I am not a big fan of music videos but Arcade Fire really ups the anti in this glorious nod to the death of disco (and nice little rebirth of the band). Long live the mirror ball!

God Speed Lou Reed…Have not felt like this since Hendrix and Lennon left us. The music in Heaven just got a little better.

“The measure of his influence and importance dwarfs the news item, the obituary, the tribute. He is everywhere”.

via Sasha Frere-Jones remembers Lou Reed : The New Yorker.

Kimbra: Settle Down (Live)

New Zealand’s Pop Prodigy Multiplies Into a Formidable Beatboxing Chorus

One-woman, iPad-looping sensation Kimbra performs her breakout hit “Settle Down” in our exclusively commissioned and dynamic short by directors Us.

Us directing duo Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor filmed a single take of the track to capture the live energy of Kimbra’s performance, visually recreating her vocal loops in post-production. “She builds the entire song using just her vocals, some beatboxing and her iPad,” they explain. “It’s often quite hard to distinguish many layers of sound, so we wanted to break down the structure of her performance, and highlight what she was actually doing.” Currently touring the States with indie rockers Foster the People, NOWNESS caught up with Kimbra on the road to snare her choice of dance moves and drum kits.

viaNowness.com

U2 with a little help (from Mick Jagger & Fergie)  transforms Gimme Shelter into what might be one of the definitive live versions…(Apologies to Kieth Richards and Ron Wood!)