Swirling Murmuration and Blacklightface in This Week’s Holy Hunter of Music Videos
In the adorable video for Lisa Hannigan’s wistful, warning track “Safe Travels (Don’t Die)” we follow the smiley spawn of a sock puppet and paper lantern on his timely (read: fifties era) travels clear to the other side of town to visit some airhead. That’s not a negative remark on her character, either. I can literally only assume that massive noggin is full of it. You should also know that directors Clíona O'Flaherty and Chris Judge are to blame for the cute poisoning. The lyrics are chock-full of clingy tips, so add it to a loved one’s holiday mix as many times over as will fit on one CDR, because I’m sure that won’t drive anyone away.
Where were you a month ago when a mesmerizing two minute clip of a massive starling migration (aka murmuration) captured by two young canoeing Irish ladies went viral? I’m pretty sure I was tied up with something a bit more magical: a game played best at dawn where I get one shot at hurling a bag of cat droppings gracefully from my car window into the dumpster on my way to work. Creators Liberty Smith and Sophie Clive Windsor submitted their serendipitous findings to a recent WWF video competition themed “Life. Nature. You. Make the connection.” And a collective of music students that go by either Nomad Soul or Emmett Glynn and Band provide the phenomenon’s gorgeous soundtrack, defying easy categorization with experimental jazz elements that echo Tortoise or even Bonobo influences.
The video for Portland-based psyche pop trio Nurses’ track “Fever Dreams” baited me for a variety of reasons, the first and foremost being an uncanny resemblance the lead bears to The Mighty Boosh’s Old Gregg. Taken from their sophomore album Dracula, I won’t deny the arrangement itself to be anything less than catchy. It’s also curious to envision a behind the scenes glimpse during production when they flipped on the purple compact fluorescent bulbs and conducted a totally normal conversation between one another while exhibiting what I can only refer to as semi-controversial “blacklightface."
