The cold hard truth is sketched in this skit.

And if you can handle the truth….then you’ll have to accept the fact the reason is you.

The next time you pine for those good ol’ days of back-to-back music videos on MTV – pause, reflect and remember this video!

Patti Smith autobiography "Just Kids" - read about the life of the renaissance woman of the punks through her own words...

In the month of September, while Earth, Wind & Fire reassures us that “never is a cloudy day”, we pay tribute to the godmother of punkrock – Patti Smith.

Even if you didn’t grow up in the rising punkrock era of the 70′s, this book should transport you there in the best model of time machines. Seen through the eyes of Patti Smith herself, the lady who initiated the female punk rock scene, this is your ticket to ride.

We give you a little tease with a moving excerpt from the book (Smith recounts a moment during her bittersweet relationship with the late Robert Mapplethorpe who suffered from AIDS):

“We were all reunited in Los Angeles, Robert, who was visiting his youngest brother, Edward, decided to shoot the cover there, while Fred and I worked to complete the album with our co-producer, Jimmy Iovine.

 Robert was pale and his hands shook as he set up to take the portrait before a cluster of drying palms in the dull sun. When he dropped his light meter, Edward knelt to pick it up. Robert was not feeling well, but somehow he marshaled his energies and took the picture. Within that moment was trust, compassion, and our mutual sense of irony. He was carrying death within him and I was carrying life. We were both aware of that, I know.

 It was a simple photograph. My hair is braided like Frida Kahlo’s. The sun is in my eyes. And I am looking at Robert and he is alive.”

We want you to get hold of this book so bad, we’re giving you a 20% discount if you buy it from the good folks (and genuine music lovers) at BooksActually.

All you have to do, in this month of September, is whisper “FREE MONEY”, when you make a purchase at the counter. It’s that simple!

Go forth!

Azure Ray warming us up for their return this fall...

2012 could use a sprinkle of ethereal sounds that cuts like gold leaves on a snowy night or it could use some Azure Ray. The Omaha duo will be unleashing their fresh sounds this fall and we’ve already heard a few breaths.

Have a listen to “Scattered Like Leaves” from Stereogum and “Red Balloon” from NPR and see if the new record will be haunting your dreams anytime soon. We can’t wait to be haunted by Maria and Orenda even in our waking hours..

This one's for the fathers...

Just thought we’d give the usually underrated parent a little bit of music cheer. For all the dads who work hard from 9 to 5 at work and continue slogging from 5 to 9 at home, this is AVDmag’s tribute to your endless work, for awesome dads only…

New album drops 19th June

She’s not the most concise wordsmith but it’s hard not to love Fiona Apple no matter how hard it is to speak her album name in one breath. It’s been too long since the last one – “When The Pawn….” so we’re really looking forward to this one. We’ve compiled 3 studio tracks from the new album that’s been released to tease here and there so far. And we picked out some favourite lines from this walking and singing SAT vocabulary test! Whatchyall think?

Every Single Night

Favourite line: The rib is the shell and the heart is the yolk / And i just made a meal for us both to choke on
 

Werewolf

Favourite line: I could liken you to a werewolf the way you left me for dead / but I admit that I provided a full moon / and I could liken you to a shark the way you bit off my head / but then again I was waving around a bleeding and open wound
 

Anything We Want

Favourite line: My scars were reflecting the mist in your headlights / I looked like a neon zebra shakin’ rain off of stripes

Explosions In The Sky music visually translated in "Postcard From 1952".

In the rare occasion that an Explosions In The Sky song takes the lead and orchestrates moving images instead of echoing in the  background of TV shows and films, we get the privilege of savouring every layer of drums over guitars swooping sublime imaginary tingles into our emotional systems. However each of our mechanisms work, this one hits the spot.

That spot where you feel  like time is wasted not because you did nothing but because you noticed nothing all this time.

Take it slow today, notice everything you can. Feel that slight breeze raise a hair on your arm, wonder where that left eye twitch came from and breathe in the remnants of your lover’s perfume that still hangs on your sleeve from last night.

Leave the lip syncing to music videos..

Lip syncing is unforgivable in my books. It’s like being served roast chicken with shoestring fries when the menu boldly showed roast chicken with Waffle fries. I expect nothing less than waffle fries! Shoestring has no room in the limited imagination of my reasonable expectations.

Were you upset when you first saw Britney Spears perform live obviously lip syncing? And did it make you less upset when the reason was “She can’t dance AND sing at the same time.”? – That’s like the waiter going “Technically, you’re still getting fries.”

It makes me Eminem mad to watch singers lip sync on stages as big as the Grammys (*cough* Chris Brown *chokes* Rihanna). Dancing while singing has been done before – ask ‘N Sync for tips – so no excuses there.

I was going to condemn the word “lip sync” into the eternal hellfire of unnecessary existence UNTIL….it appeared in music videos. I realize how much more fun it is when someone else is lip syncing to a song. It’s like the waiter brought me an extra pleasant surprise dish on top of what I ordered. Here, there is always more to the story than being an audience blatantly fooled. I’m actually not a picky eater anyway…

Below is a list of forgivable lip syncing music videos and their stories……

Paul McCartney – My Valentine (with Natalie Portman)

So soft, so elegant – Paul McCartney directed this simple video featuring a poised Natalie Portman (with leftover gold dust of her Black Swan days still floating in her aura) lip syncing and hand signing the lyrics to the gentle song. Nothing could be wrong with this picture right? Well……

…except when The British Deaf Association pointed out that the video might have signed “tampon” instead of “appear”. It was probably something that got lost in translation. But at least the lip sync was in sync?

Rufus Wainwright – Out Of The Game (with Helena Bonham Carter)

What a delightful side of Rufus that we surprisingly see through…Helena Bonham Carter?! She plays bored librarian turned naughty in this little whimsy. Rufus and Helena reportedly have been pals for awhile and sometimes it pays to use your friends. According to the singer, he “very much appreciates her friendship for furthering (his) career”. Read his lips!

“Out Of The Game” record drops 1st May.

Elton John – This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore (with Justin Timberlake)

I’m very sure JT has a special place in Elton John’s heart – just as many other estrogen-filled beings also do. This one began from JT starring in a David LaChapelle-directed concert video of Elton’s “Rocket Man” with the idea being expanded into a music video of Elton’s “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore”.  Justin is so convincing (as Elton’s secret fantasy of being a much hotter younger self) that he’s probably getting signed up to star in an Elton biopic. For someone who doesn’t lip sync during his singing&dancing concerts, JT’s got some serious lip syncing talent!

Ed Sheeran – Lego House (with Rupert Grint)

Here’s another rope-in-your-other-famous-friend-to-play-you music video. Two English redhead boys thought it’d be funny to mess with their audiences abit. And it is actually quite funny especially because they both almost look alike. Harry Potter fans get to see their Ronnie play an obsessive groupie stalker and Ed Sheeran gets more fans. Smart syncing!

Jamal Abdillah feat. Malique – Aku Maafkan Kamu (with Zizan)

When this video was released, there was an online APB out on rapper Malique almost. Everybody went, “Where is Malique?” as if Wally would appear just because you asked “Where’s Wally?”. In this video that depicts a song by Too Phat’s controversial rapper collaborating with the King of Malay music, Jamal Abdillah, we see comedian Zizan lip syncing Malique’s rap verses instead. What an oddity but hey whatever makes more people watch this video right?

I have a syncing..I mean sinking..feeling about Malique’s absence but I have no official sources. Jamal Abdillah has mentioned that Malique refused to make any public appearances unless it’s of utmost importance. Whatever the reason, we hope he’s doing fine and if the song lyrics have anything to do with it, I hope Malique keeps laying low and continues producing more good stuff like this!

When everything remains the same while everything has changed at the same time.

A video that makes you feel all kinds of bittersweet in 4 minutes and 8 seconds. Hang tight.

Feist’s latest single helps to add a new layer to the series of “Back To The Future” photos taken by Irina Werning. This reminds us abit of Dear Photograph where old photos are taken back to its original setting today. Except Werning’s series puts the people centre frame, giving them centre stage and letting you run wild with your imagination as you wander along the thin line between the two photographs. That thin line holds the secrets of all the stories, memories, mistakes, successes, loves, losses and LIFE generally that happened in between. How much has stayed the same while everything about us has changed?

It’s amazing what kind of realm you can create by playing with the medium! It’s some nice new flavour to savour when a music video gets out of its comfort zone. Thanks Leslie Feist and director Hollie Singer for this fresh take on the song and the photographs. We get excited about music videos again.

We dare you to watch it without a smile on your face!

Shelves - leads the beat in this week's fresh finds...

A lomography delight of a music video by Shelves:

A trippy nightmare in a surreal painting music video by Monster Cat:

A ukelele-strumming delight: Zahidah

Malam Ini by Zahidah

PLUS:

Run Neon Tiger offers free download!

Farewell Motel by Run Neon Tiger

There’s never too much to enjoy…remember: ingredients organically grown in your backyard are very healthy for you.

Homegirl representing! Yuna on the Conan show.

What is the measure of success?

Well, whatever makes you happy we assume.

But what’s more successful is when you make millions of others happy too.

Malaysian soul sista (we’re tired of attaching the “indie songstress” label) Yuna, strutted her stuff on Conan yall! That big international stage of an american dream – how many born-in-asia musicians can say they have had that privilege? Add ‘bragging rights’ to the measure of success! In any case, we’re proud of this fellow Southeast Asian! (anything to make us cool by association) Hope to see bigger and better things for Ms Yuna Zarai.