MV Monday: LOOP Beijing, Da Bang, Alpine Decline, Gum Bleed

Is it the holiday yet? Is it cool if I just start taking the week off? Well, whether or not you folks are sitting behind a desk at your office or at home, take a lil break and tune in the latest videos to catch my eye, inducing a steamy hot single from Da Bang as well as tour videos from Alpine Decline and Gum Bleed, and finally a look at the multimedia exhibition LOOP Beijing.

Remember how a week or so back I was gabbing on about how Da Bang won my heart back over the course of an evening – well this was one the songs which helped their cause. And now they\’ve read my mind and have gone ahead and made this crisp black and white MV for their latest single \’TV\’ recorded in none other than Yang Haisong\’s Psychic Kong studios. Yup, Haisong to the rescue again. Da Bang is days away from embarking on a nationwide tour – lets hope they can hold onto their newfound spunk through their endeavors – best of luck!

Dystopian drum fuzz duo Alpine Decline have been busy cats since their latest release Go Big! Shadow City, touring across Australia and most recently North America. And instead of your typical tour video, the two have uploaded their own version of a tour video, that combines postcard-esque shots of North America along with poetic text describing their journey strolling over it – cool stuff. If you eyes can\’t figure out what to focus on, read the full text here. The band is currently in the beginning stages of their next album – damn workaholics.

Speaking of bands that have jumped all over the globe, politically enraged punks Gum Bleed, fresh off the release of their sophomore album, are no stranger to Europe as evident in this video which chronicles their trips to the east over the past five years to promote their newest album as well as upcoming shows here and aboard. Dudes get around.

The other evening I had the pleasure of checking out Maya Rudolph and Xiaowei Wang’s multimedia exhibition for Beijing Design Week, entitled LOOP Beijing, which commissioned various local artists including thruoutin, Wang Xu (of The Gar), Simon and Joshua Frank (Hot & Cold), and many others and had them create music (soundscapes) for various bus routes around the city (674 is totally my jam). Videos depicting the bus journeys were also created to accompany the music. Pretty awesome on its own terms. Now here is where it gets interesting (or utterly confusing). If you tune in to the music on your mobile device by dialing 8405-4200, you have the option of recording a personal message over the music which will be heard the next time someone tunes into that bus route. So, that manifesto you\’ve been dying to let loose – get it on up there. Just call and have that creepy bus voice walk you through it. Not exactly sure how quick it gets up there (I tried a few times already) or if I\’m being charged for listening to every minute of throutin\’s near twenty minute piece but pretty cool way to pass the time on the bus. Check out their website for all the videos here.