It occurred to me after I had already picked my five videos for this post that I should start focusing on bands that are going to be at Lollapalooza this year so that I could expose myself to some of the artists that I haven’t heard before I go.  It looks like I was way ahead of myself, though, because three of the five here are, coincidentally, going to be at Lollapalooza.  That’s a testament to how great the line-up is.

Side note before we get started: when I saw that the LCD Soundsystem was posted to YouTube by Parlaphone and not the band itself or whoever, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to use it.  It’s been my experience while doing these posts that record labels generally disable embedding on their videos, which is so shortsighted and counter-productive of them that it always made me mad.  Isn’t the point of a music video to have it be seen by as many people as possible and then, you know, sell records because of it?  Anyway, Parlaphone (and hopefully the other record labels) seem to have figured that out, so, hooray and enjoy!

LCD Soundsystem – “Drunk Girls”

As much as I enjoy his feature-length films, part of me wishes that Spike Jonze would completely devote himself to music videos, because every single one he makes is unbelievably good.  I wish I had half as many ideas in my brain as he does.

The xx – “Crystalized”

Shout out to Johanna’s sister Becca for giving us this CD for Christmas; they had somehow completely slipped under my radar (even though Pitchfork had their album ranked as the third best of the year), and now I listen to them constantly.

Florence + The Machine – “Dog Days Are Over”

I only like two songs off of this album, I think (the other being “Cosmic Love”).  Also, this video is kind of terrible. [Apparently they agree; I’ve replaced the old video below with a new version just released. I’m not sure it’s any better, but it’s certainly more interesting.]  And, judging by the comments, I’m both the wrong gender and about twelve years too old to be a Florence + The Machine fan.  All that said, those two songs I like?  I REALLY like them.

Matt & Kim – “Daylight”

The people over at EA Sports LOVE this song.  It appeared in both FIFA 10 and NBA Live 10 this year.  In fact, it was the only non-hip hop song that made the cut on the NBA Live soundtrack.  Simulating my way through seasons with Arsenal and the Bulls has forced this song into the deepest recesses of my brain.

When Johanna heard this song, she commented that she had assumed that Matt & Kim were mellow folksters.  I think she might have been thinking of She & Him; it’s an easy mistake to make.

MGMT – “Flash Delirium”

I still haven’t totally made up my mind on the new MGMT album.  So, let’s just watch the video.

Note: it’s a little bit gross, in a David Lynch sort of way.