Feature: Music Videos That… Were Directed by Filmmakers

So remember when we said this feature was comin’-ta-getcha every Thursday? We forgot to mention that this excluded last Thursday. Sorry ‘bout that. Our Hallmark ‘forgive me’ cards are in the mail.

But enough groveling! This week’s list was hard to narrow down to just 5 – there are A LOT of creative people who fall into this category. And also Michael Bay. Below are a select few for your viewing pleasure, so do take a moment to procrastinate and somehow make it look like you’re doing work in that office.

Feature: Music Videos That... I Remember As a Kid

Welcome to our new Thursday afternoon feature! As we slowly creep towards the weekend, we’ll provide you with a short list of music videos on a topic of our choosing. Want us to delve into the depths of a certain subject that we’re not yet delving into? Tell us! We just want to make you happy.

And now, in no particular order are 5 videos that I distinctly remember as a kid. I tried to narrow it down by using a very general sounding “firsts” category, and kept it to videos I remember from ages of birth – middle school. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane, aka some stories about me and my dad.

Photos: The Big Sleep @ The Fort (Music Video Shoot)

The Big Sleep @ The Fort - December 8, 2011

Last week, Colin and I had the opportunity to bear witness to Brooklyn's The Big Sleep film footage for a new music video, in anticipation for their upcoming album Nature Experiments (out January 31, 2012 on Frenchkiss Records [digital] and Goodnight Records [physical]). It was special not only because of the intimacy of watching a really great band perform in a relatively small loft studio, but also it happened to be the same studio where my band recorded our first full length album (yes, a shameless self promotion... not common on these pages).

The Fort in Bushwick, Brooklyn has long held the reputation for being a great sounding affordable studio for indie bands in New York City, but this video shoot marked the beginning of what is hopefully a trend of killer bands performing intimate in-studio shows for fans, and having it all filmed and recorded in pristine quality. Take a look at more photos below, and be on the lookout for The Big Sleep's new video and album... their new songs sounded sick.

Watch: They Might Be Giants -- "Electronic Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (Official Video)

Wanna see more great shots from TMBG's Williamsburg Waterfront Show? Go for it.

Here at Fucking Nostalgic, we post They Might Be Giants news about as often as some people post whiny status messages about the weather on Facebook (A lot. And also zing.) So we're pleased to share the new video for "Electronic Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" off of the band's new rarities and remixes comp, Album Raises New And Troubling Questions.

The Johns are pretty pleased about the fact that the video features a circuit-bent Speak 'N Spell, and we bet you will be too. Check it out after the jump.

PJ Harvey Releasing Let England Shake Film DVD

Just in case you haven't been keeping up, acclaimed singer/songwriter PJ Harvey has basically kicked 2011's ass. Her latest album Let England Shake earned her a resurgence of widespread acclaim and the second Mercury Prize of her career (and will likely pop up on one of our year-end lists...hint), and over Halloween weekend she rocked sold-out performances at London's Royal Albert Hall.

So how do you cap all of THAT off? How about with a DVD collection of short films for each song on your award-winning album? That's exactly what Ms. Harvey decided to do. The disc will include all of the previously-released films for Let England Shake, also with a previously unseen film for "England" and behind-the-scenes notes from Seamus Murphy. You can pre-order the DVD over here, and it will be released on December 12 in the UK and the 6th everywhere else - a perfect gift for the hardcore PJ Harvey fan in your life.

Check out the video for standout track "The Glorious Land" after the jump for a sense of what you're in for.

Watch: Kate Bush -- "Misty" (Official Video)

As we've mentioned, Kate Bush has been back in a big way in 2011, and her newest release 50 Words For Snow has garnered widespread praise in the short time it's been out from many sources - including Kate Bush superfan, Big Boi from OutKast (yup). Definitely check it out on Spotify if you haven't already.

In support of the release, the legendary songstress has been posting up new animated videos to accompany the album's tracks, which you can check out on her website. The latest of these, "Mistraldespair," is meant to accompany 50 Words For Snow standout "Misty," which - to not mince words - is a 13-minute song about getting busy with a snowman. Naturally, the video supplements the song and provides the mental image you probably couldn't or wouldn't. Check it out after the jump, won't you?

Watch: Ladytron -- "Mirage" Official Music Video

Check out more photos of Ladytron @ Terminal 5!

British electro-poppers Ladytron have been on tour recently in support of their 5th studio release Gravy The Seducer (they're currently in South America), and today they unleashed a new music video for album cut "Mirage." It was filmed among the monoliths of the Outer Hebrides, and features all of the capes and robes you'd expect when something like that happens. Chill video for a chill song, check it out below.

Future Nostalgia: Watch The Video For Real Estate's "It's Real" And Catch Them On Tour

Future Nostalgia shines a spotlight on newer bands who, in our eyes, are on the cusp of achieving legendary status. These are acts we normally wouldn't feature, but feel so strongly about we just couldn't resist.

Feels like we've been riding the Future Nostalgia train quite a bit lately. Which is great, because that means that there are more and more newer bands out there that we feel will stand the test of time and give us some great new musical memories to look back on.

Enter New Jersey's Real Estate, an act that craft breezy indie pop songs that elicit memories of riding your bike around your small town as a kid on hazy summer days. Specific, I know, but check out the cut "It's Real" off of their new album Days and you'll see how accurate that sentence is. That song now also has a video directed by Weird Days, which you can check out after the jump in all of its fluffy-dog-and-wood-paneled-den goodness.

The band played the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria last month, and our friend NYCTaper was there to capture the hour-long set live. They'll be back our way at Bowery Ballroom on November 23, but in case you're elsewhere in the world, you can check out their tour dates below to see when you'll be able to see Real Estate in your city.

Watch: Wild Flag -- "Electric Band" Official Music Video

Check out more dueling guitar action in our review of Wild Flag's recent show at Maxwell's!

Happy Monday! It's been slightly over a week since the last time we saw a new music video from one of our favorite bands come out, but now we're pleased to show off another one from the indie rock Voltron that is Wild Flag. 

The FN team recently saw them live at both Maxwell's and CMJ and were blown away by their combined skills and experience, but what's also great about them is that they're also really funny. Funny and weird. That definitely showed in their last video for "Romance," and for this new video for "Electric Band" we find them riffing on The Bad News Bears by playing baseball against... people dressed like bears. Yup. Check it out below via NPR. 

The ladies of Wild Flag are pretty much set with NYC-area shows for the time being, but if you happen to live on the West Coast, Europe, or Australia, definitely check them out when they come your way.

Watch: Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks -- "Senator" Official Video

More photos from Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks at Webster Hall over here

It's been a couple of weeks since we posted anything about Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks - which, given our track record, is like several lifetimes. But now we finally have the official music video for Mirror Traffic leadoff single "Senator"!

It stars Jack Black (who I refuse to associate with anything other than Tenacious D and Mr. Show at this point) with a brief appearance by the dude best known as Lumbergh from Office Space, and shit gets dark pretty fast. Don't do drugs, kids. Or cattle prods.

Check it out below, and if you're in Europe this autumn, you should go see Malkmus and his Jicks live.

Watch: They Might Be Giants -- "Cloissoné" Official Music Video

Check out more awesome photos from that time we saw them at Williamsburg Waterfront!

It's apparently Music Video Season for the Johns. Having just dropped the video for "Spoiler Alert" in our hands, They Might Be Giants has unveiled a suitably weird video for "Cloissoné" off of their latest album Join Us. Watch it below, and if you caught the two terrible puns I made in the above sentence, you get a gold star.

Happy 20th Anniversary to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Music Video

As noted by our friends at Slicing Up Eyeballs, today (August 17) marks an important milestone in music history. The above casting flier (via LA Snark) - not an uncommon sight in the LA area - brought  a slew of 18-25 year old locals dressed as "preppies, punks, nerds, and jocks" together with first-time director Samuel Brayer and a young three-person band called Nirvana for the filming of their new video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at 11:30am. 12 hours later, they'd captured the footage that would change the world of rock music forever.

Check out the final Cobain-edited video below and a making-of featurette over here. Thanks again, Nirvana.

Watch: LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends" Unofficial Video... in LEGO

Our mission here at Fucking Nostalgic is to share totally awesome things with you, the reader (and occasionally make fun of the Spin Doctors). Which is why it brings me great pleasure to share this as my third video-related post in a row: a shot-by-shot recreation of the music video for "All My Friends" by one of my favorite (Newly Nostalgic) bands, LCD Soundsystem... shot entirely with LEGOs.

I've spent the past few months telling friends / coworkers / random passersby that LCD's final show at Madison Square Garden this past April was the Stop Making Sense of our generation. High praise for sure, but seeing both tributes to the band like this as well as reliving moments from the show via YouTube clips never fails to stir up the feeling that LCD Soundsystem was a really special phenomenon in modern music.

Check the video out above, and feel free to compare it to the original official video below the jump. Even LCD frontman James Murphy was blown away by it.

Watch: The Cars' "Free" Official Music Video

Looks like we're on a music video kick this morning! New Wave godfathers The Cars have unveiled the official music video for "Free," a track off of their long-awaited reunion album Move Like This. The video is comprised of footage from their first tour in 20 years this past May, including shots from the show we covered at Roseland Ballroom.

Check it out above via Slicing Up Eyeballs, and then check out the video for their classic hit "You Might Think" below the jump because it's awesome and why not.