Hall of Awesome: Best Albums of 2007

10

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová

Once: Music from the Motion Picture

9

of Montreal

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

8

Feist

The Reminder

7

Justice

†

6

They Might Be Giants

The Else

5

Patton Oswalt

Werewolves and Lollipops

4

Jens Lekman

Night Falls Over Kortedala

3

Sondre Lerche

Phantom Punch

2

Loney, Dear

Loney, Noir

1

Panda Bear

Person Pitch

Before I begin, I'm gonna go ahead and say that I never ended up buying the new albums by The National, Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A, or any of the other albums that seem to be dotting everyone else's year-end best-of lists. I am constantly amazed at the sheer volume of music other bloggers are able to listen to and absorb. How some people are able to listen to countless CDs over the course of a year and actually be able to come to a consensus over their favorite 20, 25, even 50, is beyond me. After ten, aren't you just picking CDs at random? If a CD makes my list, it is become I am in love with nearly every single song on it. I can't put Radiohead's new album on the list simply because I haven't had enough time to fully absorb every song. It takes a while for me to really get into the spirit of an album and to figure out exactly what the musician or band was going for. That probably explains why a lot of the CDs that made my list were released in late winter or early spring.

Kicking off my list is the downright beautiful soundtrack for Once, a film that is bound to make my best movies list...when I get around to actually writing it. Hansard and Irglová wrote all of the songs themselves and their vocal deliveries are unparalleled. Of course, the ever-prolific of Montreal delivered another terrific album with endlessly catchy melodies and increasingly experimental song structure (the twelve-minute "The Past is a Grotesque Animal" is proof of Kevin Barnes' genius). I had Feist's new CD and was semi-impressed by it, but once I got to see her live, I revisited the album and found myself entranced by all the new sounds and emotions I was able to find within it. Justice came out of nowhere to deliver the album everyone was waiting for Daft Punk to put out (meanwhile, Daft Punk's Alive 2007 more than made up for the misstep that was Human After All). They Might Be Giants was another band I got to see live, but by that time, I was already in love with their latest album, which was definitely a grower, but at least half of the songs on there were so incessantly catchy, I couldn't get them out of my head for months. Patton Oswalt's Werewolves and Lollipops marks my first-ever inclusion of a stand-up comedy album on my annual top ten list, but what an album it is. I still crack up every time I listen to "Death Bed," and the DVD, intended as a "bonus" for those who don't download the album, is almost as essential as the album itself. I was blown away by Jens Lekman's compilation Oh, You're So Silent Jens and his newest studio album shows him in fine form. Indeed, he samples everything from old doo-wop music to scratchy recordings of himself as a child, yet everything comes off as the most sincere and original music released this year. Meanwhile, Sondre Lerche released a new hard-rockin' album that could've easily doubled for a greatest hits collection, since every single track on Phantom Punch is solid and totally worthy of some radio play (sadly, Clear Channel hates talent). Loney, Dear went under the radar after a decidedly low-key Sub Pop debut, but I hope his inclusion at the number two spot on my list will inspire you to go out and get it, or at least to listen to such brilliant tracks as "Saturday Waits" and "I Am John." Finally, I have never been able to listen to an entire Animal Collective album front-to-back, but I immediately fell in love with the stark beauty and meditative nature of Noah Lennox's Panda Bear side project. I have taken to describing Person Pitch as a cross between the Beach Boys and Sigur Rós, but that comparison doesn't really do it justice. Take a listen to "Bros" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

And now, without further ado, the honorable mentions:

"Thanks, Santa. Also, I talk now."

It just wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't point you guys in the direction of McSweeney's, where they've posted excerpts from Ben Joseph's script for Alien vs. Predator Save Christmas. Spread the yuletide cheer with some good 'ol fashioned alien blasting!

Christmas Update!

So, I should probably go ahead and let everyone know that I am hard at work on a documentary short about the indie music industry and how the Internet has changed the way bands market themselves and distribute their music. It's gonna be called Firewall of Sound, and hopefully, everyone will be able to see it this April.

But, for now, let me wish everyone some good 'ol fashioned Christmas cheer with this video of the Prayers & Tears performing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" at the Christmas at the Cradle event last year. Perry, the leader of the band, is one of the people I am interviewing for the film and he is a super-awesome guy who makes some amazing music, which you can hear a good deal of on his band's official website.



Plenty more footage from the concert can be found here.

UPDATE: I almost forgot. Perry pointed me in the direction of this really solid compilation of Christmas music by fellow blogger Hard to Find a Friend. It's only seven bucks and all proceeds go to Toys for Tots. I'm listening to it right now and I can tell you it's totally worth it!

Rich Aucoin's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"

Here's a novel idea. Record a cool indie rock EP with the intention of having it sync up with a timeless Christmas special. Singer/songwriter Rich Aucoin achieves this with his EP Personal Publication by having it sync up with Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and the results are pretty impressive:

Give it a few minutes for the visuals to show up. The idea is the sync starts up right when track three begins, so there's a couple minutes of black with just music playing.

UPDATE: Apparently, Rich had to pull the video due to copyright, which makes absolutely no sense to me, since the video doesn't have the sound from the TV special, so anyone who watches it isn't getting to watch the actual Grinch Stole Christmas for free.

Hall of Awesome: Worst Movies of 2007

I know, it's not very awesome, but this is my chance to riff on some truly bad movies I saw this year, and God knows they deserve it. Also, I refuse to see dreck like Norbit and Epic Movie, so don't bother commenting on why they aren't on my list. So, without further ado:

1. Flanders (dir. Bruno Dumont)
   As a film student, I frequently find myself defending some really difficult movies, ones that mainstream audiences simply aren’t meant to see, much less comprehend. “I know Drawing Restraint 9 doesn’t make any sense, but it’s so fascinating to watch!” “Give Old Joy a few more viewings. I’m sure you’ll come to love it!” Then there are films that are simply not worth defending. I have tried to come up with a reason why the 2006 Cannes jury decided to give one of their highest honors to this film, especially since the jury consisted of such great actors like Samuel L. Jackson, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth, and Zhang Ziyi. For Flanders, director Bruno Dumont decided to conjure up the most depraved, indifferent, and downright horrible people he could find…and then make a movie about them. When a character isn’t walking down a road, or through a forest, or across a field, or through a war zone (there’s a lot of walking in this film), they’re either raping someone or getting raped. Or exploding. Maybe if Dumont made us genuinely care about these people, I would’ve been more receptive. But it seems his intentions are to make us hate these people in the beginning, downright despise them in the middle, and ultimately not to give a fuck what happens to them by movie’s end. Even though the screening of this film was free, I felt as if a part of my soul had been taken from me by the time the lights went up.
   
2. Spider-Man 3 (dir. Sam Raimi) / Shrek the Third (dir. Chris Miller) (tie)
   As far as sequels go, Shrek 2 was halfway decent and Spider-Man 2 was pretty damn good. But both of them are Empire Strikes Back-quality when compared to their god-awful third chapters. For Spider-Man 3, Sam Raimi decided to forego the usual plot development and story arcs in favor of an extended montage of Tobey Maguire hopping around like a fucking idiot, all while alienating the cardboard Kirsten Dunst in a subplot that somehow got bumped up to the main storyline. Even when we actually focus on the superhero stuff, it’s pretty pathetic. Sandman and Venom aren’t handled with nearly as much attention and care as Alfred Molina (Doc Oc) and Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin) were in the previous two films. I’ve always said that a Spider-Man film is only as good as its bad guy, and with two mediocre ones (not including James Franco as an amnesia-suffering Hobgoblin, and whatever that black alien ooze is), this third entry in the franchise just may be the last. Oh, and the same goes for the third Shrek movie. Anyone could’ve told you you’re making a big mistake when you cast Justin Timberlake as a main character. And the way the filmmakers use “Immigrant Song” is unforgivable.
   
3. Lions for Lambs (dir. Robert Redford)
   I’m sorry; I’m usually not this mean to movies I get to see for free, but I have to speak up about this one. Initially, I described this movie to friends as “Crash with politics,” but the problem with this comparison is that I actually liked Crash the first time I saw it. The reason I dislike Robert Redford’s new movie so much is that it’s one of those films that hits you over the head with its message, even though it’s murky as to what that message is exactly. Redford tries to criticize the Republican machine, but also dilutes that criticism by frequently blaming us for our lack of involvement. Not even Meryl Streep can save this film from stumbling into an incoherent jumble of liberal rhetoric and holier-than-thou posturing from poli-sci professor Redford. This is the guy that did Quiz Show, right?
   
4. Bug (dir. William Friedkin)
   This might have been a better movie if I had seen it in a different context, but I doubt it. Hopelessly misleading blurbs and plot descriptions dotted the DVD box for this film, leading me and my friends to believe we were about to watch a gripping horror film about bug infestations. How wrong we were. Ashley Judd gives a pretty impressive performance, but how hard is it to act like a fucking lunatic, especially when there’s another lunatic onscreen (Michael Shannon) who’s acting even crazier than you are?
   
5. Fracture (dir. Gregory Hoblit)
   Speaking of lunatics, Anthony Hopkins has made a career out of playing them. Every time he appears in a movie, I have a sneaking suspicion that someone else in that movie is about to die. In Fracture, Hopkins once again plays a kook, hell-bent on killing his wife and, more importantly, getting away with it. The audience finds the loophole that will incriminate Hopkins long before bland D.A. Ryan Gosling does, and the excellent Embeth Davidtz (Junebug) is sadly underused as Hopkins’ wife. The real crime is that the filmmakers tried to mix Silence of the Lambs with “Law & Order” without realizing that the crime that occurs onscreen could’ve been solved by Jodie Foster or Jerry Orbach before we even cut to commercial.

Hall of Awesome: Best Music Videos of 2007

Oh my God, is it already that time again? I apologize for my lack of posting towards the end of the year. I have been hard at work on not one, but two short films, which will hopefully be shown at various festivals around mid-2008. With that said, I'd like to begin this year's Hall of Awesome by showcasing some of my favorite music videos.

5. The Strokes, "You Only Live Once" (dir. Warren Fu)

Even though The Strokes had already released a video for the lead track off their last LP, 2006's First Impressions of Earth, I guess they felt it could've used a rewrite. So, they invited director Warren Fu to deliver a CGI-laden, 2001: A Space Odyssey referencing mini-movie.

4. Bat for Lashes, "What's a Girl to Do?" (dir. Dougal Wilson)

What is it about guys in animal masks that creep me out? Dougal Wilson turns out a well-choreographed bike ride with English singer/songwriter Natasha Khan that is anything but cute and cuddly.

3. Grizzly Bear, "Knife" (dir. Encyclopedia Pictura)

The boldly experimental production group Encyclopedia Pictura turned out this daring and bizarre little music video, perfectly complementing the daring and bizarre music of Grizzly Bear. I'd make a pun about studying geology "in-depth," but that kind of humor is below me.

2. Feist, "1234" (dir. Patrick Daughters)

This is one of those videos that you watch and it makes you end up with a smile on your face. I was surprised to learn that the whole thing was done in one take with no computer trickery to mask the other performers. There's a really cool making-of where you can see most of the single take from different angles.

1. Mute Math, "Typical" (dir. Israel Anthem)

Yes, I know the backwards thing has been done before, but Mute Math does the backwards thing really well and don't stop with the cool effects. This is also the first time I've really been impressed with the lead singer's lip-syncing to the backwards version of the song. Check the bizarre live version of this video on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Jon Stewart's Post-9/11 "Daily Show" Speech

I've been going into "Daily Show" withdrawal ever since the WGA strike started, so I took to the 'Tube and searched for any clips of Jon Stewart. I was surprised to find someone had uploaded a speech Stewart gave on the first episode of "The Daily Show" since the attacks on September 11th. Keep in mind I didn't start watching "The Daily Show" on a regular basis until my senior year of high school, so this entire segment was new to me.

It's a startling nine-minute monologue with Stewart laying it out and telling it like it is. No sugar-coated diatribe on how we're all gonna move on with our lives, no phony sentimentality. Just straight from the heart honesty and compassion. I've always said that I love Stephen Colbert but his character on "The Colbert Report" is just that: a character. When Jon Stewart does his thing, it honestly feels like he's speaking his mind and telling you what he thinks is wrong with the world. Sure, he has roughly 14 writers working behind-the-scenes, making sure he gets that everyman tone just right, but it's humbling to see that, at least for nine minutes, he was able to speak his peace and move on:



I know it seems weird to post this at this time, but I just saw it and wanted to write a post about it. I hope everyone out there has a Happy Thanksgiving!

5 More Scary Music Videos

UPDATE: Use this playlist to view these videos plus eleven others! Click the playlist button at the bottom of the video to choose the videos listed on this page.


One of the most frequently linked-to blog posts I ever wrote was one in which I listed my top five favorite scary music videos. Well, I've recently fixed some of the YouTube links that have gone stale and I got to thinkin...it being Halloween and all, why not showcase a few more of these creepy vids?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Y Control" (dir. Spike Jonze)
Spike Jonze is generally well-known for his lighthearted videos for Fatboy Slim, featuring either Christopher Walken flying around a hotel lobby, or Jonze himself breakdancing in front of a movie theater. But did you know he made this creepy little promo for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Deranged children flicking off the camera while a wild-eyed Karen O dances around them is a good way to start, but pretty soon, Jonze has the little kiddies drag a dead dog around a barren room, chop off each others hands, and slice open their stomachs, all done in a decidedly low-budget grindhouse fashion. This is Bizarro Sesame Street! UPDATE: The link broke, so I found a version on YouTube that includes a goofy intro Jonze recorded with one of the kids.

Daft Punk, "Prime Time of Your Life" (dir. Tony Gardner)
You'd think Daft Punk would be the last band to do a unsettling music video, but they've got two! "Technologic" made my list last year and I even picked this one for Most Disturbing Vid in my 2006 Hall of Awesome. The message is that the girl in the video suffers from a poor self-image that makes everyone around her seem skinny (or, in this case, skeletal). But it's really just a pretense for director and effects wizard Tony Gardner to dole out some shocking and graphic imagery. The mechanical droning of the song doesn't make the video any less creepy.

TV on the Radio, "Wolf Like Me" (dir. Jon Watts)
So, my affinity for the videos of Jon Watts are well-documented, but rarely does he get under your skin as effectively as he does here, with this vid for indie darlings TV on the Radio. A combination of factors help make this video work, such as the gritty quality of the film stock, the silent movie title cards, and the rigid stop-motion animation of the werewolves. Watts' website has a higher-quality version of this vid, along with many more that are worth watching.

Röyksopp, "What Else is There" (dir. Martin De Thurah)
Electronic duo Röyksopp's video library is pretty well-rounded. They've got the fun and surprisingly informative "Remind Me," the endangered species escape film in "Poor Leno," and the animated postcards of "Eple," but this one caught me by surprise. We can go ahead and establish that Karin Dreijer of Scandanavian electronic group The Knife is a pretty creepy individual, but even though that's her voice singing, the woman floating around in the video is actually a model named Marianne Schröder. (Dreijer makes an appearance at the end.) It's still a weird-ass vid, with flying houses, dripping milk, smoking trees, and general apocalyptic visions. It's Lynchian symbolism at its darkest.

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, "The Owl" (dir. Emmanuel Ho)
Who would've guessed that a two-minute instrumental would make for such an effectively grim music video? Ho's sparse animation style fits the stark visual of a crow tethered to...something, as it tries in futility to reach the light billowing through a window, all while the title character sinisterly watches from afar, its harsh white eyes glaring directly at the camera. Poetic, minimalist, and downright creepy. If you aren't afraid of owls, you just might be after watching this video.

I just might start making this a yearly feature, so if you know any other scary music videos I have yet to mention, send me an e-mail! I leave you with a humorous look at the life of a pumpkin, by Waverly Films, the production group Jon Watts is a part of:

They Might Be Giants, "The Mesopotamians"

Another brilliant animated music video for TMBG, this time for my favorite track from their new album, The Else:

They Might Be Giants - The Mesopotamians

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A Radiohead Revelation

If you don't know by now, here are a few headlines:

1. Radiohead has a new album out, In Rainbows. It will be available digitally on October 10 (in ten days!) and in physical form on December 3.

2. The physical form is a "discbox," consisting of the album on CD and two 12" records, a bonus CD of outtakes, and tons of cool artwork, all wrapped up in a box. Each "discbox" is £40, or roughly $81, and the price includes shipping and handling to anywhere on Earth. Everyone who pre-orders the discbox will get a download key for the album on Oct. 10.

3. If you choose to get just the download, you can name your own price, and since Radiohead will not be sending out promos of the album, everyone will get the music on the same day at the same time. No leaks, no illegal downloads, nothing until the 10th.

4. A CD version of the album will be released in early 2008.

The list of shit I want for Christmas is already pretty insane, what with the Stanley Kubrick DVD box set, the 5-disc Blade Runner suitcase, and Stephen Colbert's new book, so I doubt adding an $80 Radiohead album would be a good idea. Still, it looks pretty awesome:



Update: In response to people wondering if you can pay nothing for the new album...


Don't worry; I already pre-ordered the album last night and offered up the adequate price of $5 (roughly £2.45). This was just an experiment to see if it would work.

Old News

I'd tell you the new Darjeeling Limited prequel, Hotel Chevalier, starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman, and directed by Wes Anderson, is available for free on iTunes, but you probably already knew that.

Tear it Down, One Pixel at a Time

50099I usually don't get political on this site, but I was very impressed by Amnesty International's new website asking people to pledge to help tear down Guantánamo Bay. Cruel, inhuman treatment of prisoners by Americans is something we can not and should not allow, and pledging your support is one way we can help end illegal torture. I also really like the design of the website, which removes a pixel from the image of Guantánamo detainees every time someone pledges their support.

Savage Chickens Get Animated

Doug Savage proves his worth in this stop-motion animated video featuring a song by Laura Veirs and everybody's favorite online post-it cartoon chickens!

Theremin-Playing Robots Cover Gnarls Barkley

And I thought having "Weird Al" parody your song was proof you'd made it to the big time. Link via MoonMilk.

Kubrick, Godard, and more finally get the DVDs they deserve!

2007 is slowly turning out to be the year to score some classic movies on new fully-loaded special edition DVDs. Here's just a sample:

• Warner Bros. Video has announced that they will be releasing a Director's Series: Stanley Kubrick Collection box set on 10/23. The set will include brand-new, two-disc, remastered special editions of 2001: A Space Odyssey (my constant pick for greatest movie of all-time), The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut and single-disc editions of Full Metal Jacket and the documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures. The Shining has been restored to its original widescreen version, and Eyes Wide Shut will finally be released uncut. Documentaries and making-of featurettes abound. In addition, bare-bones but remastered versions of Lolita and Barry Lyndon will be available separately. (Source: DVDActive)
  
  
• The Criterion Collection has revamped their website, turning it into an online store where you can buy their über-awesome special edition DVDs directly from the source, at a discount price, no less! This October, they will release a new 2-disc edition of Jean-Luc Godard's landmark film Breathless, which will include video interviews with cast and crew, an 80-min. French documentary on the making of the film, and tons more. Other noteworthy releases include Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven, a 2-disc re-release of Alfred Hitckcock's The Lady Vanishes (featuring audio from François Truffaut's famous interview with Hitchcock), and new movies by Criterion regulars Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman.
  
  
• If crazy TV is more your style, you'll be happy to know that David Lynch's groundbreaking series Twin Peaks will finally be available, pilot episode and all, in a new Gold Box Edition on 10/30.
  
  
• Pixar will finally release all of their beloved (and often award-winning) short films in one collection, Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1, on 11/6, which will include every single short film since 1984's The Adventures of André and Wally B. (Also, Ratatouille will be out the same day.)
  
  
• And, of course, unless you've been avoiding the Internet for the last year or so, you probably already know about the 5-disc Ultimate Edition of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, which will include the highly-anticipated "Final Cut" of the movie, with new scenes, effects, and 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, as well as three other versions of the film (theatrical and international versions, as well as the first director's cut), a three-hour documentary, and the never-before-seen "workprint version" of the film. Fortunately, if you don't have the greenbacks for the 5-disc edition (which comes in a f**king suitcase!), there are tons of other versions available to purchase, from a 2-disc edition that just features the final cut and the documentary, to a 4-disc edition that includes everything but the workprint.

There Will Be Blood New Trailer

There's been a trailer circulating YouTube for P.T. Anderson's new movie for quite some time, but here's the new, more official-looking trailer that just debuted:



If I wasn't already excited about this movie, I am now. Daniel Day-Lewis looks positively villainous, Paul Dano (of Little Miss Sunshine fame) seems poised to be the next big thing, and an original score by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood? Holy crap!

There Will Be Blood gets unleashed on the unsuspecting masses 11/21.

DVD Review: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

The two-disc DVD for the Aqua Teen movie, as per Williams Street standards, piles on the extras, though they might not be the extras die-hard ATHF fans were hoping for. Disc one has a commentary track with musician Patti Smith, Onion editor Todd Hanson, SNL's Fred Armisen (who also provides the voice of Time Lincoln), and Dana Snyder, the voice of Master Shake. Like most Adult Swim commentary tracks, it's just for shits 'n giggles and doesn't really provide any insight on the making of the film, but it's still fun to listen to. Plus, I now know a lot more about Patti Smith than I ever cared to know. For those who actually care about how the movie was made, there's a short behind-the-scenes documentary featuring the cast and crew, storyboards, and a pretty funny foley artist session including, in a bout of Mythbusters-inspired lunacy, the firing of a real-life potato cannon.

The selling point of the second disc is Colon, an 80-minute "deleted movie," which is essentially an early 2005 workprint version, before the addition of the Egypt opening, the Walter Melon subplot and before the special guests signed on (except for Bruce Campbell). Most of the deleted scenes that appear in Colon already appeared in finished form in the Aqua Teen "Star Studded Xmas Spectacular," which is also included on the disc. Most worth your while, however, are the music videos, which consist of either recording sessions or live performances at the movie's Atlanta premiere. The best of these are the ones featuring a quartet of radio jingle singers recording the opening song, "Groovy Time for a Movie Time," and Mastadon recording their death-metal response, "Cut You Up With a Linoleum Knife." There's just something about a group of middle-aged men and women collectively singing "Don't pull your penis out unless you really need to!" that puts a smile on your face. All of Dana Snyder's "man-on-the-street" promos are here, as well as the mock-interview he did with Bob Odenkirk, playing the obnoxious film critic Danny Mothers.

Overall, some pretty nice extras to complement a downright hilarious movie. My only complaint is that there aren't a lot of tidbits on how the movie got made exactly. How did they get all their special guests (other than by offering a fat paycheck)? Who came up with the idea for that ridiculous opening sequence? And how did the Boston bomb scare affect the marketing of the film? Other than a brief mention during the commentary that the Mooninites are the "Bin Ladens of the cartoon world," the subject is never brought up.

Maybe I'm just looking way too much into this.

Be Kind, Rewind Trailer!!

Thanks to Film Ick for the scoop. You can now download the trailer to Michel Gondry's latest flick, Be Kind, Rewind, in which two hapless video store clerks (Jack Black and Mos Def) are forced to stage their own versions of popular movies after Black mistakenly erases all of their videos. The film also features Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz, and Sigourney Weaver, not to mention some hilarious send-ups of movies like Driving Miss Daisy, Ghostbusters, RoboCop, and tons more.


How may we be of service? From left to right: Diaz, Black, Def.

Classic "Even Stevphen" Daily Show Clip

Here's some vintage Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert banter on stem cell research, courtesy of The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Stem Cell Debate
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

New Chemical Brothers Video - "The Salmon Dance"

"The Salmon Dance" was one of the most unusual tracks to appear on the Chemical Brothers latest album, We Are The Night, or to appear on any of their albums for that matter. It features underground hip-hop legend Fatlip rapping about the ubiquitous fish and the strange dance it inspires. Also featured is a disembodied voice (known to Fatlip as "Sammy the Salmon") who relays various factoids about salmon throughout the song.

Anyway, in typical Chemical Brothers fashion, the accompanying video features a stoned-out slacker hallucinating a rave-up in his apartment aquarium, complete with a beatboxing blowfish. Here's the vid in Windows Media and RealPlayer formats. Look for the Chemical Brothers in an unusual cameo appearance at the end of the video.