Back in the day, music video debuts on channels like Much Music or MTV were a big fucking deal. But then Youtube (and OnSmash) came along and that changed everything—but still, the music video didn’t die. In the past couple of years we’ve been exposed to some pretty creative music video marketing techniques—from making videos the memes themselves to putting out teaser trailers.

In the past week or so, three bands—with three very distinct levels of success, from mass to niche—have put out their own innovative music videos online, making heavy use of the internet/meme-chasing/hit-grabbing tactics to prove their virtual relevance.

Last week, Cee-Lo Green—former Goodie Mob rapper turned Gnarls Barkley misterioso turned new soul crooner—dropped a slickly designed, fontgasmic lyric video for new track ‘Fuck You’ to much curiosity. Bands have made sing-a-long friendly videos for a long time, and we’ve seen tons of fanmade creations on Youtube in recent years as well, so Cee-Lo isn’t working with a new concept here. What differentiates this though is that the lyric video was good enough to stand on its own, but it wasn’t meant to—this week, Cee-Lo allowed fans to view the official, Everybody Hates Chris-esque music video for ‘Fuck You’ via his Facebook page. All you had to do was Like the fan page first. The philosophy? You tease and they will Like.

Arcade Fire takes interactive topography to the next thematic level with the video for ‘We Used To Wait’ earlier this week. This one took me a while (um, in web-geek speak I guess that’s like, a day?) to come around to for the simple reason that it requires you to upgrade/download the Google Chrome browser. After inputting the address of the house you grew up in, the multi-window video takes you on a visual tour of your streets interspliced with shots of a hooded teen running and other wastelandic imagery. This would’ve rocked and totes felt nostalgic had my dad not been captured outside of our house when Streetview drove by. Oh, but points for the cool interactive, veiny ‘postcard to your younger self’ you get to make and keep as part of the process.

Das Racist, meme-y highbrow rap group of non-white dudes from NYC, are, like, my most favourite thing ever. And it’s not just because they’re brown or because Heems tweets me about ginger ale or because they fuse lyrics about international development theorists with life as a diaspora-bred P.O.C or because they name drop Bollywood action heros, but because they make me laugh. Sit Down, Man, the follow-up mixtape to Shut Up, Dude is coming out in a couple of weeks and—along with a trailer video featuring voice-over quotables from megaman Diplo—the crew dropped a video for ‘Who’s That Brown?’ WITH ACCOMPANYING VIDEO GAME. BAS.

• Vote for Pedro Wyclef Jean! In a barely coherent open letter to the Huffington Post, former Fugees member Jean explains he’s running for the presidency of Haiti because, you know, he loves his daughter. My interpretation of all celebrity decision making is perpetually stuck on skeptical — but even I figure what could really be the harm of Jean winning this political race? Haiti is in shambles. I mean, it can’t get worse, right? Sure, Jean might have to take time away from promoting his soon-to-be-released seventh studio album, and yes he might not know how to speak like an actual Haitan, and ok, he might demand a daily appearance fee if he gets the gig — but as long as Haiti doesn’t need anything from Lauren Hill I think Jean’s going to do juuuust fine. -sy
• Woo, am I ever tired (and lazy) this morning. It hurts my brain to even write this, so I definitely don’t want to be reading anything like some sucker when I could be watching something instead, especially when it’s a bunch of clips from Arcade Fire’s recent Madison Square Garden show, directed by Terry Gilliam, that I didn’t catch the first time live (it’s that lazy thing getting in the way again). -jk-g
• Apparently there are people who study glaciers for a living. Double apparently, they now tell us a giant chunk of a Greenland glacier has broken off, paving the way for somebody to undoubtedly build an accurate reproduction of Superman’s fortress of solitude. FINALLY.
• Can Scott Dadich save the magazine industry? The New York Observer has a great article on how Daddich — creative impetus behind the Wired magazine iPad app and now tasked with leading Conde Nast at -large into the touchscreen era — has almost overnight become heralded as the new saviour of print institutions. Lofty expectations for a 34 year old who never grew up wanting to work in magazines. Having played with the Wired app, I can say it’s impressive but probably not going to revolutionize the floundering medium overnight. Still, it seems Dadich understands that in order to preserve magazines, he can’t be aiming to save them — he’s going to have to reinvent what they are entirely .

See? PC's and Mac's can work together!

Alright, so I’m about a month slow on this but whatever, I haven’t read a lot about it and it’s worth sharing. Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of The Hood Internet, two guys who mashup hip-hop with indie music. Basically, Girl Talk but eschewing the top-40 sensibility for more of the Pitchfork crowd.

I know mashups are a quarter a dozen these days (think about it) but that just makes it all the more fun when you stumble upon mashups done, you know, well. Managing broad appeal to the doucheoisie and their unimpressed friends alike, The Hood Internet showcase actual talent by gracefully ramming a lot into Decalogue’s relatively scant six minutes. Taking you from 2000-2009, it was originally commissioned for Cokemachineglow’s aughts fantasy post.

The dj duo are currently trying to scrounge up cash money to shoot a video for Decalogue, and if you donate you get to be in the credits. I’m on that. If it’s anything like the song, the video is going to be epic. Also, these guys are incredibly prolific and always post their tracks for free. What’s not to love?

Decalogue features:

“2000 – Dr. Dre vs Radiohead, 2001 – Missy Elliott vs Daft Punk, 2002 – Ludacris vs The New Pornographers, 2003 – Kelis vs The Rapture, 2004 – Twista f/ Kanye West vs Arcade Fire, 2005 – Three 6 Mafia vs Sufjan Stevens, 2006 – T.I. vs Peter Bjorn and John, 2007 – Rich Boy vs LCD Soundsystem, 2008 – Lil Wayne vs Hot Chip, 2009 – Jay Sean vs Phoenix”

Tunes after the jump.

Stream and full download

The Hood Internet – Decalogue (The Hood Internet vs The 2000s) by hoodinternet (via Soundcloud)

• Did you follow @diditleak on Twitter? After two years, the account suddenly went quiet on Jan. 5—the last post notifying followers that, yes, Vampire Weekend’s latest was available for download if you did some nifty Googling. Turns out, the anonymous creater of Did It Leak was a 23-year-old Edmontonian. He started the “service” to get through the boredom of his cancer treatment. On Jan. 16, he succumbed to the disease. The Village Voice has a brief, but inspiring, story about a true new music guerilla, Alan Carton.

• A few months back, I saw The xx live and was utterly unimpressed. I was apparently not alone, as the New Yorker’s Sasha Frere-Jones shares about an equally morbid performance where he left the venue “unexpectedly cross”. Unlike Frere-Jones however, who goes on to realize he had “missed the point,” of the English band’s live performance after listening to the album, I kind of feel the opposite. Music should be written to be experienced live and emulated on a recording. I understand how with technology, highly personal music could be crafted beautifully that was never practised on audiences, but I mean, the artist should adapt no? Every good song written in history was played to crowds 20,000 large and accompanied by lasers; suddenly it’s beholden of the audience to accept less because a performer is shy? Let’s not let our feelings ruin the show here — slap on some leather chaps kids. (Full disclosure: I’m seeing The xx again in April. Here’s hoping they’ve grown some stage presence by then.)

• You should be reading Neil Gaiman. If you don’t trust me, ask The New Yorker, they’re more smart than not. My sister is probably laughing at this, if she’s reading at all, because she regards Gaiman as that-dude-whose-books-I-buy-at-the-grocery-store. She’s missing out! Don’t be like her. Also, great quote from the goddamn Alan Moore: “Neil’s writing is kind of fey in the best sense of the word.” Which is maybe what Frank Miller would say about Moore — but let’s not get too Comic Book Guy here. Just go read.