Australian electro-pop band Strange Talk only just released their debut self-titled EP (on Neon Gold Records) in May, but they're making a name for themselves with their innovative, interactive, and product-tied music video for the single, "Climbing Walls."

Cheer detergent sponsored the Strange Talk video as part of their "We Dig Color" campaign, creating a “Dig It, Get It” interactive music video that lets you click out of YouTube and into Facebook in order to win various prizes. This is the first time someone has created a video using Google Annotations technology to create embedded "clickable hotspots" in a YouTube video.

So what does that mean exactly? Click on something colorful in the video (Get the connection? Cheer keeps your clothes colorful) and you are taken to the Cheer Facebook page where you can register to win prizes ranging from flip flops to guitars to iPods. The prizes are apparently going fast (as of this posting they were gone for the day already). 



I first heard Strange Talk when we got their Free Download for "Climbing Walls" back in June. It's dancey, poppy, electro summer fun, satisfying my Cut Copy (another Aussie electro-pop band) meets Friendly Fires meets Phoenix cravings. (If you knew me, you'd know those cravings were pretty strong.)

From the album Good Things, this is my go-to video for inspiration as of late. If you're just cruisin' by wondering why go ahead and tune in at the one minute mark, sit back and let the flavor splash up on you.

Aloe Blacc - "Loving You Is Killing Me"


Click here to buy a copy of Aloe Blacc's Good Things from Amoeba Music today and get free shipping (until March 31st)!

N.E.E.T. Records recording artists Sleigh Bells just dropped a bomb on the music industry with the premiere of their video "Rill Rill." If I had to pick favorites with tracks from their critically acclaimed debut album Treats, my money would definitely be on "Rill Rill," so thank you to the powers that be for granting us with visual accompaniment to a perfect soundtrack. NERD ALERT: "Rill Rill" samples Funkadelic's "Can You Get to That" from their game changing Maggot Brain album.

Chatter's quieted down a smidgen in the 8 months since Treats' release. Derek E. Miller (songwriter, guitarist, producer) and Alexis Krauss (vocals) seem to be bent on keeping the whispers going, successfully executing one hell of a tactic is a great way to do that; being totally awesome helps too. The video, absorbing and disturbing, was directed by Jon Watts. It features the Fantastic Brooklyn duo cruising through the desert in a car made for James Dean, wrecking havoc like protagonists in a Quentin Tarantino flick or something. Oh, ya know, as you do!! In other good news: they released tour dates this week. Check Sleigh Bells do what they do in a town near you.

I have the same dilemma every weekend: what foreign film or documentary is it going to be tonight? My mammoth DVD collection is pretty impressive, but a little overwhelming. I sometimes ponder what to watch for entirely too long, looking over shelf after shelf, from right to left, then left to right, up and down, down and up just to make sure there’s one I didn’t miss. Minutes pass, sometimes hours, sometimes the ice cream truck, you really just never know. Eventually, fatigue kicks in and my legs and back begin to ache, then my neck, and inevitably my eyes and then it just takes over my entire body 'till the only thing left for me to do is retire to bed. Not exactly how I’d like to spin every Saturday night.

Since this question has pitched tent and perpetually inhibited my thinking space, I’ve officially decided to get it out and put it down on paper for good. So, in the future I can reference it and decipher what’s going to be my entertainment for the night in a utilitarian, more expedient manner. Well, I’ve made my list and checked it twice. Here, in no particular order, are my top 5 foreign picks (for now). 

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