After the viral success of Pacman & Peso’s insane Kickstarter campaign to film a music video in North Korea, today we’re finally able to see the result. The Guardian has the exclusive backstory of the young rappers from SE and the connections they made to achieve this strange accomplishment. The video, presented by the Forest Hills Tenleytown Music Group, is surprising for its rare glimpse at everyday streetlife in Pyongyang, but the Guardian profile of the trip is a gripping must-read. DatPiff hosts the duo’s latest mixtape Coming Soon featuring DJ Vega as a free download.
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Category Archives: video
Dale and the ZDubs – Nothing At All video
The polar vortex of icy hell has gripped the nation and my Twitter feed is full of rants and jokes about how cold it is. Well DC, a feel good music video of pop-reggae band Dale & The ZDubs jamming out in t-shirts on the roof of Union Market can remind us that warm weather will come again soon. “Nothing At All” comes from DZD’s 2013 debut full length album Leave The Drama, a generous FREE download to add to your iTunes library.
Honest Haloway – New Year’s video
Synthpop band Honest Haloway made the Best DC Music Video of 2013, and the release of their new EP Perigee early in 2014 is eagerly anticipated. New songs from the EP are beginning to trickle out, including the appropriately-timed “New Year’s”, from HH’s performance last fall at now-legendary DIY venue Paperhaus. Here’s the video from that performance, shot by Cesar Perdomo and Walker Foley. Mark your calendars for a night of top-notch synthpop at the Black Cat on Thursday January 30th when Honest Haloway and Motion Lines open for NYC’s Spirit Animal.
Rasta Rock Opera & Flex Mathews – No More video
Happy New Year DC! I hope your new years resolution is to check out more great DC music. Hometown Sounds is as excited as always to show you all the great stuff being made right here.
Freestylin’ rapper Flex Mathews collaborates with so many different musicians (Justin Trawick, Buster Brown & The Get Down, See-I, Congo Sanchez, Matisyahu) you’d think he’s that rarest of commodities, a talented drummer. The new music video “No More” features Flex the Handsome Grandson trading verses with Stevie Marco of Rasta Rock Opera on a special song about children affected by gun violence.
It’s time to put an END to bullying and senseless gun violence, Flex Mathews, Stevie Marco and The Rasta Rock Opera have joined forces with Kid Power Inc., Jefferson Middle School, and Bancroft Elementary School of Washington D.C to create this important piece of art. On November 1st 2013, Jefferson Middle School was the site of a youth rally and music concert where hundreds of students signed the “Key is Love” banner” and also participated in the filming of a new youth empowerment music video. The release of the “No More” music and film anthem on New Year’s Day 2014 symbolizes the END of the hate and violence and the beginning of a new youth empowerment revolution that calls for resolving any and all conflict respectfully and peacefully.
Rasta Rock Opera’s full album Respect And Love Revolution drops on January 24th, but you can preview it now on SoundCloud.
Top 5 Videos of 2013 #1: Honest Haloway – Psycho Bitch
Once upon a time, just a couple of years ago really, high school friends Tim Kratzer and Greg Balleza wrote indie rock songs together as The Vita Ruins. After playing together for years and recording an excellent album A Day Without A Name (go download this FOR FREE right now!), they parted amicably and Tim dove into a dance music solo project called Honest Haloway. He produced a 5 song EP The Towns (Another FREE download! It’s your lucky day!) and then put music on hold for a year to focus on his career. When he resurrected the project he added hard-hitting drummer Charlie Karim and bassist Fico Lazzaro-Colon to make a full-fledged live band. Honest Haloway also asked former bandmate Greg’s older brother Nick Balleza to create this video for “Psycho Bitch”, which Hometown Sounds featured back in January. I was completely blown away and have literally spent the last 11 months trying to get as many people as I can to see it. This video embodies DC in subtle and spot-on fashion. I’m sure we’ve all been to dozens of apartment parties just like the one in this video. Oh, there’s that guy who’s in a bunch of bands. Who’s the eyepatch guy dancing like a robot? And the song fits this party vibe perfectly. If you haven’t yet seen this music video, I won’t spoil the end for you, so watch the whole damn thing today. But it’s rather NSFW, so wait until your boss is deep into this afternoon’s lame office white elephant gift exchange.
Oh and guess what else? Today just happens to be Tim Kratzer’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY & congratulations from Hometown Sounds!
Top 5 Videos of 2013 #2: Tom Goss – Bears
All this week Hometown Sounds counts down the top 5 music videos of 2013. DC bands made a ton of amazing videos this year and my long list of nominees was quite long indeed, but now it’s time for the best of the best!
Tom Goss usually rocks out with an acoustic guitar and loop pedal, but for “Bears” he tapped Deathfix keys player Rich Morel to produce the clubby tribute to burly & hairy beefcake. The video is partially shot at Town Danceboutique, home of the DC Bear Crue Happy Hour every Friday evening, where I’d bet you can find Mr. Goss regularly when he’s not touring the country. This video is hilarious for parodying “hot bikini girls with squirt guns” music video tropes but also sincerely paying tribute to the type of men popular on Growlr.
Top 5 Videos of 2013 #3: RDGLDGRN – Lootin’ In London
All this week Hometown Sounds counts down the top 5 music videos of 2013. DC bands made a ton of amazing videos this year and my long list of nominees was quite long indeed, but now it’s time for the best of the best!
The anonymous and colorful trio RDGLDGRN did well for themselves this year with the release of their self-titled debut album and a coveted spot in the 2013 Vans Warped Tour. The catchiest song on the album, Lootin’ In London, got a snazzy video from director Ronan Pollock and continues to rack up accolades, including something called the “2013 Cage Match Mondo Grande Tournament Of Champions” from DC101. Here’s one more: #3 in our Top 5 music videos of 2013! Don’t miss them play an early show Saturday December 29th at U Street Music Hall with support from ACME and Nike Nando.
Top 5 Videos of 2013 #5: Paperhaus – Helicopters
DC, all this week Hometown Sounds counts down the top 5 music videos of 2013. DC bands made a ton of amazing videos this year and my long list of nominees was quite long indeed, but now it’s time for the best of the best!
2013 was a banner year for the indie rock band Paperhaus. They released a 4 song EP Lo Hi Lo in May and Kickstarted a cross-country tour to extend the popularity and name-recognition of their DIY house venue to audiences everywhere. They also made this fantastic music video for the single “Helicopters”, a romantic fantasy journey filmed primarily in the Paperhaus venue and featuring tons of notable DC cameos, including Mary-Alice Farina as the love interest and The North Country frontman Andrew Grossman as the villain. The band and venue continue to thrive, culminating in show organizer and band member Alex Tebeleff booking a blowout show with Here We Go Magic at the house a couple of weeks ago, with the ‘haus boys opening of course. We are very lucky to have these guys making DC music awesome.
These Future Saints – Blackjack video
I am worn out from last night’s fantastic show at Tropicalia, but I didn’t want to leave you without a new music video for your Friday. A couple of months ago we posted about a new song “Blackjack” by indie pop band These Future Saints, and now they’ve set the song to a music video about the joys and sorrows of dating in a smartphone-obsessed world. “Blackjack” comes from their recent EP Ellerslie Avenue. These Future Saints kick off a night of excellent DC music on New Years Eve at Iota, followed by Derek Evry & His Band of Misanthropes and The Beanstalk Library. This is just about the only show Iota sells advance tickets to, so stop by Clarendon and get them soon!
Alvin Risk & Designer Drugs – Empty Hearted video
Ophidiophobes, this video features some very authentic looking & amazing snake charming footage, so beware! DC dubstep hero Alvin Risk teams up with New York duo Designer Drugs for this intense video “Empty Hearted” shot on location in Thailand for Ultra Records. Apparently this video follows a story begun in the Designer Drugs music video “Space Based”, so if you really want to know what the heck is going on here, watch that first. If you just want to watch snakes and Thai boxers fight (not each other), then let’s go!
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