Royksopp Daisy Chain

Royksopp has an incredible--and incredibly creepy--new video:

ROYKSOPP - WHAT ELSE IS THERE
"...seven days..."

But then, Royksopp always has great videos...

ROYKSOPP - EPLE
Okay, well, this video isn't actually that great--I keep waiting for it to turn into a HP ad at the end--but I do love the song. Good luck getting that earwig out of your head anytime in the next three weeks.

ROYKSOPP - POOR LENO
That's Lee-no, not Len-o. Doesn't the little guy in this video look just like David Foster Wallace? Something about this video reminds me of Lambchop's beautiful "Is A Woman." And since I only need the slightest provocation to link to that:

LAMBCHOP - IS A WOMAN
It begins solemn and sad, then turns absurd, then surprises you with a "blink your eyes a few times and clear your throat" ending. This is my favorite video ever...I'm not going to be emo and claim that I choke up every single time I watch it, but almost always. This was directed by a design company called Shynola, who also did...

JUNIOR SENIOR - MOVE YOUR BODY
and also...

STEPHEN MALKMUS - JOJO'S JACKET
How would I even begin to describe what happens here? But I will say that, like the Lambchop video, it transcends its absurdity and becomes unexpectedly touching just at the end. (Or maybe it's just me.)

BLUR - COFFEE AND CIGARETTES
Okay, I didn't want to post this because we're really going off on a tangent here--believe it or not, I'm still talking about Royksopp--and also because I'm sure everyone reading this has seen this video before. But how can we talk about music videos whose endings touch you deeply and NOT post this?

Q: Blur or Oasis?
A: Pulp!

ROYKSOPP - REMIND ME
Ah, there we are. This video is fun and infographical (?), but I think it actually has a pretty profound message about how all of us fit into a larger picture. It makes an interesting companion to the very similar video for...

THE FAINT - AGENDA SUICIDE
Your homework: compare and contrast this video with the "Remind Me" video above.

THE KNIFE - HEARTBEATS
The girl floating around and singing in the original Royksopp video is the vocalist for the band The Knife, another Swedish group like Royksopp. These pictures don't do it justice, but The Knife has a genuinely unsettling live show. This video is pretty cruddy, but this is easily one of the best songs of whatever we end up calling this decade.

JOSE GONZALEZ - HEARTBEATS
That last song sounded a little familiar, right? But you couldn't place it, maybe? That's because it was covered in an Iron & Wine-like fashion by Jose Gonzalez--who, despite his name, is also Swedish--and used to score this pretty popular commercial.

IRON & WINE - NAKED AS WE CAME
There's something really simple and profound and ultimately mysterious happening in this video, directed by the artist..the kiss, the rain, the food, and all leading up to the last shot.