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Back when MTV played music videos regularly, the way a band was depicted in their music video could literally make or break their career (this guy knows what I’m talking about). Although no one discovers new music by watching MTV anymore, music videos are still a way for bands to present themselves and their image to new fans. For a new band, their first music video might be the only thing on the internet to truly represent them. Sure, it only takes 5 minutes to build a Facebook fan page and to post losts of cool pictures of your band sitting around a piano, but that only goes so far. 

Bands use a variety of channels to get their music out to the world, many of which provide no representation of the bands image. When a fan hears a new song while driving to the Gap, or while shopping at the Gap, or in a commercial for the Gap, their next step is usually to look that song up online. Spending 2 minutes in the YouTube comment section on The Lumineers’ debut video "Ho Hey" will prove that a lot of people found their music from this Bing commercial:

Most roommates share the couch and common space with each other, and that’s about it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A roommate relationship can result in a lot more than arguments over who forgot to take the trash out. Sometimes, and especially in the case of musician Andy Clockwise and director Ben Fee, a roommate relationship can result in a music video. We talked to Ben about directing Andy’s latest video “Steam Dream,” and how their roommate relationship allowed everything run smoothly and with a lot more hugs.

When you direct an awesome music video for Aesop Rock that features motorcycles, dancing, and ballerinas, there is bound to be a lot of stories to tell about production. Add in the fact that this one shoot actually resulted in two awesome music videos, and the stories grow even more. Shoot those music videos at a museum in San Francisco called “The Porn Palace,” and the story telling potential goes through the roof. We wanted to hear all of these stories, so we talked to Ben Fee and Pete Lee, directors of Aesop Rock’s “Cycles to Gehenna,” to find out about the location, co-directing the video, and money shots. 

The Uncluded, the genre-crossing duo comprised of Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson, has been on a music video tear recently, already releasing four videos off of their debut album Hokey Fright, which was released last week. Likely our favorite video from the album so far, “Delicate Cycle” directed by Ben Fee and Pete Lee, features The Uncluded along side a cast of over 80 different cast members – both people and animals. We talked to Ben and Pete about collaborating with The Uncluded, shooting with a cafeteria full of kids, and practical washing machine effects.