The final Bug of the year and probably for a few months as host Adam Buxton is taking some time off (can we get the guest presenters again please?)
A nicely composite piece by Arno Salters for General Elektrik's track "Different Blue" opened the show
I liked Gorillaz first album but I'm not feeling the new stuff. The video for "Garage Palace" was alright with a nice 16-bit look to it but the track sort of washed over me.
OK Go are a definite for Bug and their latest video for their track Obsession was chosen on this occasion. A clever piece using lots of printers (including a few that misbehaved) done to a time-lapse to create a clever animation. This got the youtube treatment with lots of debate around whether it was a waste of paper or not; the funniest comment not giving a stuff about the paper but criticising the use of toner instead.
A terrible track with a rapper described as sounding like a muppet however the video saved it. A technically simple trick that reminds me of riding Hex at Alton Towers. Is the camera moving or the room?
Flying Lotus was up next. His sounds are hit and miss but the videos are clearly put together by people under the influence of something. Apparently he's done a film that's full of this. One to watch with your friends no doubt.
Then we had a rather slow, sleep inducing track by someone called Sevdaliza. I can't say I liked either the track or the video - sorry!
This interactive video was quite clever and features a huge array of clips joined together like a Fighting Fantasy books us nerds read as kids. It's a fun way to make the video stand out. If you go via this link there's apparently a prize.
If you're going to sing a song about breaking up with your girlfriend and it's going to be a tear jerker for most (not me) then make the video special too. That's what the guy behind Dirty Projectors did. I'll remember the video more than the music for sure.
This year's Blue Dot festival was going to have a Welsh mining theme to it with a number of colliery bands playing and the latest album from Public Service Broadcasting having a mining theme too. Sunday headliners Alt-J have a track called Pleader which also fits. However the PSB couldn't show up so the theme wasn't advertised as heavily as expected. This is a short film to the Pleader track. I don't like alt-j and didn't see them on the Sunday. Not a fan of this one.
Last year Bug played "Virile" by French music outfit The Blaze, and it became a track I played a lot through the year. The video was memorable and this one for their track "Territory" is very similar, almost documentary like and focusing on the poorer class in Algeria. There's a great bit where the on-screen action matches the music perfectly which made it stick in my head. Virile is a much better track though.
My favourite video of the night was also the most simplest with the girls from Haim doing a lightly choreographed piece to their song "Want You Back". This video was supposed to feature a car but following at traffic accident they had to re-plan and this what they came up with. This is great though. The raising camera at the end reminded me of the video to "It's Oh So Quiet" by Bjork.
We ended the show with a clever use of a feedback loop to create a video by The Academic for their track "Bear Claws". When you stream to Facebook there's a delay and the band have made use of that to create this nicely layered looping version of their track. I'd seen this before the Bug but it was still good to see it on a big screen.
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