Showing posts with label daft punk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daft punk. Show all posts
Kanye ft. Daft Punk (Grammys 2008)
Refer to 2:45 into the clip for a seminal mind-blowing Daft Punk cameo, complete with requisite neon electric pyramid.
-dk
Vocoder
Something I've learned about myself is that I very much enjoy effective use of the vocoder in any genre of music. I truly consider the vocoder an instrument on the same level as a guitar or drumset, albeit a purely digital one.
Off the top of my head, my all-time favorite vocoder song list would include (in no particular order):
- Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like I Do?" I can only add here that it's weird to see a graying Frampton pitching Geico car insurance, although it's always nice to get the vocoder some mainstream advertising love.
- Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." Everyone who knows me knows that I was an immediate believer in this song since its release. And while so many classic tunes have been butchered by hip-hop acts (coughpuffdaddycough), Kanye's "Stronger" pushes both songs to immortal status. Thus, I enjoy the pre-Kanye and post-Kanye eras of HBFS's continuing awesomeness. Also, in the "How Much Would You Pay?" game, I think I would pay $500 for a replica Daft Punk robot helmet with functioning LED display.
- ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky." This song has been effectively used in both a VW commercial (I think it was for the new Beetle?) and Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." I like how upbeat and optimistic the song is, although it's always felt to me a little too unrelenting and manic in its pace, which perhaps is some kind of subtle commentary on the soul-crushing march of modern society (or not.)
Honorable mention would go to Styx's "Mr. Roboto," which was also featured in a VW commercial.
Off the top of my head, my all-time favorite vocoder song list would include (in no particular order):
- Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like I Do?" I can only add here that it's weird to see a graying Frampton pitching Geico car insurance, although it's always nice to get the vocoder some mainstream advertising love.
- Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." Everyone who knows me knows that I was an immediate believer in this song since its release. And while so many classic tunes have been butchered by hip-hop acts (coughpuffdaddycough), Kanye's "Stronger" pushes both songs to immortal status. Thus, I enjoy the pre-Kanye and post-Kanye eras of HBFS's continuing awesomeness. Also, in the "How Much Would You Pay?" game, I think I would pay $500 for a replica Daft Punk robot helmet with functioning LED display.
- ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky." This song has been effectively used in both a VW commercial (I think it was for the new Beetle?) and Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." I like how upbeat and optimistic the song is, although it's always felt to me a little too unrelenting and manic in its pace, which perhaps is some kind of subtle commentary on the soul-crushing march of modern society (or not.)
Honorable mention would go to Styx's "Mr. Roboto," which was also featured in a VW commercial.
"Two Videos: Protagonists Remove Their Own Skins"
Common theme in both videos: protagonists remove their flesh until only bone remains.
It is of interest how both videos engage this gimmick, but in opposite ways. Robbie Williams' take (directed by Vaughan Arnell) is lighthearted--a visual gag where the punchline has our singer prancing amidst a bevy of disinterested model types. The twist here is that Williams starts stripping (wink, wink)suggestively, except that he takes it to a literal extreme until he becomes a dancing skeleton. I suppose if I was British I would call this a cheeky joke. (Was that even a pun?)
The Daft Punk clip is a little more complex. Mostly because it scares the living bejeezus out of me. It's like an Aphex Twin video crossed with a Japanese horror movie like The Ring. That being said, I'm still not quite sure what to make of this video (directed low-budget style by Tony Gardner). The narrative arc feels a little too "twist-y" (think M. Night Shyamalan), but it's hard not to empathize with this confused (and possibly bipolar) little girl.
I suppose it's best not to read too much into either video. I just enjoy the fact that these two videos take vastly different approaches to a similar concept. Interestingly, the Robbie Williams clip is far more bloody and violent, which is only meant to add to the slapstick humor, yet the bloodless razor slicing and peeling of the Daft Punk video somehow makes the act even more disturbing.
Enough of my ramblings -- here are the two videos:
Robbie Williams - "Rock DJ"
Daft Punk - "Prime Time of Your Life"
It is of interest how both videos engage this gimmick, but in opposite ways. Robbie Williams' take (directed by Vaughan Arnell) is lighthearted--a visual gag where the punchline has our singer prancing amidst a bevy of disinterested model types. The twist here is that Williams starts stripping (wink, wink)suggestively, except that he takes it to a literal extreme until he becomes a dancing skeleton. I suppose if I was British I would call this a cheeky joke. (Was that even a pun?)
The Daft Punk clip is a little more complex. Mostly because it scares the living bejeezus out of me. It's like an Aphex Twin video crossed with a Japanese horror movie like The Ring. That being said, I'm still not quite sure what to make of this video (directed low-budget style by Tony Gardner). The narrative arc feels a little too "twist-y" (think M. Night Shyamalan), but it's hard not to empathize with this confused (and possibly bipolar) little girl.
I suppose it's best not to read too much into either video. I just enjoy the fact that these two videos take vastly different approaches to a similar concept. Interestingly, the Robbie Williams clip is far more bloody and violent, which is only meant to add to the slapstick humor, yet the bloodless razor slicing and peeling of the Daft Punk video somehow makes the act even more disturbing.
Enough of my ramblings -- here are the two videos:
Robbie Williams - "Rock DJ"
Daft Punk - "Prime Time of Your Life"
"Recent Listening"
I am really enjoying Daft Punk's latest live release, Alive 2007. Did you know that this is Daft Punk's second official live album, the first being done in 1997 (the appropriately titled Alive 1997)? Comparing the two, I've been thinking about how far along their music has evolved in ten years. Yet, at the same time the goal remains the same: high energy French electro-house music rearranged and remixed into a continuously danceable set. My favorite part of Alive 2007 is this blended remix of "Around the World" and "Harder Better Faster Stronger."
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