It’s Saturday. The week is finally over. Now is the perfect
time to catch up on all the new music and videos you may have missed this week.
Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s most talked about new record
shop, has been scouring the web all week for the latest music and videos to
share with you. Here are our top 10 picks, running the genre gambit from punk, “emo”
and indie-rock to blues, pop and R&B.
Sit back, relax, and immerse yourself in this week’s top
songs.
Videos:
1.
Simple Plan, “Perfectly Perfect”: Simple Plan has
only gotten better with age. Their new song, “Perfectly Perfect,” from the
recently released ‘Taking One For The Team,’ is a fantastic song about loving
your significant other completely, including their imperfections. The video is
simple and reflects the overall message of the song: shot in black and white,
it features couples talking about their insecurities and expressing why they
love each other beyond their imperfections. (Video)
2.
The XX, “On Hold”: After teasing it out for
weeks, The XX recently announced that they will be releasing a new album in
2017, titled ‘I See You.’ “On Hold” is the first single from the album and
follows a phone conversation between two ex-lovers. The video brings this
conversation into the context of suburban high school life, featuring footage
of teens at house parties, afterschool sports and generally goofing around. The
band also transports themselves back to those days, giving the song extra
context. (Video)
3.
Rolling Stones, “Ride ‘Em On Down”: Originally
by Eddie Taylor, The Stones chose to release their cover of “Ride ‘Em On Down”
as the second single to come from their newly released covers album ‘Blue &
Lonesome.’ The video features Kristen Stewart joyriding rocking out to the song
while speeding down the city streets, weaving in and out of lanes and riding
through large puddles under bridges. It has the feel of an old-style gangster
film. Perfect for a classic blues song. (Video)
4.
Melanie Martinez, “Mrs. Potato Head”: I love the
message of this song and video. A lot of artists write about the oppressive nature
of women having to change their looks to please their man, but none have done
it so brashly than Martinez has with “Mrs. Potato Head.” The video shows a
women going through plastic surgery, paid for by her boyfriend, only for it to
be botched up, resulting in her boyfriend leaving her for a fresher-faced girl.
Martinez doesn’t mince words or video space; it gets right to the point, a very
brutal, ugly point. Note: If you don’t like life-like images of surgery, do not
watch. (Video)
5.
Beyoncé, “All Night”: While not a huge fan of Beyoncé
(::gasp::), what I liked most about this video is the way she weaves a bit of
her own story into it. In the first few minutes, she is telling a story about
her grandmother, one that gives a little insight into why she named her last
album ‘Lemonade.’ Then during the song, she intersperses video of herself in a field
with footage of herself with her husband, Jay-Z, as well as other couples
embracing. The song is more demure than a lot of the pop/R&B songs she puts
out too, perhaps taking a cue from her sister Solange’s musical repertoire. (Video)
6.
Biffy Clyro, “Re-arrange”: The video for “Re-arrange,”
the latest single from the British rock band’s new album ‘Ellipsis,’ is fairly
intimate. For many of the scenes, singer Simon Neil is naked from at least the
waist up, baring himself to the world while being stroked by female hands. It’s
a soft video for a soft song. (Video)
7.
KT Tunstall, “It Took Me So Long to Get Here,
But Here I Am”: At first the video for “It Took So Long” reminded me of Jenny
Lewis’ “One of the Boys” in the way it stars four women wearing suits against a
white background. However, it quickly differentiates itself by the amount of
fun and whimsy put into it. Shot in one take, the video is a succession of cut
outs based around the lyrics of the song. (Video)
8.
Justice, “Fire”: EDM duo Justice released the
video for the latest single from their new album, ‘Woman,’ on Wednesday. “Fire”
has a great 80’s R&B/funk feel to it while its video takes that mood and
runs with it. It turns gender on its head, casting the duo as the ones washing
the car and the female, in this instance played by the iconic Susan Sarandon,
as the mechanic taking the boys for a ride. (Video)
Songs:
9.
Paul Simon feat. Nico Segal and Nate Fox, “Stranger”:
“Stranger” is actually a remix of two songs off Simon’s latest album, ‘Stranger
to Stranger’: “The Clock” and “The Werewolf.” Not usually a fan of remixes,
this one seems to add something to the songs. The lyrics combine beautifully
and together with the airy, minimal background instrumentation, it is a
completely new song all on its own. (Video)
10.
The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No
Longer Afraid to Die, “Body Without Organs”: On Wednesday, the fourth-wave “emo”
band released “Body Without Organs” as a one-off single. According to the band’s
Facebook, the song was originally written during the ‘Harmlessness’ sessions, but
didn’t fit the overall feel of the album. The song’s melody is a slow and
clunky, as if one’s lungs are slowly collapsing, adding to its emotional impact.
The song is currently available as a download on the band’s BandCamp page, with
all proceeds going to the ACLU. (Bandcamp)
So much good music comes out throughout the week that it
could be difficult to parse through all of it. Whether you enjoy “emo,” blues,
pop, R&B, EDM, punk or indie-rock, we hope that we’ve helped you find
something to make your weekend rock.
Check out all the videos and songs mentioned above and be
sure to visit Vinyl Bay 777 and vinylbay777.com to pick up music from many of
these artists and more. Vinyl Bay 777 has the largest selection of new and used
vinyl, CDs and cassettes on Long Island and new titles are being added daily.
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