Doug Brod (Editor)

Andy Hummel Sings the Best He Can in Wellington
"Andy’s lovely, gently finger-picked folk ditty is the star of the show here, but it’s the use of the dawn’s natural light that makes this clip, well, shine. The sunlight’s reflection on the water resembles dancing stars, bringing buoyant life to an otherwise placid day."

Guy Mar Delivers Grooves From Tel Aviv
"Despite years of Hebrew school, my comprehension of the language is negligible at best. That didn’t stop me from enjoying Guy Mar’s profoundly funky clip. Dressed in his hipster-nerd finest, he leads the band in a righteous workout. The main guitar riff is memorable, the chorus is lively, and Guy’s delivery is deadpan but perfect. And most important, the clever visual effects never overwhelm the track."

David Marchese (Associate Editor)

Lykke Li Hangs At Peace and Love Festival
"Cutting between electrifying live footage and a pensive, thoughtful interview, this video of Swedish indie-pop princess Lykke Li, taken at her homeland’s Peace & Love music festival, feels less like a news report than it does an audio-visual page from her diary."

San Francisco Seaside With Papercuts
"Shot by frequent SPIN contributor Misha Vladimirskiy, this wonderfully moody video finds singer-guitarist Jason Quever of the Papercuts strolling along the San Francisco seaside—at one point ducking into a cave to escape the howling wind—while he plays his own enigmatic folk songs. A great match of subject and imagery."

Charles Aaron (Music Editor)

Jax Panik Takes Off His Mask And Pants
"Perhaps in the Internet era, it should be no surprise that one of the most buzzed-about new artists in South Africa is a white geek with a fake German accent, ’80s headband, and fluorescent tights who makes kooky bedroom electro-pop that sounds like it was dreamed up by an emo refugee over five lattes in a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, café in 2002. (And, oh yeah, he never plays live except in his mom’s living room.) Here, the mastermind behind the “Jax Panik” video persona and anthemic single “Cigarettes and Cinnamon” is unveiled. Shockingly, he’s an earnestly likable young bloke who enjoys Skimboarding in his spare time and plans to release his next album on a song-a-month basis, possibly via partnership with a cell-phone company. These crazy kids."

In Afrobeat Fight, Femi Kuti Is No Friend of the Government
"This intimate backstage chat with Afrobeat scion Femi Kuti is a fascinating, wide-ranging conversation about the history of his late father Fela’s revolutionary influence, both musically and politically, in Nigeria and beyond. What’s most remarkable, though, is the situation that Femi describes in the country today, where Fela (even in memory) remains unwelcome by the government. The son’s quiet, pointed intensity, interspersed with concert footage, gives you a glimpse of the turmoil the family has endured, and of the tough-minded intelligence that they’ve needed to survive."

Almighty Defenders Are Coming Alive
"On a leafy mountain in Montreal, King Khan, Mark Sultan, and Jared Swilley of the Black Lips break down the origins of their garage-punk supergroup Almighty Defenders, while also bashing out an acoustic version of the Defenders’ track “All My Loving” (in one instance in front of a statue of a priest). The highlight is Khan colorfully describing his pairing with the Lips thusly: “It’s kind of like two people staring at each other on a bus, and finally touching, admiring each other’s junks.”"

Catherine Davis (Managing Editor)

Ville Valo Talks Love, Relationships, Drinking and Drugs
"In this clip, SPIN Earth Latin America correspondent Mayra Dias Gomes sits down with H.I.M. frontman Ville Valo in his native Helsinki. The interview begins with the easy-going goth-metal pinup discussing putting the finishing touches on the band’s seventh studio album, Screamworks: Love in Theory & Practice, but Gomes soon segues the questioning into more interesting territory. Without giving the particulars of his personal life, Valo offers his philosophies of love and relationships (he’d like to one day be swept off his feet again, ladies). Next, the discussion moves to a brief but quite candid description of how sobriety has changed his life. He jokes that after he finishes reflecting on his 12 years of alcoholic misadventures through his songwriting, he’ll have to “hit the crack pipe” for more material."

Sister Fa Interview and Live at Festival PopD'Europe
"This clip is notable not only for the fascinating subject of the interview—Senegalese hip-hop artist Sister Fa—but also for its high level of production. SPIN Earth Europe correspondent Anna Maria Pesavento intersperses her conversation with Fa with footage of the rapper performing at Berlin’s PopDeurope Festival. Sitting in a Berlin park with her son playing nearby, Fa discusses the difficulty she had in the past being taken seriously as a female hip-hop artist in Senegal. Yet, since relocating to Berlin and winning accolades such as the Senegalese Hip-Hop Awards in 2005, her struggle has broadened to raising awareness in her home country about the cruelty of female genital mutilation. As Fa says, “Now it’s time for me to help more than complain.”"

Steve Kandell (Deputy Editor)
Peter, Bjorn and John: Live From Toronto Series
"Most rock bands are interested in trashing hotel rooms. Peter, Bjorn and John turn theirs into a studio. Extra points to John for turning luggage, furniture, and candy into perfect makeshift percussion."