Life moves quickly for those of us who barely look up from our computers, BlackBerrys, and iPods. But at least we have an internet full of music videos to remind us what the real world is like. This week, our video roundup spans an entire lifetime, from childhood to death and everything in between. We experience the ups and downs of young love with the Black Keys, Free Energy remind us what it was like to be stuck in high school, and Drive-By Truckers weave a cautionary tale about life’s unexpected turns. Fast forwarding through time, CoCoRosie envision their future as old willowy women, and Trent Renzor and wife Mariqueen Maandig’s new band, How to Destroy Angels, serenade us from beyond the grave.
1. The Black Keys — “Tighten Up”
Ah, first love. In “Tighten Up,” Dan Auberbach and Patrick Carney’s offspring/younger alter egos battle it out for the affections of a playground tease. Somehow, the butterflies, heartbreak, and jealousy seem so much cuter when acted out by little kids. It’s priceless watching Auberbauch’s gritty vocals and lyrics like “baby chil'” come out of the boys’ mouths.
2. Free Energy — “Bang Pop”
In a classroom not quite of this decade, filled with students not quite of high-school age, Free Energy are trapped in a school daze. To relieve the boredom, the band busts out instruments in class and runs from locker rooms to the auditorium, rocking this school with a “bang pop.”
3. Drive-By Truckers — “Working This Job”
We all know what it’s like to be stuck in a dead-end summer job, but Drive-By Truckers ask the question, What if that job becomes your life? In a video especially relevant to the recession, the Truckers remind us that the future rarely goes as planned.
4. CocoRosie — “Lemonade”
In this dreamscape, the mustachioed sisters wander around a deserted mansion as old ladies, opening up doors to find themselves as children. A postmodernist mindwarp, the video has us scrambling for our bearings.
5. How to Destroy Angels — “The Space in Between”
In this disturbing video, Trent Reznor and Mariqueen Maandig appear murdered in a hotel room, their blood pooling on the sheets and carpet around their heads. Maandig delivers the whole song with open, unseeing eyes, and never stops singing, even as she is engulfed in flames.