An adjective could hurt if it's not caught

Oh, here's another thing i apparently forgot to post.¹ My bros in SCAMS were on the NME site recently with the video for their new song "Lost for Words" (which is out today via loads of places like Amazon, etc.), which is nice.² i can't embed the video unfortunately because it seems to be some sort of NME exclusive, so you'd have to click the words "the NME site" above to see it. i'm always getting gazumped by those bastards!

As you'd expect, my involvement with this video was once again totally essential; in this instance, i wrote out some of those brown parcel tags you see attached to everything³ and attached them to tree branches and stuff, hid in a bush to help throw a load of shredded paperbacks over Sasha ("The Girl") for the scene at e.g. 03:15, and scared the piss out of a bunch of curious forestgoers by wandering silently among them in the dark and then suddenly turning on a powerful flashlight.

¹ Tho i did post the unofficial video as a Song of the Day back last May.
² FYI "Making Maps from Memory" is also a really sweet song, as in "touching" or "poignant" rather than in the least funny scene in cinema history, aka that-bit-in-Dude Where's My Car?, sense.
³ My handwriting's the stuff in all-caps with crosses over the 'i's (e.g. "MIC" at 0:37, "SHIRT" at 03:13).

SCAMS video for "Youngblood"

My pals in the newly-reshuffled SCAMS have teamed up with director Sing J. Lee to make this video for their new tune "Youngblood". A mix of animation and other techniques, it employs some fairly laborious effects practices that used to be industry standard in the past, but have since been superseded by the effortless processes of digital.




There's probably a thesis to be written somewhere about reclaiming creative autonomy from the homogenising effects of technology through the conscious choice of reactivating the 'obsolete', with parallels to be drawn with things like Steve Albini's "The future belongs to the analog loyalists. Fuck digital" slogan from Big Black's Songs About Fucking, WFMU's Antique Phonograph Music Program, and the refusal of cassettes to lie down and die, for example. But i'm not really a philosopher, so maybe someone else can take on that one. Or maybe they already have! Hit me up if you're rolling your eyes at this like "duh! [Writer X] dealt with this in 2008".

Unlike a few other SCAMS (and associated bands) videos, i don't think i actually do anything on this one, except for maybe hanging around chatting nonsense while Sing and Andy painstakingly manipulated bowls of water, plastic cels and paint etc.

Song of the day: #11 Scams – "Lost for Words"

My pals in Scams have a new album coming soon with a load of new songs and suchlike. This one comes with one of the ace found-media videos the group have done so well in the past, where the themes of vocabulary and the limits of expression are reflected solely through edited clips from the educational literacy/numeracy cartoons that used to turn up in Sesame Street. It's PBS-tastic.

"Lost for Words" and another new one, "Helicopter Parents", can also be heard at the band's Facebook and Myspace pages as of now.

Raggedy update

Looking at Will's blog the other day, i noticed in his affiliate links section that i haven't actually written anything on here for four weeks. Eeurgh, terrible business. i have been dealing with various other affairs instead (of which, maybe, more later); but anyway, i thought i'd better check in and at least reassure any potential readers i'm actually still alive.

Main exciting news: i'm pleased to report sightings of two new 30KB tracks! The first one is from the new Certified Banger compilation, the fifth and final installment in the On the Radar series. It's called "My Vote" and in general terms it deals with cultural and political dissatisfaction and the power you wield by choosing wisely. The usual mopey shit, then. The beat was by our associate Article10 ("N.W.W.", "Toleracist 2008"). This tune's also going to be on our forthcoming EP In Spuriis speramus, which should be freely available within an indeterminate timeframe. Vague eh!

You can get hold of the whole On the Radar vol. 5 compilation here. Obviously this is very much advisable.

Some folk have said already said nice things... the great-looking Style43 website, for instance, called us "one of my favourites at the moment... [w]e’re going to be keeping a close eye on them next year, as I reckon they’re another crew who are going to be making movements." Thank-you much! We're gonna have to try and actually make some movements now.

mp3: 30KB – "My Vote" (YSI)

The second tune is a studio version of a song we've occasionally been doing live with our boys Scams for a while now (indeed, we played it at this year's Kendal Calling festival at their invitation). It's called "Up All Night" and according to Scams' Andy, it's about the phenomenon of always seeing days "start from the wrong side", after midnight rather than in the morning. One for the night owls and insomniacs among you. And now, ironically, it's time for more coffee. Word.

mp3: Scams – "Up All Night" feat. 30KB (YSI)