#49: soothing balm of selective memory
Welcome to issue #49 of THIS NEWSLETTER CANNOT SAVE YOU, one of many earnest funnels of curation on the road to a perfectly tailored media consumption experience devoid of voices in the comments shrieking "whoever thought this was a good idea should be maimed" and "first." We face a terribly uncertain future, but at least we face it in style.
Scottovision
You know, friends, 2023 ended recently as you may have heard. My "favorite music videos of 2023" list that I maintained throughout the year came in at fifty-five videos, and for this issue I've plucked from that list a selection of ten music video gems from 2023 that flew under the radar a bit (most of these are under 100k views) or didn't make any of the published "best music videos of 2023" lists that I saw. (If you want to see some of those lists, I enjoyed this, this, and this.)
Off we go...
"The Trench Coat Museum" - Indie rockers Yard Act delivered an excellent dance video in which "a guided tour of a museum turns into a warehouse rave," shortly before hitmen arrive and we end on a massive dance sequence slash cliffhanger. It's the start of a series that continues in "Dream Job" and "Petroleum." Directed by James Slater. (Epilepsy warning: significant flashing.)
"Crushxd" - In which mysterious aliens in a helicopter intervene to save the life of a poor turtle that couldn't quite make it across the road in time. The track is by the band Crumb, who also served as co-art directors on the video. Together with directors Abraham El-Makawy and Alex Futtersak, they've crafted an animated music video that's weirdly charming.
"Onetwostep" - This animated video takes the conceit of "social media is a cyborg extension of self" and explodes it all over your screen, distilling the concept of a feed into a multicolored ooze and performing elaborate choreography for good measure. Animated by Jordan Clarke, the artist who brought us the "f*ckai?" series, on behalf of Des Hume, an artist or collective whose website claims that "the des hume initiative is a for-profit organization dedicated to researching utopian social dynamics." And making electropop, apparently.
"Machina Sky" - I'm a sucker for the candy-coated animation style of Wobbly Lobster, whose video for the psychedelic pop band Moon Panda takes us on a sightseeing tour of gently bizarre alien landscapes. One of two Wobbly Lobster x Moon Panda vids in my top 55, actually: "Tangerine Light" takes us to a hotel and spa where aliens can relax, enjoy weird confections, and watch the universe.
"Sifting Through The Years (Extended Version)" - As the title suggests, this collage video is a metaphorical walk through time, from the stone age to humanity's eventual ascendence into whatever cosmic destiny awaits. Electronic musician Reid Willis assembled the video from stock components, and the result is a majestic complement to his cinematic track. (Epilepsy warning: significant flashing.)
"LAHAI: Time Travels Memories" - Similar to the Reid Willis video, this "visual poem" by Sampha explores how music is a throughline across generations from distant ancestors to the unseen future, a concept personified by a futuristic kora-player who is part memory, part dream. It was released as part of the rollout of Sampha's album, LAHAI, and he makes his directorial debut here as well (co-directing with filmmaker Caleb Femi).
"Ode To Vivian (Rework)" - A beautiful piano piece by Patrick Watson is accompanied by a wistful dream sequence of a video, in which a quartet of dancers attempts to connect and instead succumbs person by person to surreal gravitational forces. You barely have time to understand its internal logic before it dissipates, clocking in at just under two minutes. Directed, choreographed, and filmed by Yoann Bourgeois.
"Rave Daddy" - When the fiery apocalypse comes, only Rave Daddy will remain to dance among the ruins. He's online now, and he thinks you're looking good. The thumping techno track is by Bjarki, and the video is by Bjarki's frequent collaborator Thomas Harrington Rawle, the mad scientist behind the excellent Care More series. The style is anarcho-bizarre, with a vague sense of uneasy menace underscored by the smile on Rave Daddy's face.
"Lucid" - Thomas Vanz released a neoclassical album last year on Max Cooper's Mesh label called Colors of Invisible, which surprised in part because he's better known as a filmmaker. He enlisted his mentor Roman Hill to create a gorgeous music video that seems at times to emulate the cosmos, but was conceived as "a visual representation of the birth of a cell on a microscopic scale." The video was actually created by capturing the chemical reactions of ink, paint, and other fluids, with no CGI in the mix. Hill is clearly on top of his game here, curating a series of intricate shots that flow as smoothly as the fluid dynamics onscreen.
"Oceans Niagara" - The alien with five eyes watches the children approach. First they walk, then they run, alone and then together - can the alien stop them in time? Does the alien even want to? Perhaps - perhaps the alien is lonely? Who knows, this is a mysterious clip. But the production value is high and the track by M83 (from the Fantasy album) has a pleasing, uplifting quality. Directed by Yann Gonzalez.
Also!
I have a few hardcover copies of my book BATTLE OF THE LINGUIST MAGES to give away over the next several issues!
Just respond to this email with your favorite music video from 2023 and you'll be thrown into a randomizer to potentially receive a hardcover with my signature scrawled in it somewhere. If you don't have a favorite, mention this one and I'll consider it legit. You'll need to have a US address to receive the book.
Exit Music
Sending you out this issue with a pair of mixes that hit the internet in 2023.
The first is courtesy of the Art of Noise, who were commissioned back in 1999 to create a custom mix for radio broadcast as part of London's Millennial Celebration on New Year's Eve. It's a blend of Art of Noise remixes and classic cuts by pop artists from previous years, all chopped to pieces and handily packed into roughly eighteen and a half minutes.
The second is a live set by electronic musician Max Cooper, from a show in Berlin last July. It's #26 in the ongoing Mesh Mix Series, Mesh being the label that Max founded, and spans a range of electronic and house subgenres with ease; you'll hear artists like Nils Frahm, Rival Consoles, John Tejada, Moderat, Lusine, and of course Max himself on this nearly three hour journey.
Here's the YouTube playlist with this issue's recos. Please enjoy responsibly.
Until next time, I remain your friendly correspondent, thinking of you,
Scotto
Scotto Moore is the author of WILD MASSIVE, BATTLE OF THE LINGUIST MAGES, and YOUR FAVORITE BAND CANNOT SAVE YOU.
