad that no one has uploaded it in its entirety.

Once again, this is just a small sampling of the X-Mas fun these specials contain. This clip is from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy Christmas special.  read more »

For the penultimate day of Squid Christmas, I've decided to just dump a bunch of weird stuff on y'all. Enjoy.

Download an Mp3 of the infamous "Fire Ant" scene from Space Ghost
Download an Mp3 of the YouTube hit, "McRoll'd" (video at left)
Download sixteen seconds of "green treefrog" noises
Download a "remix" I made of Bjork's "Five Years," entitled "Five Geese"
Download another hilariously crappy Bjork remix I made. This one is of "Immature" and it's called "Impatient"

NOTE: This is a "make-up" post from yesterday. (lol, minutia)

Remember Pee-wee? Sure, post-diddlegate there lingers anxiety about Reubens' character, but there's little question that Pee-wee's Playhouse was Mecca for social misfits, classical hipsters, Gen-X'ers, and hippie-raised children. So, you may ask, how could one possibly improve on the bizarre elements, the outlandish fun, of Playhouse? That question was answered---decisively---with Pee-wee's Christmas special. As if the idea of the slick-haired man-child presenting a forty-five minute extravaganza of yuletide antics was not enough, Grace Jones performs. That's right. For those who have never seen this special, effing Grace Jone makes an appearance. But that's not all: kd lang also sings, garbed in some hideous relic of eighties excess, and the Del Rubio Triplets, Cher, Charo, and others stop by the Playhouse. Am I over-praising this special? No. Enjoy the videos and Jones mp3 below, all of which will leave you in a splendid state of WTF-ery.

Download "Little Drummer Boy" by Grace Jones
Buy the DVD

Amen, amen, the interwebs have provided free Christmas songs once again. Like yesterday, today provides you with some holiday selections you can play in place of the seasonal standards. First off is a fresh track from The Raveonettes' new EP, Wishing You A Rave Christmas. You don't have to be a mega-Christian to enjoy the slightly-above-average soft rock of Jars of Clay, and laugh slightly at the implied Obama-Messiah message on Joan Jett's "Silent Night" (which sadly has more politically-supercharged samples than actual singing).

It's not Kate Bush, but Katie Eagleson's smoothly jazzy "It's Love, It's Christmas" is a sonic glass of X-Mas wine. Finally, proudly display your indie cred by blasting Sufjan Stevens from the car and blabbing about how "godlike" his falsetto is. Does Sufjan Stevens still have "indie cred?" Well, he certainly has cred amongst his rabid online fans, who scrobble him to the death. But I digress. I suppose Christmastime is the time for reconciliation, even if that means quietly tucking away your hate of Last.fm-sycophancy. Regardless, enjoy the Christmas tunes, and the cute video from Sufjan Stevens below.

eMusic is usually generous in giving away shit music for free, but this Christmas season they seem to be especially liberal in their giveaways. Like most eMusic samplers, the Redeye 2008 Holiday Sampler has a smattering of painfully produced indie rock against a smaller portion of delightful indie pop and sentimental male crooners. Recommended tracks include "Jingle Bells" by Lisa Loeb, "Deer Crossing" by Elk City, "Darlin'" by Over The Rhine and "Something to Hold On To" by Ron Sexsmith. Also available from eMusic: a free Rosie Thomas track brimming with Yuletide joy and quirky-girl sensibility, some big band cheer from Brian Setzer and his orchestra, and a "twisted" selection from Twisted Sister. Video for Twisted Sister's "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" below.

Portishead is now accepting pre-orders of their latest single, (the third from Third) "Magic Doors." The 12" single is etched on one side, thus making it completely useless except for megafans and completists. A digital single will be available for those less interested in conversation pieces. A video has also been released to accompany this new slice of teary-eyed trip-hop. Watch it below.

Pre-order the single

As part of Björk week here at Squid Can, here's a quick overview of Björk's music videos. The videos featured here come from songs on Debut, Post, and Homogenic. Part 2 will come round tomorrow and contain videos from Björk's latter three albums. Enjoy!

MP3 after the jump.

Human Behaviour (1993)

Directed by Michael Gondry. A very Norshteynian video in which Björk is chased by a bear, gets eaten by the bear, plants a Soviet flag upon the moon, and waves at a giant moth with spoons. A Goldilocks redux in a frighteningly adorable light.

 read more »

Here's the famous short film for Kate Bush's magnificent "Cloudbusting" from 1985's Hounds of Love. Donald Sutherland plays the father (Wilhelm Reich) and Bush herself plays the son (Peter Reich). An alternate, extended edit of the song was used in this video. Read more about "Cloudbusting" at Gaffa.org and watch Bush's own comments in the second video below.

Here's an absolutely superb video of Beth Orton performing "Galaxy of Emptiness" in November 1998 on Sessions at West 54th. While the original "Galaxy of Emptiness" was a ten-minute galactic swirl of folktronica, this live version just bursts with an ethereal tenderness. MP3 at the bottom.

Download from 4shared

Infanticide has never been so subtly and seductively portrayed as in this 1995 video from PJ Harvey. With Polly Jean Donning a lovely red dress and shaking along like some mad crustacean to the instrumentation, the bubbling atmospherics of this Maria-Machnacz-directed video should call up some nineties nostalgia.

Enjoy this fanvid to the simply phenomenal "Air War" by hipster messiahs Crystal Castles. Considering the lyrics to the song are from Jame Joyce's Ulysses, the dated dress and dance in this video are certainly fitting for the content. MP3 link below the video.

Download "Air War" from Download.com

Delectable nineties surrealism.
Sad that the first post in a month on SquidCan is a Madonna one, huh?

Provocative appropriation video from Moby's latest, Last Night. Despite an infectious rap beat and rapid-fire lyrics, there are better songs on the album.

A catchy, classic-rock feel is infused in this highly British vid from Babyshambles.

A stunning performance of "All is Full of Love," circa Vespertine. The most powerful performance of the song I've seen. Björk is singing (and wearing) her Sunday best here.

Squid Can is not dead! But the site is undergoing renovations. Here's a new video to keep you entertained. Also available in 3D--glasses required.

BJORK "WANDERLUST"
Uploaded by Bjork

An amazing video of two Siberian throat singers. Otherworldly, to say the least.

Just fine? I dunno, three Maries on screen at once seems at bit Sybil-ish to me. Directed by Chris Applebuam. On a side note, I'm finding the widescreen format especially appealing.

From the indie rock band The Kills comes this near psychedelic video directed by Sophie Muller. And, intentional or not, the lead singer bears some resemblance to Myra Hindley.

Surreal music video for the hard-hitting Post single. Directed by Michael Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

This light, quirky electronic ditty by former Moloko vocalist Róisín Murphy is taken from her second solo album, Overpowered . The video is just as fun as the song, and it features an awfully unique costume.

Directed by the acclaimed Chris Cunningham, this Aphex Twin video from the mid-nineties is not only unnerving but masterfully composed. One of the finer gems in Cunningham's repertoire due to its sheer creepiness and unique, grimy aesthetic. I wouldn't recommend watching it at night, though.