My Favourite Videos of 2008

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the bands I would love to see. One of those bands was The Killers. Ten days ago, I commented on my frustration at not being able to get tickets to see them play at Massey Hall in November. As an update to that, I found out this week that they will be coming back in January to play the Air Canada Centre. Massey Hall would have been a great venue, but I am now in possession of general admission floor tickets to Air Canada Centre!! So I am pretty excited. I have never been on the floor for a general admission show at ACC (I have for seated concerts). Looking forward to it.

In the weeks to come, I will be starting to look at the songs I loved in 2008. In the past, I have given a CD to friends of my top 20 songs. Since I have been blogging about the songs I have been loving (and have a list on the right), it seems a bit redundant. So I have decided to look at different categories, like best single, best album, best lyrics, best live act, etc.

I will start by sharing some of my favourite videos. I don't watch many videos, so feel free to add your favourite to my list of candidates. Official nominees will be announced in a few weeks.

The first one is by a band called Skint & Demoralised. I have been loving them for a few months now, but their music is not officially released on this side of the Atlantic yet. Here's the video released this week for their upcoming first single (being released in the UK in November).



He came up with the idea and it's his friend's first professional production. I love the angles, the lighting and the mystery of the paper. Part of me would love to know what was written on it, but I know that it's so much better for it to remain a mystery. Only a couple of the meetings were staged, but the best reactions were genuine. Love it. Since I first heard this song, I had such a vivid image in my mind of the song. It's interesting to see a different perspective (it's interesting to see a video of a song you have loved for a while as opposed to hearing a song the first time with the video).

Here's a video that is beautiful, breathtaking and heartbreaking (the album was released in 2007, but the video in 2008). James Blunt's Carry You Home. Again, this gives a completely different meaning to the song for me:



Here's the video for possibly my favourite song of 2008...Viva La Vida by Coldplay. Love the lighting, the colours and the fact that it's just the band and the song. I think this song is complete enough without a lot of stuff to distract from it.



Just to show that I'm not only showing artists I love, here's Madonna's 4 minutes...great dancing, great effects, great video:



A beautiful video for Adele's Chasing Pavement. Great song...Beautiful scene...love the shadows.



The Kooks' Always Where I Need to Be...fun and as a Canadian loves scenes of bands playing when they're cold...great jacket!!



Oasis - The Shock of the Lightning...very artistic...very busy...takes lots of viewings to catch everything...Beatles-like if I imagined the Beatles making a modern video.



Proof that I'm getting old. I have been reading about the Ting Tings for months and haven't been able to appreciate the music. Click here for the video (viewed over 6 million times - they have disabled embedding so I can't embed it into my blog)...cool video, but I can't get into the music.


I Will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab For Cutie
I confess, I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I will - it's over 8 minutes long but the cinematography is gorgeous.




I will end with The Killers' new video, Human. Most of The Killers' videos for Human were disabled. This one has a Maroon 5 video tagged at the end, it's a great video but not sure if it's from 2008 or 2007. I'll look into it before I announce my nominees.





What's your favourite video of 2008?

Favourite Dream Lyrics ... part 2

A couple of weekends ago, I was listening to the new Keane CD on a drive up to Ottawa. I was struck by how many dream lyrics there were...sounded like a CD written just for me (not that I could relate to all the dream lyrics, but I do love references to dreams and they had many references to memories and photographs that I also loved).

Then, after having listened to this CD a few times, I decided to listen to an old CD I hadn't listened to in a long time entitled "Pop Favourites". I was again surprised by how many dream lyrics there were (that I hadn't remembered when I posted my favourite dream lyrics back in June).

So in honour of Perfect Symmetry...I present you with my favourite dream lyrics...part 2.

Because now I only see my dreams in everything I touch
Feel their cold hands on everything that I love
Cold like some magnificant skyline
Out of my reach but always in my eye line
(Spiralling by Keane)

I dreamed I was drowning in the River Thames
I dreamed I had nothing at all
Nothing but my own skin
I dreamed I was drifting on the howling wind
I dreamed I had nothing at all
Nothing but my own skin
(The Lovers Are Losing by Keane)

You take the pieces of the dreams that you have
Because you don't like the way they seem to be going
You cut them up and spread them out on the floor
You're full of hope as you begin rearranging
(The Lovers Are Losing by Keane)

Is this what you meant?
Is this what you dreamed of
When you were making your plans
Shaking the dirt off?
(Better Than This by Keane)

I dream in emails, worn-out phrases
Mile after mile of just empty pages
(Perfect Symmetry by Keane)

Well was it just a dream, just a dream?
Because it was real to me
(Again and Again by Keane)

believe it or not...all those lyrics are from their latest album. Now from my Pop Favourites CD...

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win
(Don't Dream it's Over by Crowded House)

Dream about us together again
(Together again by Janet Jackson)

But the years went by and the rock just died
Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy
Long nights crying by the record machine
Dreaming of my chevy and my old blue jeans
(Crocodile Rock by Elton John)

and finally a duplicate from my first favourite dream lyrics
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
and the world will be as one.
(Imagine by John Lennon)