Beirut- Elephant Gun
This video for Beirut’s song from 2007 was directed by Alma Har’el who also directed the famous Sigur Rós video Fjögur píanó which stars Shia LeBeouf (seen below). She also directed the documentary film Bombay Beach which takes place in the community near the Salton Sea.
Beirut are playing 10/8/15 at the Hollywood Palladium
Gary Numan- I Die You Die
First released as a single in 1980, it was later put on overseas versions of Numan’s album of the same year, Telekon, but was not on its original release. I Die You Die was also covered by Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields in 1997.
Gary Numan will be performing Telekon in its entirety at the Teregram Ballroom tonight (10/1/15).
Front 242- Headhunter
This song is from Belgian EBM band Front 242′s 1988 album Front by Front. The video was made by photographer and director Anton Corbijn, whose new film Life, releasing in the US in December of this year, is about Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock (played by Robert Pattinson) and his friendship with James Dean.
Front 242 are playing at the Avalon in Hollywood this Sunday, 9/27/15.
Cut Copy- Free Your Mind
This song is from Cut Copy’s 2013 album Free Your Mind. The video was directed by Christoper Hill and stars Alexander Skarsgard as a cult leader. For more info on the video there is an interesting interview with Hill here.
Cut Copy is playing at the Mad Decent Block Party this Sunday 9/20/15.
Tokyo Police Club- Wait Up (Boots of Danger)
This song is off the band’s 2010 album Champ. Tokyo Police Club are currently touring for their 2014 album Forcefield and playing at the Regent Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday 9/12/15.
Chaka Khan- I Feel For You
This song is from Chaka Khan’s 1984 album I Feel For You. Written by Prince (it won him a Grammy), it includes rapping by Melle Mel and harmonica played by Stevie Wonder.
Chaka Khan is playing with Patti LaBelle at the LA County Fair this Friday (9/4/15)
Del Tha Funky Homosapien- Mistadobalina
This track from Del’s 1991 debut album I Wish My Brother George Was Here, was his biggest solo hit. He has, however, had an incredible career that has continued to the present day.
He got his start working with his cousin Ice Cube writing lyrics for Da Lench Mob before releasing his first two solo albums. In 1999 he teamed up with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala to form Deltron 3030 which produced two successful albums, one in 2000, the other in 2013. Dan the Automator produced the Gorillaz self-titled album and put Del on two of the singles “Clint Eastwood” and “Rock the House”. Del continues to work on solo projects as well. His most recent release was in 2014 of Iller Than Most which is free to listen to on Soundcloud.
Del Tha Funky Homosapien is playing at the Echoplex this Friday 8/28/15, with DJ Qbert and DJ Nobody with Los Angeles based street artist Mear One live painting.
The Jesus and Mary Chain- Head On
This song is from the Scottish band’s 1989 album Automatic. It was also covered by the Pixies for their album Trompe Le Monde.
The Jesus and Mary Chain are playing FYF Fest in Los Angeles this weekend (8/22/15).
Echo & The Bunnymen- The Cutter
This was the second single released from the band’s 1983 album Porcupine. The video includes images of the band from their trip to Iceland. The strings on the song were provided by Lakshminarayana Shankar, also known as L. Shankar, who has worked with numerous other famous musicians including Peter Gabriel, Sting, Lou Reed, and Talking Heads.
Echo & The Bunnymen are playing in Orange County this Friday (8/7/15) at the Pacific Amphitheater with Berlin.
Wye Oak- Fish
This song is from Wye Oak’s 2011 album Civilian. The video was created by two fellow Baltimore artists, Katherine Fahey and photographer Michael O’Leary. For more information on the video this is a good article at NPR.
Wye Oak are playing at Club Bahia on tonight, 7/30/15.