Catching up with some videos from Rage from the past couple of weeks...

• The Blackeyed Susans - Private Dancer : Nice, slow-motion (like their version of the song) sepia-toned all historical-like footage of Melbourne buskers, including the blind guitarist who hangs around the corner of Swanston / Little Bourke Streets, plastic-bucket-drumkit-guy, a saxophonist (presumably the one with the small dog sitting on a stool), and others. I didn't notice the sad violinist dude in there, though. And I'll keep reminding you all that you should really get out there and buy a copy of Dedicated to the ones we love. Yes. You. Go. Now. It's not just the novelty value of hearing a cover like this, it's the simple fact that the rest of the album is great.

• New Order - Ruined in a day : A Buddhist temple ? what ? Somebody (I never found out who) put a Post-It Note(tm) saying "Prozac Zombie" over Barney's face on the Low life poster I'd put up at work. Well. Yes.

• The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Capitalism stole my virginity : I picked up their first CD a year ago, and listened to it a) because of the name, and b) because I was amused by the picture of the band on the back cover - one of them bore a striking resemblance to a youngish Mark E. Smith. But I actually liked the CD, too, amazingly enough. Good, fairly tight, "rockin'"(tm) stuff. I must say, though, that all their videos look a bit sameish - the band's playing, everybody's wearing the same clothes, the lead singer's jumping around looking agitated, and somewhere there's subliminal messages about stuff. I can't even spot Young Mark E. Smith anymore, so I guess his face changed, or something. This song isn't bad, but I think I prefer Smash It Up, which stands out as a great signature tune for this Angry Young(ish) Band.

• Ryan Adams - New York New York : Going by his piece on the Hank Williams tribute CD, and one or two things I thought I heard somewhere, I expected a bit more pretension, but this actually seemed nice, simple, down to earth and heartfelt (just as well, too, given the timing of the video footage).

• Electronic - Disappointed : I'd forgotten all about this one - the well-toned guys running in slow motion through a field, carrying and then waving their dark red flags, while Barney flips in every now and then holding up a card with a single letter on it (what does it all spell in the end ?), random chemical structures spinning around (pundits wishing for a cheap shot would suggest Prozac, but I won't), and so on. Neil Tennant's singing this one, though, which reminds me of a quote I'd seen in the Sleaze Nation interview with New Order, where the writer asserted that poor old Neil burst into tears upon hearing Blue Monday for the first time, because it represented "everything he'd been working towards". I guess he managed to forgive Barney in the end, and it's not like he did so badly himself, right ?

Right. Now I've just got to work myself up to feeling like watching all those Werner Herzog DVDs I've been lent...