This week we’ve got new videos from Scissor Sisters, Adele, Broken Social Scene, Suckers, and Fujiya & Miyagi. One thing I noticed about this week’s top five videos — they were all directed by foreign directors. I’m not sure why that is. There are also less videos since things are slowing down for the holidays. Next week we’ll have a rundown of all the best NSFW videos of the year, since you should not be working by then, and you’ll need something to talk about with relatives. Enjoy:

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We didn’t like Tapes ‘N Tapes’ Walk If Off very much. To quote:

Here/there, they’re basically a hodgepodge of various groups — you hear a little Modest Mouse (everywhere), or Pixies (“Blunt”), or that band you can’t quite remember right now (everywhere), or Pavement. In these moments, it’s like you asked someone to define “indie rock,” and they opted to jumble together an assemblage of folks who did it better.

One of the few decent tracks “Hang Them All” just received video accompaniment, so snap together your cardboard rifle and head down to the 99¢ and 98¢ stores.

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When’s the last time you want to an actual record store? Like where you have to walk through a door and can’t just click “download”? Yes, we live inside a blog, but record stores are pretty great. Brandon worked at one (Cheap Thrills Records, New Brunswick, NJ) for a handful of years before the place went under. It’s where he cut his teeth, put on fun in-stores, and talked to people face-to-face while trying to explain why they might like the new Pavement and/or Harry Pussy album (all depending). We don’t want to get too nostalgic, but it’s those sorts of stores (the overstuffed, carefully curated independents) where so much essential music learning takes place. If you haven’t ever been in a record store, go watch High Fidelity on your laptop, but take it down a few notches.

Nowadays, a lot of record stores are going under. People don’t like to leave their houses anymore. This weekend, though, leave your house to celebrate the first ever Record Store Day. (Mark it on your calendar for next year, too: 4/19, the day before 4/20.) Record Store Day’s the idea of a number of independent store owners, who hoped to remind us about the fact that because most folks download their sounds today, record stores as we know ‘em are fast going the way of Beta and major record labels. If the livelihood of these people doesn’t tug at your heart strings, how are you supposed to have a crush on the cute girl (or boy) working behind the counter when there are no counters to work behind? Maybe more importantly: What happens to the rad folks who know a lot of shit about, say, reggae? Via NY Times:

Some retailers are hoping that the effort is not too late. Jammyland and the Downtown Music Gallery, two East Village institutions — Jammyland, on Third Street, specializes in rare reggae, and Downtown, on the Bowery, in avant-garde jazz and new music — are facing untenable rent increases and are looking for new homes.

Jammyland is “the model of what a great record store can be,” said Vivien Goldman, the author of “The Book of Exodus: The Making and Meaning of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Album of the Century” and other books. “D.J.’s congregate there from all over and exchange ideas. It’s a crucible of music knowledge.”

For a local music shopper with a memory of even just a few years, the East Village and the Lower East Side are quickly becoming a record-store graveyard. Across from Jammyland is the former home of Dance Tracks, a premier dance and electronic outlet, which closed late last year, as did Finyl Vinyl, on Sixth Street. Stooz on Seventh Street, Sonic Groove on Avenue B, Accidental on Avenue A, Wowsville on Second Avenue and Bate, an essential Latin store on Delancey Street — all gone, to say nothing of stores in other neighborhoods, like Midnight Records in Chelsea and NYCD on the Upper West Side.

“Rent is up, and sales are down,” Malcolm Allen of Jammyland said as he sold a few Jamaican-made 45s to a customer last weekend. “Not a good combination.”

Jammyland is great. What the Times doesn’t mention is that Dominck Fernow, aka Prurient, runs an awesome metal and noise store, Hospital Productions, from Jammyland’s basement. So, if Jammyland goes, we lose two great record stores in one lame swoop. Which is immensely depressing. So, in the hopes of supporting record stores of various shapes and sizes, we’ve put together some info of various happenings tomorrow. Get set and go…

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When we posted on Walk It Off‘s lead track “Hang Them All,” we basically said: If you didn’t care about Tapes ‘N Tapes before, you likely still wouldn’t. Well, after listening to all 12 tracks on the band’s Dave Fridmann-produced sophomore album, we’re changing our tune a tiny bit. What we noticed in the comments when the album streamed for a day is that people are actually discussing Fridmann’s production. On songs like the catchy, clamoring opener “Le Ruse” (that jittery guitar) or “The Dirty Dirty” (great drum sound, though the song itself drags), Fridmann adds an element that was absent on The Loon (except for in some distorted vocals a la “Just Drums”). He makes the songs sound dirty, which makes things more interesting. For instance, check the depth of the drumkit on “Say Something Back.” The almost Sonic Youth-y swells of “George Michael.” Or, fittingly, the overloaded guitar channels of “Headstock.” It may be a turn-off to fans of the debut, but it adds much-needed scum. Thing is, while the production points toward growth, the same can’t always be said for the songwriting.

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By and large, looks like you guys dug “Hang Them All,” the lead track from Tapes ‘N Tapes Dave Fridmann-produced sophomore rekkid Walk It Off. Now you have a little less than 24 hours to stream the entire thing at the band’s site and solidify your opinion some (it’ll be up until 1pm CST tomorrow, 3/7). You just need to insert an email into a blank field to dig into it, but don’t take too long inventing a faux address — time’s a wasting.

Walk It Off is out 4/8 on XL. They’ll be playing a lot of show before and after that. Head to MySpace for the specifics.

Almost a year back we saw what bassist Sean Neary’s been up to since leaving the T’NT fold (off saving the world, that guy is). Now it’s time to see how the Tapes are faring. Fire up the Movable Type, the band that permeated the blogosphere so richly as to get Jann to wake up (for a minute) is back. “Hang Them All”‘s the lead track on the Tapes’ Dave Fridmann-produced sophomore full-length. On the plus side, Fridmann didn’t go all Mercury Rev on ‘em, so fans can rest easy; it’s a rocker, with organ strains in the hook. On the flip: if you didn’t give a shit before, you definitely still will not.

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Bassist Sean Neary has moved on and regrouped following his departure from Minnesota’s Tapes ‘N Tapes, returning to the blogs with Seymore Saves The World, another MN-based trio that sounds absolutely nothing like his last band. Digging this more than T’nT, too; Seymore Saves is two parts Ben Folds with a splash of Mates Of State, pumping out effervescent keyboard trio pop that’s rockin’ the burbs (figuratively; the band’s booked a Midwest-Northeast tour, coming to a city near you). Here’s the self-titled record’s first single.

Seymore Saves The World – “Love Song” (MP3)

Seymore Saves The World is out 4/10 on Royalty, Etc. Tour dates after the jump.

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DEAR JANN,
We were so excited to open our mailbox today and see the lovely and talented Stacy Ferguson on the cover of your “Hot List” issue [RS 1011]. The article was, in a word, risiculous! But why edit the list of featured stories? (The original touted Austin Scagg’s hard-hitting piece on kind bud. We were stoked.) We’re guessing: (A) putting “The World’s Best Pot” next to a recovering drug addict sent the wrong message, or (B) you realized you’re making Austin out to be the staff stoner. Or (C) no one gives a shit about James Bond? Anyway, just wondering! Keep up the good work. And thanks for the piece about music bloggers destroying the bands they love. Now we’re never gonna get promo CDs, lolz!!!

Stereogum, New York

MTV’s 24 hour college network announced its Q4 programming slate today. The mtvU Freshmen Five is the channel’s semi-annual pick of artists “poised to ride the support of college students to superstardom.” From the press release:

For the Fall ’06 class, we’re getting behind Tapes n’ Tapes, ¡Forward, Russia!, Silversun Pickups, Mayday! and Shiny Toy Guns in a big way — from album “Leaks” to exclusive live performances to free downloads of all of the artists on URGE next week during “Spankin’ Free Music Week.”

Get psyched stoodents! It’s gonna be a long semester. In a big way.

This explains a lot.

Featuring your favorite Human Giants (Aziz Ansari, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel) and cameos from Fred Armisen, Rob Riggle, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Ted Leo, Devendra Banhart, and Nick Kroll as the bullied Pitchfork editor reading XLR8R on the toilet. Directed by Jason Woliner.

Consider this the unofficial sequel to Indie Clerk Assholes.