Internet Killed the Video Star

I Love You Tube. For two reasons, mainly: Music and the Daily Show.

Exhibit A - Prior to coming and sitting in front of this monitor and typing my little heart out for you folks, I watched the 8 pm, next-day rebroadcast of the Daily Show on Comedy Central. I tuned in for Bill Clinton's appearance (which was entertaining, but not riotous), but was treated with the added bonus of Stewart's scathing reply to political pundit and neo-con operative Robert Novak's criticism. And lo and behold, I can now share the amazing clip with all of you via the glorious You Tube. Please stick it out to the end as Stewart gets on a roll during the last 1-2 minutes.

Exhibit B - Last week, I picked up the new album by the Brooklyn quartet Grizzly Bear. I hadn't heard it, but it received raving reviews from all of the usual suspects (including Robert Novak, ironically). It is quite dense and not at all immediate. The singing is often in the background rather than the foreground, with melodies feeling more atmpospheric than rib-sticking. I need to spend more time with it to render a complete judgement. But from the initial listen, I hooked into the third track, Knife. Somehow, earlier today, I stumbled on a clip of Grizzly Bear, walking down a street in Paris, performing an a cappella version of said song. It was mesmerising. It turns out that there are about 30 clips on You Tube by these filmmakers who record images of indie popsters performing on the streets of Paris, in fields in Brooklyn, in bars, in flats, anywhere. I'm not sure if you can fully enjoy the version of the Grizzly Bear song without already loving the original... but I also stumbled on this incredible clip of the Kooks. I hadn't heard the song before, but the clip was still brilliant. It is very cute at the end when the young singer says something like that was the craziest thing he had ever done.

And yes, I nicked the title of the post from the version of the Buggles song that the Raconteurs played at the VMAs. And speaking of Jack White, how about that homage to Michel Gondry's video in that amazing segment on the Simpsons this week.

I love You Tube.