Tag Archives: music video

Peter Jackson enlists former Hobbit Billy Boyd to perform franchise swan song

I’ve got the strangest feeling in the pit of my stomach; there’s pure excitement and there’s undeniable sadness lingering as we approach the release of Peter Jackson’s final film in the Hobbit trilogy. Not only will The Battle of the Five Armies close the book on The Hobbit movies, but it also serves as the last chapter in Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s tale of Middle-earth. So how does one properly say goodbye to characters and settings you’ve grown to know and cherish across 13 years and 6 movies? The director enlisted actor and musician Billy Boyd–who played Hobbit Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy–to perform the Five Armies swan song. “The Last Goodbye,” written by Boyd, Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, will play when the credits roll at the end of the last Hobbit movie and will surely leave fans with a feeling of closure. “We came all this way, and now comes the day, we bid you farewell,” sings Boyd on the soft, charming tune.

“We had to get the song just right, to send the audience out of the movie theater in the most perfect way we could,” Boyd tells Entertainment Weekly. “I think we discovered very quickly this wasn’t just a song to end The Battle of the Five Armies—it was a song to say goodbye to Middle-earth.” He added, “…being asked to go back to that, to work in that wonderful fantasy world again and to be singing the song that says goodbye to Middle-earth for everyone involved and the fans who took this beautiful journey with us is truly a great, great honor.”

Though “The Last Goodbye” doesn’t carry the same oomph as Ed Sheeran’s closing song used in The Desolation of Smaug, it serves its purpose with flying colors as it aims to peacefully put the stories of Middle-earth to rest. Watch Pippin Boyd perform his song in the video embedded above; it’s set against scenes across Hobbit and LOTR films, so embrace yourself for pangs of nostalgia and bring the hankies.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies releases December 17. Download “The Last Goodbye” at iTunes.

OK Go impresses again with meticulously shot music video featuring motorized scooters, colorful umbrellas & a drone

OK Go may not be the most popular alt-rock band on the scene, but there’s absolutely no denying their inventiveness when it comes to the construction, production, and execution of their extravagant and by all means brilliant music videos. Billboard breaks down their latest masterpiece and visual eye candy: getting around on motorized mobility devices made by Honda, the band is accompanied by a flock of umbrella-toting Japanese school girls in the middle of an abandoned structure located in the city of city of Chiba, about 45 minutes outside of Tokyo. The precise choreography is splendid, and the whole thing was captured by a camera-assisted drone called an octocopter. The single, uninterrupted shot took about 50 to 60 times to nail, but you just need to watch this once to fully embrace the magic of it all.

Celebrate ‘Friends’ coming to Netflix with a new live rendition of the theme song

All 10 seasons (236 episodes) of famed NBC sitcom Friends is coming to Netflix on January 1, 2015! To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the series (it ran from 1994-2004) and its new streaming home, Netflix has put out a live recording of the show’s theme song. Click play above to hear The Rembrandts perform the forever catchy and hand-clappy “I’ll Be There For You” featuring Central Perk manager Gunther. The music video was recorded at the Central Perk pop up coffee shop in NYC.

Catchy ‘Better Call Saul’ music video teases ‘Breaking Bad’ spinoff sensibilities

Saul, Saul, you better call Saul / He’ll fight for your rights when your back’s to the wall / Stick it the man, justice for all / You better call Saul!

The hype machine for Breaking Bad prequel-spinoff hybrid Better Call Saul is officially up and running now that a music video for it is out. Country musician Junior Brown belts out a catchy tune written by Saul co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and series composer Dave Porter. This sure is a unique way to market a new show, and I’ve got to say they pretty much nailed it. Over the course of the song, a couple of fine ladies wheel out televisions featuring Walter White’s lawyer played by Bob Odenkirk and viewers will catch a handful of glimpses from the upcoming series.

Better Call Saul debuts in February on AMC, and it has already been renewed for a second season set to bow later in 2016.

Turbo T. Double drops ambitious “Atoms,” directed by Kanye collaborator Yemi A.D.

“We are all atoms,” sings Terrell Woodard, better known by his stage name Turbo T. Double. After years of hard work, patience, and pounding the pavement (or what Turbo refers to as “the scramble”), the rising rapper has released his first project “Atoms” to the masses and it shines both lyrically and visually. The track samples M83’s synthpop “Midnight City,” with the electronic band’s blessing. The video, shot in Prague, is directed by Yemi A.D., a well renowned creative in the hip-hop community. A major collaborator of his is Kanye West; Yemi served as director of his recent tours and he’s also the choreographer behind West’s ballerina-clad music video “Runaway.” Turbo’s “Atoms” unequivocally promotes peace and equality as humans of varying shades and sexes emerge from the earth in harmony in the clip embedded above.

Turbo tells [experience-it-all] that his new release was inspired by personal events in his life that made him feel “mistreated for ridiculous reasons.” The track is a response to those who have treated him poorly, and it’s also something that he feels can encourage others to “figuratively open their eyes” and rise above roadblocks and any haters that are in your way of fulfilling your dreams. Soft-spoken and smart, Turbo imagined “Atoms” to be the best and most “peaceful and relatable” way to get those thoughts across.

Working with Yemi was “like a dream come true,” shares Turbo. He “operates at a super high frequency,” says Turbo, and “when he heard “Atoms” he related to the lyrics and came up with the idea for the video and everything flowed from there resulting in a refreshingly challenging and inspirational experience I’ll cherish till death.” He continues, “I’m thankful that Anthony [Gonzalez] of M83 allowed me to loop “Midnight City” in order to deliver the message and Yemi’s vision brought it to life in a major way.”

Enjoy the ethereal experience that is “Atoms” and anticipate Turbo T. Double’s forthcoming EP due out next year.

Feel “Brand New” in music supporting strength and perseverence

Support a great cause today and download “Brand New,” a song written and imagined by Brian Meisner (yes, we’re related: brothers) to inspire those going through tough times to persevere and rise above it. In Brian’s words, “I hope this music reaches your ears and provides you with the strength to push forward and feel brand new.”

Preview the song in the montage embedded above; it follows the journey and recovery of our cousin Matty as he battled pancreatitis. Download “Brand New” at iTunes; 25% of the proceeds will be donated to nail-patella research.

Coldplay incites a jubilant block party in “A Sky Full of Stars” music video

The four members of Coldplay, led by frontman Chris Martin, leisurely bounce along the streets of Sydney, Australia grooving to their EDM-tweaked, Avicii-produced Ghost Stories single “A Sky Full of Stars” in this fun music video made special for the tune. Martin and co. are dressed up as one-man-bands donning instruments like guitars, drums, harmonicas, and bicycle horns, roaming the streets and candidly interacting with a growing crowd that follows them on their four minute musical journey. Smash play and join in on the confettied festivities!

Coldplay drops “Magic” music video ahead of ‘Ghost Stories’ May release

Coldplay is readying their sixth studio album Ghost Stories due out May 19 and in the meantime they’ve dropped two music videos to accompany the record’s two singles “Magic” and “Midnight.” Click the link to watch the negative imagery clip for “Midnight” if you missed out on that last month, and check out Coldplay’s latest offering the clip embedded here. In “Magic,” frontman Chris Martin stars as drunk illusionist as well as the illusionist’s assistant who is after the heart of a young magicienne played by Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The black-and-white video features the “silent film” style incorporating Martin’s soothing vocals and the band’s flowing instrumentals. It’s a soft song but it’s definitely an uplifting one, metaphorically and thanks to this music video quite literally, too.

Preorder Ghost Stories today.

Coldplay drops new single & music video “Midnight” [Update: new album ‘Ghost Stories’ out this May]

Coldplay fans are due a new album. Their last album, Mylo Xyloto, released way back in 2011. And if you look at their release track record, they’ve drop a new album every three years starting with their splendid sophomore effort A Rush of the Blood to the Head (2002). So we’ve made it to 2014 and whatddya know–Coldplay leaks out a new single called “Midnight” with an accompanying music video (see above). The song’s lyrics are quite simple; what’s most (for lack of a better term) fascinating about the track is its synthy sound and how much it resembles another artist who goes by Bon Iver. In “Midnight” Coldplay frontman Chris Martin plays around with his vocals using a vocoder and there’s no denying the similarity to Justin Vernon’s performance style. That said, the song represents Coldplay’s continued journey into pop-rock experimentation following 2008’s Viva la Vida and Mylo Xyloto. If you are a fan of those releases then it would appear you’ll be totally into what Coldplay has in store next. If you reminisce about the “Clocks” and “Yellow” days then this might not be your cup of tea. Regardless, Coldplay is readying new music and you best be prepared so mash play and vibe out to their latest visual featuring trippy negative imagery.

Update (3/3): We now have confirmation that Coldplay is indeed releasing a sixth studio album called Ghost Stories and “Midnight” is a track plucked from it. However, it is not the official lead single; “Magic” has the honor of being that track and you can hear the soft tune after the break. Ghost Stories, out May 19, is available to preorder at iTunes today and a Target-exclusive physical CD will include three bonus tracks. The album cover and tracklist are also after the jump. Continue reading Coldplay drops new single & music video “Midnight” [Update: new album ‘Ghost Stories’ out this May]

This year in music, as told by DJ Earworm’s mega-mashup “United State of Pop 2013″

Experience 2013’s most popular songs (as determined by Billboard’s weekly Hot 100 charts, of course) with DJ Earworm‘s latest installment in his “United State of Pop” mashup franchise. As always Earworm goes the extra mile and complements his annual mashup with a visual component, magically stitching together the artist’s music videos. The new track is called “Living the Fantasy” so it shouldn’t come as a total surprise that Lorde’s “Royals” dominates here; Miley’s “We Can’t Stop” and Rihanna’s “Stay” also get recycled often. Songs by Bruno Mars, Imagine Dragons, Justin Timberlake, and One Republic are among the 25 total used here; jump after the break for the full tracklist.

After watching the mashup, download the track for free at SoundCloud. Continue reading This year in music, as told by DJ Earworm’s mega-mashup “United State of Pop 2013″

Eminem revisits his past in “Monster” music video

“Monster” is the fourth single off Eminem’s successful MMPL2 following “Berzerk,” “Survival,” and “Rap God.” Featured artist Rihanna joins Em in a trippy therapy session for the “Monster” music video directed by Rich Lee. The clip is quite cool, actually; Em borrows from Chris Nolan’s Inception and takes a trip down memory lane as he rides down a mysterious elevator that calls back and even recreates music videos of the past and many high points from the rapper’s long career (remember when he performed with Elton John at the Grammys in 2001?). Hit play and relive it.

Music video round-up: Bob Dylan & Pharrell Williams create fun, interactive clips; Kanye West gets parodied [Update: Eminem is a “Rap God”]

Forty-eight years after Bob Dylan released his 1965 hit “Like A Rolling Stone” the track gets its very own music video and a uniquely impressive one at that. Israeli director Vania Heymann partnered with interactive videomaker Interlude to imagine a music video experience that allows the viewer to flip through TV channel stations and inside each one TV personalities are lip-syncing Dylan’s song. There are 16 stations to flip through using your arrow key or mouse press; from Pawn Stars to The Price is Right to Marc Maron’s podcast, Dylan permeates through them all without missing a beat. Mash play in the TV box embedded above and see it to believe it.

Jump after the break to watch new music vids from Pharrell and Kanye West. Continue reading Music video round-up: Bob Dylan & Pharrell Williams create fun, interactive clips; Kanye West gets parodied [Update: Eminem is a “Rap God”]