Stereogum » Handsome Furs

The 10 Most NSFW Videos Of 2011

tom — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:32:20 +0000

Almost none of us are at work this week, so almost none of us are getting fired. And with the holidays coming to an end, we don’t have to keep the good-cheer veneer up for much longer. So: Time to wade into some of the past year’s sickest shit!

When she wrote her list last year, departed Stereogum comrade Jessica wrote that 2009′s NSFW clips trended away from joyous, vaguely innocent sexploits toward darker, more disturbing fare. 2011 continues that progression in a more extreme and possibly more unwanted direction: Away from sex entirely, toward stickily disturbing Fangoria-style violence. There was plenty of Euro-arthouse nudity at work this year, as in the work of the directing team CANADA, but more working directors elected to keep the blood pumping. And if they did include nudity, it was wrapped up in that violence, or it was in service of some alien or otherwise other visions of sex. And so this list, which is unranked, leans heavily on disturbing than sexy; I figured that these were the videos you’d have the hardest time justifying if your boss peeked up over your cubicle wall.

All of which is to say: There is some unpleasant stuff below. I stuck completely with music videos and left out short films that could double as alternate-universe MTV8 fare. And I also left out clips that I found completely repulsive, as with South Central’s generally horrifying “The Day I Die” video, leaving in only video that I found to be interesting on at least some level. There’s one big exception, though, and that’s the video you’ll find immediately below.

The 5 Best Videos Of The Week

tom — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:36:41 +0000

We didn’t do one of these last week, on account of the holiday and all, which leaves us a whole lot to choose from this week. There were so many good videos from so many different corners of the internet universe this week that every single selection here is pure gold. Also, there was one music video this week that was pretty much just Beyoncé grinding for five minutes, and I didn’t list it. Please acknowledge my restraint. Our top five, after the jump.

Handsome Furs – “Serve The People” Video (Stereogum Premiere)

corban — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:52:51 +0000

It seems like we’ve seen a lot of music videos lately featuring kids wiling out — here’s one — but the clip for Handsome Furs’ “Serve The People” conveys this theme with a poignant portrayal of a young man in China going through the daily motions and starting to lose it a little. Of course, it’s all synced up to the build of the track; nicely done. Check out the Han Xia-directed video after the jump.

Handsome Furs – “What About Us” Video (NSFW, Stereogum Premiere)

brandon — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:51:36 +0000

Scott Coffey put together a pretty excellent (highly NSFW) video for Handsome Furs’ “What About Us.” Coffey, who’s clearly drawn to couplings, previously directed Wolf Parade’s cosmonaut romance “Yulia” and the Furs’ zombified “I’m Confused” videos. He’s also an actor who appeared in Mullhulland Drive and Inland Empire, etc. Make sense: You get a cinematic, strange, grubby, apocalyptic feel in this clip, one that features a number of beautiful shots and colors, an eerie atmosphere, male/female nudity, dry humping, and some humping of the wetter sort. We asked Coffey a few questions about it so you could get a sense of the concepts before diving into the world he concocted. Here:

Handsome Furs – “Repatriated”

brandon — Mon, 23 May 2011 18:01:22 +0000

“Repatriated” follows “What About Us” in the roll-out of Handsome Furs’ third album Sound Kapital, the first HF collection written entirely on keyboards. It’s not the first bearing sexy photos, but as far as I can tell, it is the first featuring actual fur.

Handsome Furs – “What About Us”

brandon — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:48:48 +0000

“What About Us” is the first public sample of Handsome Furs’ forthcoming Sound Kapital. As you likely noticed, Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry are still using their promo photos to remind us they’re happily married (though here, oddly, they aren’t touching). Before you dive in, it’s also worth noting Sound is the first Handsome Furs album written entirely on keyboards.

Handsome Furs Do “Evangeline” And “Legal Tender” Live In Minneapolis

amrit — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:19:35 +0000

There isn’t a couple in indie rock that exudes more sexual energy than Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry. (Sorry, Death Cab For Zooey.) With their second LP Face Control, the pair put their chemistry front and center for a set of racy promo pics and videos, but if you’ve ever been in a club with the sweethearts you already know their smoking, skin-baring stage thing to cause some heart palpitations. The new album bottles that chemistry on a set of stark and pulsing, musky songs, and their sets come like fucking without touching, until they invited up a third girl at a recent show Minneapolis to join the gyrations and plant one on Alexei because like she had a choice. If you weren’t there, you can relive it here on “Evangeline,” and hear them talk about how it’s been to be married on “Legal Tender.” (“Yeah, it’s been pretty good.” Evidently.)

SXSW 2009: Friday In Photos

brandon — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:09:52 +0000

By Amrit Singh & Brandon Stosuy
On Friday we shook off the early-morning cobwebs and made a beeline to the Pitchfork/Windish Bash in time to catch the last couple tracks by psychedelic post-Vanishing Voice Brooklynites Woods on the outside stage (as far as labels go, this was undeniably the year of the Woodsist) and School Of Seven Bells on the inside. And, speaking again of Woodsist, we saw Wavves for the third time. Interesting to see how divisive he’s been down here — everyone has a strong opinion (e.g. when a friend realized who was about to play, he actually walked out in “mock” disgust). But all of this was just a lead-up to the set of the day: Dirty Projectors.

New Handsome Furs Video – “I’m Confused”

brandon — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:42:13 +0000

Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry had a lot of fun with their half-naked Face Control promo pics. The duo bring a similar energy to the video for one of the album’s standouts “I’m Confused.” The clip, directed rather excellently by Scott Coffey, starts out like a standard house party performance, but then folks start spitting black bile of some sort and things go to hell. Note how good Boekner is at climbing trees. And that Perry’s not necessarily wearing the best outfit for trying to escape your zombie spouse. Also note: There’s a quick shot of a nude zombie woman a couple minutes in, so this could be classified as NSFW, though I doubt your boss is watching you that closely.

Love Bites: Stereogum’s Anti-Valentine’s Day Mix

brandon — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:03:33 +0000

Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays you might not pay too much attention to if you’re in the midst of a really good relationship — because every day is like Valentine’s Day! — but can gain importance in direct ratio to how shitty your love life is when February 14th rolls around. With that in mind, we’re skipping the saccharine soundtracks in favor of a mix for those who need one. Because, really, if you’re in love and you spend the night downloading MP3s from your laptop, well, you’re not in love. We chose 13 recent tracks: 13 tracks for Friday the 13th. Even though it’s Friday, maybe we all aren’t in love.