NEW RELEASE: Jack Penate "Spit At Stars"

There are very few artist about whom you could say, "Sounds like a punkier Billy Bragg, but dances like a giddier Snoop Dogg." In fact, pop/punk British singer songwriter Jack Peñate may be the only one. This stutter-start-stop performance video uses some Invisible Man trickery and stop-motion editing quirks to give life to the instruments and amps. All in all, a clip that lives up the energy of the track. --> watch "Spit At Stars"

Jack Peñate "Spit At Stars" (XL)
Jim Canty, director | HSI , production co

NEW RELEASE: Vampire Weekend "Mansard Roof"

Once upon a time, a band called Duran Duran cruised around exotic, tropical waters and looked as dapper and classy as could be, epitomizing the glamor and opulence once associated with the music business. Flash forward to now and bear witness to buzz band Vampire Weekend setting sail on a glorified dinghy along the dilapidated New Jersey shoreline. Have budgets truly fallen so far? Is it a metaphor for the overall state of the music business? Or, is it an ironic nod by a indie band poking fun at the Big Pimpin excesses that were never gonna be their brand of cool anyway? --> watch "Mansard Roof" via YouTube or MTV

Vampire Weekend "Mansard Roof" (XL/Beggars)
Alexis Boling, director | Harmonium Films & Music, production co

NEW RELEASE: St. Vincent "Jesus Saves, I Spend"

Ah, merit badges. What better way for a budding Scout to show his worth than to have ten or twenty of them sewn on his sash? Sure, it's a little bit dorky, but what else should kids do with their free time (besides multi-tasking, apparently)? Directors Andy Bruntel and AV Clubber Bucky Fukumoto make Scouting cool again in this whimsical clip for St. Vincent aka Annie Clark. Theyre's a few new badges that sound like totally awesome additions to the BSA lineup, especially the one for Book Eating. (review by Kevin Holy) --> watch "Jesus Saves, I Spend"

St. Vincent "Jesus Saves, I Spend" (Beggars)
Andy Bruntel & Bucky Fukumoto, director | Daniella Southgate, producer | AV Club /The Directors Bureau, production co | Marc Ritzema, DP | John Paul Horstmann, editor |  Megan Fenton, production designer

BOOKED: Mountain Goats - Ace Norton, director

artist: Mountain Goats
song: "Sax Rohmer #1"
label: 4AD/Beggars Group
director(s): Ace Norton
production co: Partizan

NEW RELEASE: The National "Apartment Story"

There's something oddly intriguing about the humming and crackling pop sound that happens when a guitar is plugged into an amp. It's like the calm before the rock. It draws you in. Go back and watch director Nigel Dick's "Sweet Child O' Mine" and tell me you don't get pumped when that buzz emanates from the connection of that cord into Slash's Les Paul. I'm willing to bet huge money (aka $5) that Banner Gwin — director of  The National's "Apartment Story"  — has seen that GNR masterpiece about as many times as I have and he's also acutely aware of the implicit romance of that coitus between jack and socket. That's right. I just wrote over 100 words about the first few seconds of this video. So, after an up-close introductory view of the band, the camera pulls all the way back to reveal that the performance is taking place at a dull, droney dinner party where the crowd quickly changes from disinterested to enthralled. --> watch "Apartment Story"

The National "Apartment Story" (Beggars)
Banner Gwin, director/editor | Ross Levine, producer | Boulevard Industries, production co | Andrew Gianetta, DP

NEW RELEASE: Beirut "Postcards From Italy"

There are really only three kinds of home movies worth watching: 1) Those featuring your own family; 2) Those featuring somebody extraordinarily famous or interesting; and 3) Those featuring spectacular groin injuries that Bob Saget shows you on lonely evenings. That's the essential problem when bands release music videos that are essentially nothing more than home movies synced up to a song. Unless it propels some already established personality or mystique, the video can come across as nothing more than an exercise in lazy narcissism. Director Alma Har'el and her cohort Zach Condon —frontman of Beirut — take a different tack on the form, elevating it to the level of an art project. "Postcards From Italy" consists of footage with Condon and his girlfriend — shot in and around the Har'el's Los Angeles home — that's doctored to be nearly indistinguishable from clips taken off archival home movie reels that the director has purchased over the years at various yard sales and the like. The activities depicted range from simple and beautiful to exotic and desperate, leaving little doubt which films are personal memory tokens and which were meant to impress an audience. As Pitchfork correctly pointed out in their debut of the clip: It's all kind of sad, especially when you realize that these are literally memories that have been sold on the curbside along with other unwanted goods. --> watch "Postcards From Italy"

Beirut "Postcards From Italy" (Ba Da Bing/4AD/Beggars)
Alma Har'el, director/editor | Justin Benoliel, producer | Partizan, production co | Steve Drypolcher, DP

NEW RELEASE: RJD2 "Work It Out"

There's nothing quite like watching someone overcome a disability, or at least finding a feasible workaround. Bill Shannon aka Crutch had something called Legg-Calve-Perthes syndrome which left behind a femur that is deformed at the hip socket. It's apprently very painful, but Legg-Calvé-Perthes syndrome never looked so awesome as it does in his routine for RJD2's "Work it Out." After playfully avoiding a standard gesture of help from RJD2 himself, Shannon launches into a routine outside Brooklyn's Borough Hall using rocker-bottom crutches and a skateboard to create dance moves that would make any B-boy insanely jealous. In so doing, Shannon turns the question of disability and empathy on its societal head. And, it's a way for Shannon to turn what is a fact of life into a super-cool art form. Therefore, I would like to award him — with Video Static Steve's permission —  the first Video Static Medal of Honor. (review by Kevin Holy) --> watch "Work It Out"

RJD2 "Work It Out" (XL/Beggars)
Joey Garfield, director | Michaela McKee, producer | Ghost Robot, production co | Maceo Bishop, DP/steadicam operator | Jacob Craycroft, editor

note 1: The performance in this video is ONE TAKE. Shannon performed it 16 times through to get the final versions. That's right, versions. It was apparently a split decision on which take was best, so one version of the video/routine is online (and linked above), while the other is airing on TV and can be seen here.

note 2: The Video Static Medal of Honor does not exist and has no cash value.

NEW RELEASE: Blonde Redhead "23"

After more than a decade away from the video scene, director Melodie McDaniel returns with a trippy, experimental performance video for NYC's Blonde Redhead. Singer Kazu Makino is layered inside smoke, lights and colors  as she asks a friend  to repent any number of times. I'm not sure the number 23 has any significance here, but the video does share some similarities with one made seven years ago for a band with five letters in its name: Doves "Catch the Sun." Both videos have beautiful photography, but this one matches the colors of the band name, which, incidentally, has 13 letters in it. A video for fans of prime numbers. (review by Kevin Holy) --> watch "23"

Blonde Redhead "23" (4AD/Beggars)
Melodie McDaniel, director | Eric Escott, producer | The Directors Bureau, production co | Patrick Simpson, DP | David Michalson/Ingenuity Engine, editor |  Mike Dunkely/Ingenuity Engine, visual effects 

NEW RELEASE: Beirut "Elephant Gun"

There's something about Beirut main man Zach Condon that reminds me of Jack White. It's got nothing to do with the sound of their music — Condon mixes up Eastern European folk music with the emotional vocal style perfected by Jeff Mangum in Neutral Milk Hotel, while White uses classic blues, rock and country as his inspiration — it's with each performer's ability to form a character so compelling and music good enough that you never question whether it's authentic. This gorgous little clip is essentially a timeless set piece that starts with a languorous intro on a couch and develops into a frenzied dance that celebrates sex, love,  the thrill of the hunt and the desire for escape. --> watch "Elephant Gun"

Beirut "Elephant Gun" (Ba Da Bing/4AD/Beggars)
Alma Har'el, director/editor | Justin Benoliel, producer | Partizan, production co | Andrew Shulkind, DP

NEW RELEASE: Calla "Sanctify"

Slow and roving sepia-tinged cinematography lends an air of  timeless grace to this basic performance video for NYC band Calla. The fact it was shot at the Atlantic Sound Recording Studio in DUMBO, Brooklyn — with sweeping views of the East River and Manhattan — also helps reinforce that majestic scale. --> watch "Sanctify"

Calla "Sanctify" (Beggars Banquet)
John Carlucci, director/editor | Dan Lubell, producer | Fingerprint/Night Agency, production co | John Carlucci and Josh Wienstein, DPs

IN DEPTH: Peaches "Boys Wanna Be Her"

Electro-punk Peaches borrows the vamp of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" while she and her all-star underground band — including Samantha Maloney of Hole/Motley Crue on drums, and Le Tigre's JD Samson and The Need's Radio Sloan on "keytars" — inflict some serious damage to themselves. What starts out as a simple glam performance soon becomes a bloodbath that would make the ultimate shock rocker GG Allin proud. Director Kris Lefcoe lets us in on the secrets and starts some legends about this gory work of art:

• Wrecking instruments is one thing, but wrecking YOURSELF with your instruments, now THAT's rock 'n' roll!
• JD's forehead was completely lumpy by the end of the shoot and her eyes were starting to cross. She really threw herself into the performance!
• I left the set bruised and bloody myself -- demonstrating for Peaches how the mic was rigged so it wouldn't hurt, I bonked myself in the head with it and had a bruise for a week. The art department made some adjustments.
• We brought in a special hair stylist armed with a battalion of razors for the closeup shots of Peaches' crotch.
• Real blood? Of course! We used blood gathered from rock performances for the past four decades. There's a bit of Iggy Pop, some GG Allin, and a hint of Alice Cooper in every drop!

--> Watch "Boys Wanna Be Her" at  OilFactory.com, iFilm or YouTube

credits: Kris Lefcoe, directors | Chris Noviello, producer | Oil Factory, production co | Simon Thrilaway, DP | Victor Brown, editor

SHOT: Peaches - Kris Lefcoe, director

artist: Peaches
song: "Boys Wanna Be Her"
label: XL/Beggars
director(s): Kris Lefcoe
production co: Oil Factory

NEW RELEASE: Serena Maneesh "Drain Cosmetics"

Serena Maneesh
"Drain Cosmetics" (Beggars)
Christian Alexander Holm-Glad, director | Bulldozer Film, production co | Description: Norwegian shoegazers Serena Maneesh perform this hypnotic dirge in a baroque room with a mix of jittery and extremely close-up camera work to keep things constantly off kilter. -- watch "Drain Cosmetics" in QuickTime or Windows Media, or download for ipod

NEW RELEASE: The Rogers Sisters "Why Won't You"

The Rogers Sisters
"Why Won't You" (Too Pure/Beggars)
Rob Hall, director | Kinomatic, production co | Description: This performance video by indie rockers The Rogers Sisters takes place on a series of sliding tile puzzle games. -- watch "Why Won't You" in Quicktime or download an MP4 video file (courtesy of TheRogersSisters.com)

SHOT: Calla - Moh Azima, director

artist: Calla
song: "It Dawned On Me"
label: Beggars
director(s): Moh Azima
production co: Factory Features

BOOKED: Calla - Moh Azima, director

artist: Calla
song: "It Dawned On Me"
label: Beggars
director(s): Moh Azima
production co: Factory Features

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: The National - Associates In Science, directors

Associates In Science directed "Abel" for Brooklyn-based rock act The National. Claustrophobic performance is mixed with the boredom of winter.

artist: The National
song: "Abel"
label: Beggars
director(s): Associates In Science
production co: Partizan