Basically, I was listening to the 70’s channel on Sirius/XM, because the 70’s are awesome and the Sirius electronic selection is utter garbage. It’s also the best place for trainspotting since they took The Strobe (disco) off the air.

So what comes on but The Spinners – I’ll Be Around, an excellent (if a bit creepy) tune with a great little string hit on the break. I knew I’d heard this riff (2:00 in the video) in at least one early disco-house track. I knew it from some random dj set, and knew that it faded into Armand Van Helden’s “U Don’t Know Me”, but couldn’t quite place the artist.

Eventually I had to cheat to track this one down. Honestly, there’s nothing that special about the song. It’s classic 1999 filtered house, and might bring back some memories for party people of a certain age, but why is it on ELVAD?

Three reasons: 1) like I said, I figured it was overdue to post SOMETHING, and this happened to be in the hopper; 2) he’s just trying so hard in this video, and you just know he can’t play any of those instruments… he’s even got a little dance routine, it’s adorable; 3) well he “plays” the instruments and sings but isn’t the dj, kind of interesting in that WTF IS THAT ARMAND VAN HELDEN?

Seriously, WTF? I can’t find AVH’s name attached to this song anywhere, other than the fact that it was released on NYC’s Strictly Rhythm label. Was he actually the producer here, with Moog providing only the vocals? Or was he actually famous enough in 1999 that the label asked him to add “star power” to the video? The answers are lost to time.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this foray into the past… makes me want to look up some other disco/filtered house hits and party like it’s 1999 (literally).

Holy Fuck does this style very well, and with Red Lights they’ve used it to capture an afrobeat vibe. For me, this sound naturally conjures up images of a 70’s cop show, so the snippets of Bullitt are just perfect. The James Bond-ish shadows are also a natural fit.

Oh, did I mention the cats? This is all with cats, of course. What’s most interesting to me about the cats is that it’s pretty well “acted”. I can actually believe the cat is being chased by the dog, and that look he gives as he’s driving away from the explosion is just priceless.

This track, the brainchild of Armand Van Helden and A-Trak, is currently tearing up clubs around the world. While we haven’t stepped foot in a club in MONTHS, we HAVE danced around the home and office to this tune. How can you not?

As with much of Armand’s work, the video is a love-letter to New York City. But it’s also got more name-dropping than the time someone threw Facebook down the stairs. How many famous faces can you recognize? Hell, I didn’t even recognize Armand at first with his ridiculous haircut, but maybe you can do better than me.

(This link is for trainspotters only.)

I’m not sure if I’ve ever gotten into how the live Chemical Brothers show changed my life, but it did. There is a clear break that occured on November 13, 1997. Before that show, I was more into metal and just dabbling with electronic. After that show, my experimentation with electronic music became an obsession that has lasted to this day. The complex sounds layered with the overstimulating visuals, the nonstop assault on all your senses, the possibilities of it all got me hooked.

This track in particular, the last song of the last encore, with its build-ups and break-downs, its blinking eyeballs and dancing stained glass, its depth and its breadth… it must have fried something in my brain. I was high for days. I think these clowns were a later addition, which was probably for the best… I might have gone into seizures or something.

I wonder if it will have the same effect now that I’m old…

In terms of electronic videos, we’ve covered a good 90% of them here already. The other 10% are still in the queue, waiting for ELVAD to reawaken. But for now, you may enjoy these at your leisure.

There are plenty of amazing videos in the Chemical Brothers catalog, some of them over 15 years old now. I think this one can be most closely compared to “Star Guitar“, though I imagine it won’t be anywhere near as popular as that internet classic.

With the only lyrics being “just remember to fall in love, there’s nothing else”, you’d expect the video to be a love story, and that’s what you’ve got here. A girl wandering past the Ministry of Silly Walks finds a boy who stands out from the crowd.

The real story is told between the lines, as it were. The roller coaster ride, the leap of faith, the flying and floating, the sunsets, the feeling that your physical self is created from untold millions of minute bubbles… it’s all depicted with simple, elegant, and slightly psychedelic visuals.

If you’ve been to a Chemical Brothers live show, this all might actually look a little familiar. That’s because this video (and in fact the entire forthcoming album) has accompanying visuals done by the same guys that do their live visuals. These have always been expertly crafted to enhance the musical experience, so this is pretty exciting news around these parts!

When I think of Faithless, I think of simple tracks that build up to satisfying climaxes, of mellow stream-of-consciousness lyrics, of a sense of… epicness. There are entire genres of trance devoted to an “anthem” style, but Faithless just nails it naturally.

This video does a particularly good job of highlighting the audio’s ability to transport you to another place. It starts in the club as a standard club track, about a guy macking on a girl. However, as the tension builds, our couple’s focus on each other becomes more intent, and the rest of the world seems to strip away.

The visuals translate that dreamlike feeling of utter infatuation, of not caring about anything except immediate lust. If you’ve never experienced it for yourself, I highly recommend it!

The singles seem to be highlighting the vocal tracks. While Andreya Triana’s vocals are amazing, they are actually just the icing on a very rich cake.

This video is a few months old now, but I like it a lot. Partly I’m just a sucker for long continuous shots, and partly Triana’s sensual vocals and presence just makes it hard to look away.

If you’re more a dnb fan, check out the Redeyes Remix.

uh…

right, well, as you can see from today’s video…

wait, what was I saying? Something about… uhhhhh… music… scenery… mood… uhhhhh… come on, focus…

I had something for this… lighting… moon… shadows…

Yeah, so that’s that! I’ll be in my bunk.