Only the Young, and Others

My last post got me thinking about my love of music videos. A fond memory through my teenage years was watching Rage and Video Hits on Saturday and Sunday mornings (yes, they used to be on both days). Thankfully they weren’t full of ads and a couple of fools rabbiting on about who knows what (or whatever the latest music festival is). Anyway, thanks to the wonders of modern technology in particular YouTube and iTunes, music videos have never been so accessible, even the ones I used to watch. Since I worked out how to embed YouTube videos in my blog I’ve decided to put a few of my favourites together.

Only the Young

Continuing on the Brandon Flowers theme, below is the last music video he made for his debut solo album Flamingo. Flamingo easily ranks up in my top 5 albums in recent years. There is a lot that is new, yet the voice of The Killers is unmistakably there. If you like The Killers and haven’t heard this album do yourself a favour and have a listen. The video for this song features Cirque Du Soleil Le Reve, a spectacular show that uses acrobatics and bucket loads of water. If we ever get back to the USA and go to Las Vegas I’d love to check it out.

Never Let You Go

Evermore are a great New Zealand band (thanks to @Albums_Blog from albumsyouprobablydontown.blogspot.com for correcting that they aren’t an Aussie band, even though they reside here now) and they have a number of songs on my regular playlist. The track Never Let You Go from their 2006 album Real Life is one of my favourites. I love how they use snippets of old footage to represent the lyrics from the song, it seems to emphasis the lyrics even more.

Take on Me

Ok, so I was only 11 when this track was first released, but it still managed to have an impact on me. Apart from being a great song it has a very cool music video. The video won several awards when it was released and included the technique of rotoscoping (sketching over the live footage to make an animation).

World

New Order are a group that have spanned several generations especially if you go back to the Joy Division days. I can’t say that I’ve been a big fan of all their music, Bizarre Love Triangle from the album Brotherhood is one of my favourite tracks. I do like several tracks from the 1993 album Republic, including Regret and World. The music video for World is filmed in Cannes and features a series of steadicam shots. I love videos that take you on a Journey, probably why I love Russian Ark so much (I must remember to tell you about that some time).

Perhaps I won’t bore you with too many videos all at once and break them up over a few posts, so stay tuned. I hope you’ve enjoyed these videos and maybe seen a couple of tracks you like.

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Modern Methods

In the song Magdalena by Brandon Flowers, there are the lines “please don’t offer me your modern method, I’m fixin’ to carve this out of wood”. Supposedly this song is about a religious pilgrimage from Nogales to Magdalena and the story of the area around Sonora (that is about a brief a summary as you are going to get, I read a post about the meaning of the song that was several pages). Anyway, I am not generally one for looking at metaphors/meanings/symbolism in most things I listen to, watch or read, mainly because it is a bit beyond me (except in this article which is pure gold). I much prefer to take whatever meaning/symbolism/interpretation that comes to me not what the creator is trying to deliver. Of course occasionally (rarely is probably a better word) my interpretation and that meant by the author are similar, although I have a feeling it is not the case with these lines from the Brandon Flowers song.

If you knew where I was going with this post you might be inclined to tell me to stop rambling, so I’ll get on with it and put you out of your misery, or create some depending on your tastes and or literary abilities.

A great dilemma I have is my desire for everything that is technological and everything that is not. Those who know me often put “geek” in the sentence when they are talking about/to me. This comes from my love of having the latest and greatest gadgets including MacBook Pro’s, iPhone 4’s, iPad’s, Kindle’s the list goes on. The idea of reading/writing/watching/listening to everything (including writing this blog) using some form of electronic device really appeals to me. There is something about being connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, no matter where you are on the planet that is almost comforting. There has been many a word said, when I have attempted to use said technology whilst on holiday or late at night lying in bed.

What many people don’t know about me is my love of everything that is old (or at least old fashioned). I own a fountain pen (even if my handwriting is not really suitable for it), several of my favourite watches have no battery (yes I have to wind them up) and I still do like to have certain books in paperback. When time and money allow I would love to get my hands on an old valve amplifier to play my music, I strongly believe that modern technology has made music harsh and almost sterile. Whilst I don’t plan to switch my entire music collection over to vinyl, there is something nice about the warmth old equipment gives music. A leather satchel that has been worn with time and use has much more charm that the synthetic bags of today and whilst sharing your thoughts with everyone  else (like I am now), the privacy of a well made journal to pen your thoughts is also a joy to hold. In recent times I’ve even toyed with the idea of buying an old film camera, but god knows where you get film developed these days (I used to be able to do it myself).

I consider myself lucky that I was born in a time before computers (before everyone had one at least), mobile phones, ATM’s and CD’s. I think this is why I have a love for all that is old and want to keep it near me. I don’t want to give up my technology, in fact I want all that is the latest/fastest/coolest. I just want to use it whilst listening to some music that has warmth to it and occasionally take out a pen and piece of paper from something made of leather.