Devendra Banhart "A Ribbon" by Lauri Faggioni

Director and designer Lauri Faggioni filled us in on the inspiration and back story behind Devendra Banhart's haunting video, "A Ribbon."

On working with Devendra Banhart: "My friend Lily gave me a copy of Devendra's records and I found it to be so inspiring. There's a lot of references to nature in his music, you can even hear crickets chirping in the background of some of his songs. I stayed up all night doing sketches and felt so inspired by the songs. So I thought of doing a video for him. I chose 'A Ribbon' because of its simplicity and how it has a sweetly dark tone to it."

On the video "A Ribbon": "I figured I needed something to pull you through these various scenes I had floating in my head. The song was about a ribbon and it was the perfect thing to string them all together. I liked the idea of the ribbon being the protagonist. As if it was the one singing the words. I have an affinity for giving inanimate object personalities. I thought of the ribbon as a representation of another force. Something at the center of the earth. Something magical, maybe even divine, wanting to sing with you and dance with you and sleep with you, as the words say in the song. So that is what it means to me."

On working with Michel Gondry: "Most of my influences come from nature. It's what  most of my art work is about. I'm what they call a "fiber artist", a term I'm not so crazy about but I don't know what else to call what I do. I make shit out of fabric and sting and yarn, etc. I never thought I'd be working in film, but I had this shop in the East Village in NYC where I sold the stuff I made. That's how I met Michel. He wanted to animate some birds I made for his DVD and I did some miniature sets and that sort of stuff. That was the first time I had ever done animation and it was amazing to me because it was making these things come alive. Most of the things I make are animals, so that was just fucking amazing to me to see them walk and talk. Just blew my mind. I was hooked. Then we did the Steriogram video. That was the first time I made a set. So fun. I was hooked after that as well."

Watch "A Ribbon" here (Requires the Real Player) Or, watch at Itunes.

Lauri Faggioni is repped by Partizan

SHOT: Idlewild - Jamie Thraves, director

artist: Idlewild
song: "I Understand It"
label: Parlophone  (Capitol in the US)
director(s): Jamie Thraves
production co: Oil Factory

SHOT: Bloc Party - Scott Lyon, director

artist: Bloc Party
song: "Banquet"
label: Vice/Atlantic (Wichita Recordings in the UK)
director(s): Scott Lyon
production co: Oil Factory

BOOKED: Hot Hot Heat - Marc Webb, director

Mark Webb delivers an existential tale much in the vein of Quadrophenia and Blow Up in this next video for British Columbia rockers Hot Hot Heat. Scheduled to shoot on-location in Montreal, "Middle Of Nowhere" will show what it's like to be completely detached from everything around you.

artist: Hot Hot Heat
song: "Middle Of Nowhere"
label: Sire/Reprise
director(s): Marc Webb
production co: DNA

NEW RELEASE: Trust Company "Stronger"

Trust Company "Stronger"  Geffen
Estevan Oriol, director
Steve Stone, producer
Soul Assassin Studio, production company
Robert Morris, DP
Nicholas Wayman-Harris, editor
Description: Performance at a skate park where skateboarders zip all Trust Company.

NEW RELEASE: Lisa Marie Presley "Dirty Laundry"

Lisa Marie Presley "Dirty Laundry"  Capitol
Patrick Hoelck, director
Billy Parks, producer
Merge @ Crossroads, production company
Labuda Management, director rep
Description: Lisa Marie Presley flips through various lurid TV news channels in this video for her cover of Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry." Performance with her band and on a tower of TVs are also included (as is a cameo by by media victim George Michael).

NEW RELEASE: Frickin' A "Jessie's Girl"

Frickin' A "Jessie's Girl"  Toucan Cove
Bill Fishman, director
Stella Kynpstra, producer
Fallout Entertainment, production company
Isaac Klotz, editor
Description: 80's pop star Rick Springfield co-stars in the video for this cover of his hit "Jessie's Girl." Springfield has a cameo as a psychiatrist who advises Frickin' A's singer on how to deal with being in love with his best friend's girl and then joins the band for a culminating performance. (ps: In the end Springfield actually makes off with the girl).

SHOT: Moby - Ben Weinstein, director

This video is already airing. Moby performs on a TV while a crazy group of critters have a house party. No official word on whether the video characters are actual plushies (link has adult content).

artist: Moby
song: "Beautiful"
label: V2
director(s): Ben Weinstein
production co: Notorious 24:7

"Beautiful" was edited by Aisle Five's Michael Barnett

SHOT: 32 Leaves - Dale Resteghini, director

artist: 32 Leaves
song: "Blood On My Hands"
label: Double Blind/System Recordings
director(s): Dale Resteghini
production co: Raging Nation

SHOT: The Esoteric - Matt Bass, director

artist: The Esoteric
song: "Ram-Faced Boy"
label: Prosthetic
director(s): Matt Bass
production co: Factory Features

NEWS: SxSw Music Video Winners

Congratulations go out to the winning videos selected at last week's SxSw Film Festival.

Badly Drawn Boy's "Year Of The Rat" won the Jury Award For Best Music Video. The clip was directed by Monkmus and produced by Douangta Inthavixay. Executive producers were Soft Citizen's Sandy Hunter and Jamie Watson. The video was released by Astralwerks Records.

Slipknot's "Vermilion" received a Special Jury Award. Rockhard Films' Tony Petrossian directed; Ben Oswa produced. Petrossian is repped by Robin Frank Management. The video was released by Roadrunner Records.

MTV ALERT: Adds for week of 3/28/05

MTV Adds:
Rob Thomas "Lonely No More" (Atlantic)
Snoop Dogg featuring Charlie Wilson & Justin Timberlake "Signs" (Geffen)

MTV2 Adds:
Weezer "Beverly Hills" (Geffen)

MTVU Adds:
Aesop Rock "Fast Cars, Danger, Fire & Knives" (Definitive Jux)
Hidden In Plain View "Ashes Ashes" (Drive-Thru)
Hot Hot Heat "Goodnight Goodnight" (Sire/Reprise/Warner Bros.)
Stars "Ageless Beauty" (Arts & Crafts)
Weezer "Beverly Hills" (Geffen)

FUSE ALERT: Adds for week of 3/28/05

FUSE Adds:
Gwen Stefani "Hollaback Girl" (Interscope)
U2 "Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own" (Interscope)
Weezer "Beverly Hills" (Geffen)

FUSE Oven Fresh:
A Static Lullaby "Stand Up" (Columbia)
Akon "Lonely" (Geffen)
Emmanuel "The Willing" (Vagrant)
Hidden In Plain View "Ashes Ashes" (Drive-Thru)
Hot Hot Heat "Goodnight Goodnight" (Sire/Reprise/Warner Bros.)
LCD Soundsystem "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" (DFA/Capitol)
New Order "Krafty" (Reprise)

BET ALERT: Adds For Week Of 3/28/05

BET Adds:
Snoop Dogg featuring Charlie Wilson & Justin Timberlake "Signs" (Geffen)

Rap City Adds:
Boyz N Da Hood "Dem Boyz" (Bad Boy)
Snoop Dogg featuring Charlie Wilson & Justin Timberlake "Signs" (Geffen)

VH1 ALERT: Adds For Week Of 3/28/05

VH1 Adds:
Destiny's Child "Girl" (Columbia)
Snoop Dogg featuring Charlie Wilson & Justin Timberlake "Signs" (Geffen)

SHOT: Lord Ezec - Dave Brodsky, director

artist: Lord Ezec
song: "Retribution"
label: Stillborn Records
director(s): Dave Brodsky
production co: Raging Nation Films

SHOT: E. Town Concrete - Dave Brodsky, director

artist: E. Town Concrete
song: "Wide Awake"
label: Ironbound Records
director(s): Dave Brodsky
production co: Raging Nation Films

SHOT: The Red Chord - Dave Brodsky, director

artist: The Red Chord
song: Antman
label: Metal Blade
director(s): Dave Brodsky
production co: Raging Nation Films

DVD: New Releases for March 22, 2005

DVDs in stores today:

Return to Sin City - A Tribute to Gram Parsons
This DVD features a pay-per-view concert tribute to alt-country pioneer Gram Parsons. Participants include Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle.

Jethro Tull: Nothing Is Easy - Live at the Isle of Wight 1970
This vintage Jethro Tull performance is presented in your choice of Dolby 5.1 or DTS surround and with such extras as commentary by singer/flutist Ian Anderson and a photo gallery.

Also available today: Trace Adkins: Video Hits 2, Drive By Truckers: Dirty South - Live at the 40 Watt, Coheed and Cambria: Live At The Starland Ballroom

NEW RELEASE: The Caesars "Jerk it Out"

The Caesars "Jerk It Out" Astralwerks   
Joakim Ahlund, director
Refused TV, production company
Description: The Caesars are the latest band to benefit from being featured in the ipod dancing silhouette ad campaign. This video primarily focuses on the band behind this catchy garage nugget. The Caesars perform in three main settings: In front of a theater's marquee, in a sunny village and inside a rowdy old-fashioned club.

SHOT: Natasha Bedingfield - Chris Milk, director

Shot on-location in Brazil...

artist: Natasha Bedingfield
song: "These Words"
label: Epic
director(s): Chris Milk
production co: @radical.media

New Release: The Decemberists "Sixteen Military Wives"

The Decemberists "Sixteen Military Wives"  Kill Rock Stars
Aaron Stewart-Ahn, director
Otaku House, production company
Description: The members of The Decemberists take part in a model United Nations at a private school. Soon enough the Decemberists take on the attributes of the countries they represent, resulting in strained relations between the bullying lead singer (who represents the USA, of course) and another member who represents France. After enduring some cafeteria sanctions and locker weapon inspections, the entire school rises up and puts the USA in its place. This video takes much of its style from the Wes Anderson film Rushmore.

Added bonus: Kill Rock Stars and The Decemberists have made this video available as a free hi-res 74MB download via bitTorrent. Get all the info you need on how to download here.

NEW RELEASE: I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business "The Best Happiness Money Can Buy"

I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business "The Best Happiness Money Can Buy" Drive-Thru
Pax Franchot, director
Description: Early November frontman Arthur Enders leads an acoustic performance in a field while packs of cute dogs scamper about the group. The scene then shifts to a light-hearted poker game between the bandmates

BOOKED: No Address - Made By Robots, directors

Scheduled to shoot in Tijuana, Mexico...

artist: No Address
song: "When I'm Gone (Sadie)"
label: Atlantic Records
director(s): Made By Robots
production company: Streetgang Films

BOOKED: Slim Thug - Fat Cats, directors

artist: Slim Thug
song: "Incredible Feelin' "
label: Geffen
director(s): Fat Cats
production co: F.M. Rocks

SHOT: Fall Out Boy - Jeff Seibenick, director

Jeff Seibenick directed and edited an "on the road " video for punk act Fall Out Boy.

artist: Fall Out Boy
song: "Sugar, We're Goin Down"
label: Island Def Jam
director(s): Jeff Seibenick
production co: Refused TV