Chosen by DJ Monk
As usual, we received almost 100 submissions vying for the coveted industry title of our ‘Video Of The Week’. And it takes a lot for the winners to fight their way to the top. We do apply a number of criteria, of course: these include no straight-to-camera performance pieces, while lyric videos also tend to be be relegated to the bottom of the heap. Not that this is to dismiss the worthiness of the songs or the format in which they are presented, as all unsuccessful submissions are added to the longlist for our hugely popular Singles Club feature… Having said that, who proved to be the creme de la creme and grabbed the honours this week?
Well, there really was only one clear winner when it landed in our inbox and we took up the invitation to press play… and that was Boston punks Dropkick Murphys, who invited us to ‘Smash Shit Up’, which they literally do in the accompanying video clip, which is typical Murphys through and through. And there’s not much more we can say other than to advise you follow our example and press that little white arrow in the middle of the screen:
- ‘Smash It Up’ is part of a double A side single, which also features a cover of Gerry Cinnamon’s ‘The Bonny’. Dropkick Murphys have just kicked off their latest European tour, which finishes at London’s Alexandra Palace on Friday 21 February.
We keep the fun factor up to 11 with the first of our three runners-up, which comes from Swedish pirate metallers Ye Banished Privateers, who are ‘Rowing With One Hand’ on the latest single from their forthcoming new album, ‘Hostis Humani Generis‘, which is being released this coming Friday (7 February). And it’s all good, not-so-clean, rambunctious and rowdy fun:
We’re staying in Sweden for our next successfully shortlister, the wonderfully named Beat City Tubeworks, who aren’t exactly ‘Fading To Grey’ with their new single, the first to be lifted from their forthcoming new album, ‘Top Rock‘. If this appetizer of pure, raw garage rock is anything to go by, the album certainly should live up to its name when it drops on 21 February… we certainly are looking forward to finding out for ourselves:
For our final selection, we head back across the Atlantic and deep into the deserts of the USofA, from where stoner legend Josh Homme is telling us that it is ‘Easier Said Than Done’ on the new single from the latest instalments of his ‘Desert Sessions‘ project, which come 16-yeara after the last ones and this time around feature collaborations from Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters), Mike Kerr (Royal Blood), Carla Azar (Autolux, Jack White), Les Claypool (Primus), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Superwolf, Endless Boogie), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows, Toast of London), Libby Grace and, of course, Töôrnst Hülpft. ‘Easier Said Than Done’ comes with a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek video, containing, as the PR blurb says, ” fascist-humiliating watersports, pig-men ejaculating glitter, a little defenestration, some light immolation…” oh, and Homme on roller skates. We can’t think of a better way to round off this week’s selection:
And so, in the best tradition of showbiz farewells, that’s all folks… Until next week, we wish you well and remember: keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and keep on rockin’ with the website that excites the parts others can only dream of tickling \m/