Uzi and Ari | “Mountain/Molehill”

It seems as if I rarely have time to sit down and watch music videos anymore. My 12-year-old self would gasp with incredulity.

I had an amazing day today, cycling out to the Beach with one of my oldest friends in the world. We’re both in our 30s now, and spending an entire afternoon cycling around and chatting about life on the beach reminds me once again what’s most important in life.

But I still can’t skip a rock. Huh.

Anyway, I like the mood of this song. It makes me want to gobble up the world and never let go.

The Raveonettes | “The Christmas Song”

Two weeks, and Christmas will be in our laps. However, I heard my first in-store Christmas song in mid-November and I’m almost over it.

Now, if all festive songs sounded like this one by the Raveonettes, I may be inclined to change my mind.

Lykke Li + Bon Iver | “Dance Dance Dance”

What I would’ve given to come across this impromptu jam session in L.A.

Lykke Li – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Bon Iver – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Fleet Foxes | “White Winter Hymnal”

This is my first proper winter back in Toronto. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it all, given that I’ve either been in tropical countries or out in relatively balmy Vancouver for the past few years.

So far, the weather has been not that bad, really, with periodic snowfalls that have barely lasted a day. Today, I woke up to a beautiful landscape of flurries and then went out to play in it. A little over half an hour, I was surprised to feel a perma-smile on my face.

Am I romanticizing this weather too much? When will I get tired of this and purchase my one-way ticket to Cuba?

Matt and Kim | “Daylight”

I’m seeking a new replacement hobby for my leisure time (putting photography on the back burner); so far, the most thrilling idea is returning to my first love… video. (GASP.)

I just saw the effervescent Matt and Kim at the Whippersnapper last night. Their new clip here bleeds the juice I want to shoot down my gullet and spew back out at the world. The best execution comes around the 2:10 mark.

Matt and Kim – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

RJD2 | “Work It Out”

Just got back from my trip to NYC, and I’m already pining to be back. I snuggled up close and became intimate with parts of Brooklyn this time around, so I figured I should showcase one of my favourite videos shot in the best borough.

I can’t take my eyes off of this video. Simple idea, filmmaking, and incredible choreography. Addicting.

RJD2 – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

MGMT | “Kids”

One of my coworkers teases me about liking saccharine suburban dance pop, rife with handclaps and high-pitched vocals. Guilty. But she talks about it way more than I bring it up, so I get this inner-glow feeling that she is just trying to convince herself to hate them.

The other day, she admitted to liking this song and then cringed when she discovered it was MGMT. HA HA! In your face, non-believer! Sell out, just like I have!

MGMT – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Juiceboxxx | “Thunder Jam III”

If you leave a Juiceboxxx show without getting some of his sweat on your clothes, you must’ve been at the wrong show. JB is a crazy, off-his-rocker rapper from Milwaukee; his music itself may not be a selling point to those not into rap, but he’s raw, hot, and wraps you in when he gets on stage.

This is live music with no boundaries, and I beg you to get him to your city for a gig if you can. After all, everyone needs to be perspired on once in a while.

Juiceboxxx – Official Site | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

The Mae Shi | “Run to Your Grave”

I have this weird rule about not seeing bands more than once, unless they put on a fantastic show. Not only did I break that rule, but I saw these kids from LA THREE times in a span of THREE days.

Needless to say, these guys were, by far, the most engaging performers I saw at SXSW 2008. This video kind of says it all.

The Mae Shi – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Gogol Bordello | “Start Wearing Purple”

I planned to see at least one of the two Gogol Bordello shows held in the Pacific Northwest this past weekend — at Seattle’s Bumbershoot and Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom. I saw neither.

Instead, I’ve pocketed the $30 I didn’t spend, and will play this video on loop, merely pretending that I dislodged my kidney from the raging Gogol mosh pit.

(Yes, I am jealous.)

Albert Hammond, Jr. | “In Transit”

“In Transit” – Albert Hammond, Jr.

If the hair, the clothes, and the attitude didn’t tip you off, that singing dude there on the right is the lead guitarist of the Strokes. Yep, that’s right, Albert Hammond, Jr., has gone solo. Maybe nothing legendary or innovative, but if you’re not afraid of pop, you could very well get caught in his very accessible vortex.

Albert Hammond, Jr. – MySpace | Last.fm | Wikipedia | Amazon

Lavender Diamond | “Open Your Heart”

I had a chance to see Lavender Diamond at Vancouver’s Lamplighter earlier this year, and because I assumed the show would be drowning in way too much hippie for my liking, I declined the offer. And it was free. I never pass up a free ticket.

So now I’m whacking myself in my anti-hippie head, because I’ve actually learned to look past Lavender Diamond’s excessive use of exclamation marks and talk about peace, love and blah, blah, blah. I must say that she’s got a refreshing take on life, something of which my embittered soul needs an ample dose. Her music sometimes sounds kitschy, sometimes sounds straight from the heart, but it’s full of a love of life that doesn’t exist in a lot of music out there.

Also when listening to them, I imagine myself walking around in crowds of dancing people, kind of like in this video to “Open Your Heart” …except I wouldn’t look half as graceful on a pair of roller skates.

Stream Lavender Diamond’s Imagine Our Love album here.

Lavender Diamond – Official site | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Similar artists: St. Vincent, Feist, Regina Spektor

Archers of Loaf | “Harnessed in Slums”

In a back-breaking effort to reorganize my dreadfully disorganized iTunes library, I’ve been reintroduced to the now-disbanded Archers of Loaf. Though I’ve been obsessed with music for quite a while now, I can easily say that “Harnessed in Slums” is THE song that made me realize I could really RAWK if I wanted to… and I most certainly did.

Lead singer Eric Bachmann is now fronting Crooked Fingers, a folk outfit that doesn’t come close to bringing the power that AoL offered in my misguided early ’90s youth. Too bad, since now I’m just a poorly misguided adult.

Thank gad for YouTube.

Archers of Loaf – Wikipedia | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Bill Withers | “Aint No Sunshine”

“Ain’t No Sunshine” – Bill Withers on the Old Grey Whistle Test, 1972

Now, this is what I call soul. Bill Withers‘ “Ain’t No Sunshine” is one of those pieces that gives me that extra punch in the gut when I’m feeling down. Talk about a dreamy piece that digs down deep and makes me eat my own heart. You got it — I’m a bonafide masochist.

Plus, I really can’t get enough of his lovely ‘fro and orange turtleneck combo. I was seriously born a decade too late.

Bill Withers – Official site | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Human Giant | “Other Music”

It’s the best parts of High Fidelity, sans Jack Black and with a late-2000s twist. Non-serious music fans, forget about watching this video… or just let your pride shrivel up and die.