Videos of the Week February 7th

Folks, there's a lot of value added content in this week's top five. I'm not trying to gas you up when I say that PBS did a great job with Blank on Blank in animating Jimi Hendrix's last interview. A few weeks back I posted a similar one featuring 2pac, so if you were a fan of that slice of creativity, you'll enjoy this one too. In other news, Chromeo's brand of funk is really starting to grow on me. Their newly minted visuals for Come Alive are on point.

The rest of the videos this week are really awesome covers. It's a coin flip between Childish Gambino and Lorde for who produced the better cover, but if you twisted my arm I'd probably give the nod to Donald Glover. P.M. Dawn's classic, Die Without You, isn't an easy cover, but he really showed off his dynamic ability as an artist on the track. Oh and this just in, The Roots might be the most unde appreciated band on the planet. The have been and will continue to be one of the few Hip Hop acts that are above average to see live in concert...#RealTalk
Jimi Hendrix's Last Interview Animated by PBS

Chromeo – Come Alive (feat. Toro y Moi) (Video)

Lorde Cover James Blake's Retrograde

Childish Gambino Covers PM Dawn's I'd Die Without You

Justin Vernon and The Roots Perform Holocene


Image Credit: YouTube

Bon Iver - Don't You Cherish Me To Sleep

For you Hip Hop heads out there, Justin Vernon, the lead singer of @boniver, was instrumental in the success of Kanye's latest album, offering vocals on the opener Dark Fantasy, Monster, and lastly, Lost in the World, which was a sample of Justin's previous track titled, Woods.

In case you haven't heard, it's national "Bon Iver Day" in the indie-world, as today welcomes the nationwide arrival of the band's second full-length self titled album, Bon Iver. One record store in lead singer Justin Vernon's hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin is actually having an all-day listening party with prizes and bonus material available, while another store opened it's doors at midnight specifically for this album's release...so you could say, it's kind of a big deal to indie-kids.

What can I say that hasn't been said about this band, and the man behind it, Justin Vernon, in these past few weeks? He's been on the cover of both Billboard and Spin Magazine, received great reviews from tastemakers Pitchfork.com and Rolling Stone, and he was even featured in Vanity Fair for goodness sakes.

The band is currently in New York, filming appearances on The Colbert Report last night, and Jimmy Fallon tonight, and I couldn't be happier for them, as they deserve every bit of this success. They've resisted the seemingly inevitable backlash from fans that most indie-bands receive when they blow up like this, as they've consistently remained humble, never losing that sense of intimacy that their music created for fans to latch onto in the first place.

Bon Iver - Minnesota, WI

|iTunes

Before hearing this record for the first time, I thought there was no way it could live up to expectations; I loved the first album, and I was of the mind that anything remotely close to the first would be a success. Lo and behold, I was thoroughly amazed to find this record showed remarkable growth, offering an album that flowed together beautifully from start to finish, leaving me with two tracks, Minnesota, WI and Calgary, that became instant favorites.

So if you get the chance, give these songs a listen, and seek out the others, because, I can assure you, they won't be hard to find.

Bon Iver - Calgary

|iTunes

Who is Justin Vernon?

As many of you know by now, Kanye's album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is set to be released later this month, November 22nd to be exact.

The guest appearances read like a who's who in hip hop: Kid Cudi, Raekwon, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Swizz Beatz, Pusha T, and Nicki Minaj. The one name that you might not recognize is that of Justin Vernon, (or Bon Iver).

Justin appears on the song Monster, (which features Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and Nicki), kicking off the song with the lead in "I shoot the lights out", and finishing it off with "I'm heading home". Press play below, lyrics on the YouTube video...

That wasn't his only contribution, as Justin plays a much stronger role on the song Lost in the World. This song is a sample of his previously released, Woods which appeared on the Blood Bank EP. It's song #12 on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy's final tracklist, give it a listen...

To those of you unfamiliar, Justin is a major star in the indie-world. His For Emma, Forever Ago album was record of the year in 2008 for many fans and critics alike.

I first took note of him when I heard the track Skinny Love...

Bon Iver - Skinny Love

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It's an emotion packed song, capturing the very essence of a difficult break-up. As a whole, the record encapsulates every emotion one can feel once love is lost, ending with the realization that, as bad as it hurts, the future offers the opportunity to pick up the pieces and start anew.

Justin's not your typical star; he's a humble dude from Wisconsin, most comfortable with a plaid shirt and a dirty beard. That's what makes this collaboration with Kanye all the more surprising. The guy goes back to his hometown to play concerts with his high school jazz band. He plays epic sunrise shows in cemeteries and he's just as comfortable playing Radio City Music Hall as he is playing with his side project during the middle of a massive kickball tournament. The point is, he's everything we hope we'd be if we were famous...

As a bonus, give his track Blood Bank a listen to get a little more acclimated...

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

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