Snacking on a Praying Mantis Video
Related Videos
This installment of the Week in a Minute brings teenage witchcraft, a giant praying mantis, and the death of the Blackberry. The Week in a Minute is a cut-and-paste compilation of some of our favorite videos from the past week.
1.)
Jaga Jazzist: "Animal Chin"
2.)
"Tamara" trailer
3.)
Sarah Harmer: "I Am Aglow"
4.)
Hillary for president?
5.)
Zion I: "The Bay"
6.)
Is Army near breaking point?
7.)
"Akeelah and the Bee" trailer
8.)
The French Maids present: "How to Video Podcast"
9.)
Miss America, on her platform
10.)
Funki Porcini: "What Are You Looking At?"
11.)
Singing the BlackBerry blues
12.)
"Unknown White Male" trailer
13.)
Gnocchi, featuring "orange rescue"
14.)
Amon Tobin: "Four Ton Mantis"
Click
here for the Week in a Minute archive.
A mechanical praying mantis feasts on the tossed off body parts of humans living in post-industrial madness in this Floria Sigismondi directed video.
This video is from "Zen TV," a collection of videos from Ninja Tune that includes some of the biggest figures in electronic
music, paired with some of the most creative directors in the world.
Since the mid-nineties and the groundbreaking Stealth parties at the Blue Note in Hoxton Square, Ninja has been almost as well
respected for its engagement with visuals as it has for its audio. Now at last, the two come together on this massive
retrospective of almost a decade of experiment, innovation, humour and weirdness.
Let's get the spec out of the way first.
The ZenTV DVD has twice the capacity of a normal DVD, containing as it does 35 promo videos from the label, a fifteen minute
audiovisual mix and a 30 minutes audio mix from Hexstatic. And as if that wasn't enough, the DVD has a state-of-the-art menu
system which means you can watch the videos either in the order we intended, randomly, or chronologically from the oldest to the
newest or the newest to the oldest. You can also look up any specific act and check out their videos and album art. Or just leave
a gallery of some of Ninja's finest covers running in the corner of the room as a kind of ambient art installation dahlink? Mwah.
But that just scratches the surface, really, cos after all, in the kingdom of the blind content is king. Or something like that.
You know the music is going to be good (we hope you know the music is going to be good), but what about the visuals?
Well, one advantage with not having hit records (Coldcut's "Beats & Pieces" remains our one top forty for 12 years work) is that
you don't have to worry about getting your promos shown on daytime MTV or TOTP or any of those hellholes of visual mediocrity
where all the bands have to look fabulous and if they don't, well you better make sure you put some models in there who do? So
instead, you can be (whisper it) creative.
Which is why some of the top up-and-coming names in video direction and animation have worked for Ninja in the last few years.
Because they know that if they pitch an interesting, visually striking, innovative idea, they will be left to get on with it
without interference. Established directors like Alexander Rutterford (Amon Tobin, now working for Radiohead) Sam Arthur (DJ
Vadim) as well as young turks like Conkerko (Bonobo). Fizzy Eye made their first music video for Wagon Christ (the truly
excellent "Receiver") and have since gone on to do commercials for Honda, proving that a track record with Ninja doesn't ruin
your business prospects.
Beyond this, artists like Kid Koala and Jaga Jazzist often even commission their own videos, working with close associates to
find the perfect match between their sound and the director's vision. As if that wasn't enough, there are artists on the label
who are intimately involved in the creation of their own videos, whether it's the Scruff cartoons that make up the basis of his
Cosgrove Hall-animated "Sweet Smoke," the pioneering audiovisual cut-ups of Hexstatic and Coldcut, Funki Porcini's satires of
adverts or his weird, otherworldly concrete moving abstracts.
Overall, since those early audiovisual mash-ups, the driving force behind all of Ninja's visual work has been that the video is
not merely an unrelated promo item to sell a single but should be intimately related to the sounds it represents. The budgets may
be small, some results may be more effective than others, but there's no denying that the attempts to realise this ideal are
never less than interesting.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Click here for the rest of the exciting videos from this collection.
The 404 455: Where we get 'annalytical' with Anna David
The lovely and brilliant Anna David joins the show today to fill Justin's diminutive shoes. Pray for him. He's still not feeling too well. Our beautiful new co-host tells us about her new Web site Annalytical Answers, where she answers your questions about dating, love and--yes--S.E.X. Wilson can barely contain himself.
Yep Roc is proud to introduce The Moaners, a female rock duo that manages to capture the unapologetic sexuality of Polly Jean Harvey with the raw amplified blues of the Fat Possum crowd. Featuring former Trailer Bride front woman Melissa Swingle and transplanted Baltimore punk drummer Laura King, The Moaners unleash a batch of hard love songs on their debut, Dark Snack. From the opening yowl of feedback that precedes the albums pounding opener,"Heart Attack,"to the sense of longing on "Talk About It" ("I know you dont want to talk about it theres too much to say"), this album is an exuberant expression of freedom and sexual emancipation from a distinctly female perspective. Whereas Swingles previous band, Trailer Bride, conjured visions of dark, Flannery OConnor-esque tales, moss-covered trees and mournful secrets, The Moaners are a rock band that are as comfortable invoking the spirit of Chapel Hill-born folk blues legend Elizabeth Cotton as doing their own reworking of "House of the Rising Sun" with lyrics inspired by a local rural joint, the Paradise Club. Swingles Mississippi-bred drawl wraps around the lyrics like a warm wind an instantly recognizable voice that can go from honeydrip sweet to searing in seconds flat. Check out the track "Terrier," where an exasperated Swingle snarls, "But you know, you aint no Great Dane?" It's the best dismissal of a pushy sort of, uh, overcompensating man you?ll ever hear. The two women cut a striking image on stage. Both brunettes, Swingle is tall and willow thin, usually sporting a huge pair of 70s-era Jackie O. shades, maintaining a sultry onstage aura of cool but all the while seeming like a kettle about to boil. Playing a tuned down hollow-body guitar and using loops and delays, her guitar sound is full and visceral the kind volume you can feel pulsing under your ribcage. Drummer King, whos been playing since age 11 (shes a vet of Baltimore bands Pedge, Headless and others), is a muscular, hard-hitting drummer who beats the hell out of her clear Vistalite bicentennial kit. They met when their former bands played a gig together King was playing in Grand National, a rock trio featuring fIREHOSEs Ed Crawford on guitar. Swingle was going through the dissolution of her marriage. "I was blown away by her drumming, Swingle recalls. I started writing songs to fit her drumming, which is very rock and roll. Basically, once we started playing, our styles collided and it became what it is. Were both self-taught, so its like a real natural feel. It was like, Forget the sad songs, its time to rock and roar." A collaborative effort fueled by estrogen and Sparks (a caffeinated malt liquor beverage the two started drinking during the recording of the album), King adds backing vocals and contributes lyrics; Swingle, also an accomplished artist, contributes to the visuals. The two make their own buttons and T-shirts and have already hit the road with everyone from pals the Drive-By Truckers to Wanda Jackson, as well as making a splash at Chicagos Estrojam festival. The sky is the limit, the road is truly their lady, and the chemistry is audible. There is nothing mournful about this music, Swingle says. This is music to crank up and drive around to!! These are the most rockin love songs Ive ever written not sweet ones. A lot of Trailer Bride was minor key, depressing music. Im happy with what weve got!
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos brought a Scooba from iRobot to its Domestic Research Labs (otherwise known as the snack room) to watch it suck up Diet Coke, eat pretzel crumbs, and take on the soda machine.
The week in a minute: 11/04/05
A digest of some of the past week's best videos, brought to you by the Download.com Video team. This week, we have evil toys, squirming snacks, and a fierce God warrior.
1.) Miles Davis: "Call it Anything" live at Isle of Wight Festival 1970
2.) Pet Shop Boys: "It's a Sin" live
3.) Super 8: "For Your Listening Pleasure"
4.) "The Last Holiday" trailer
5.) "Leo and Jenny"
6.) "Trading Spouses" clip: "God Warrior"
7.) "Lou Reed: Transformer" DVD clip: "'Walk on the Wild Side' bassline"
8.) Amazing Mario
9.) Snacking on a Praying Mantis
10.) GMV bodybuilding DVD: Clip
11.) Smoosh: "LA Pump"
12.) Murs: "Badman"
13.) "The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland" DVD clip: "The Making of 'Crosstown Traffic'"
14.) David Bell: "Riding With Private Malone"
15.) Run-by Farting
Click here for the Week in a Minute archive.
Daily Debrief: Preparing for iPhone madness
If you're planning on waiting in line for a new iPhone 3G on Friday, there are some key items to bring along--aside from snacks and amusements. In Wednesday's edition of the Daily Debrief, CNET News' Kara Tsuboi and Tom Krazit discuss what you can expect in the purchase process, and what a few early reviewers had to say about the phone.
Channel Frederator - Cavalcade of Laffs - Meth Minute 39
'Cavalcade of Laffs' is the 10th episode of The
Meth Minute 39 cartoon series by Dan Meth. Here
we are introduced to Sir George Flinchley, an
eccentric ram who manages a menagerie of stand-up
comedians. George is insane, however, and his
combination of untalented acts and inappropriate
venues combine to produce chaotic results. In
this installment, George unleashes an insecure
mantis on a roomful of geriatrics. "Cavalcade of
Laffs" was created and written by Dan Meth and
Ryan Van Winkle many years ago and is finally
being let loose on the Internet.
See the full story
Although iTunes has always been one of the best pieces of jukebox software available, the company continues to improve upon a great thing with version 6, which adds the much-rumored video capabilities. Though the last major release of this program featured a revamped design, the big news this time around is a video player that accomodates both your own files and ones you buy at the iTunes Music Store. The experience of both purchasing and playing videos is almost identical to perfoming the same actions with music, so seasoned users will have no trouble. All the features we've loved from past versions are still intact, including seamless iPod integration, smart playlists, CD burning, label printing, the ability to rip files in multiple formats (except WMA), network sharing, and, of course, the enormously successful iTunes Music Store. Rounding out the feature set are parental controls, integrated podcasts, and a smart-shuffle option. Whether you're already among the converted or have yet to try this top-notch player, iTunes 6 should find a home on any media junkie's computer.
The French Kicks: "When You Heard You"
These dandy rockers love golf.
