MADONNA: Sorry

*COACHELLA* Madonna issues an apology statement for the following: 1) trying to bring back the queen-of-the-desert-camel-toe leotard as casual wear, 2) scalping Farrah Fawcett and fashioning herself a feathered blonde meat hat 3) threating to white lady krump during her new tour, 4) crashing typically indie- and emerging-band centric Coachella morphing it into a slithering glittering pop spectacle, and consequently tipping the balance of patchouli honky dredlockers, slouch pantsed skate kids and vintage full lengh corduroy pants a-baking-in-the-sun hipsters balance towards the rimless euro-sunglass sporting, ckone spritzed androgynous club kids set. I envision a Jets vs. Sharks West Side Story style show down. I can't wait. The video is directed by Jamie King. Watch the video (qt - stream).

FRANZ FERDINAND: The Fallen

*COACHELLA* Okay, walk towards the camera... Now, walk towards the green screen... Now walk sidelong... and cut. Bouncing lead track from the double a-sided single from the band headlining Coachella this weekend. That's how many Franz posts this month? The Franz Ferdinand carpet bombing continues... Watch the video (qt).

APPARAT ORGAN QUARTET: Stereo Rock & Roll

I first witnessed this drum-n-organ 5 piece when I attended Iceland Airwaves way back in 2002. This single, with video directed by Einar Snorri, takes a glam rock beat, layers organ sounds and funks it up with vocoder. If it was French, it might be a recipe for Daft Punk. Apparat Organ Quartet take the stage again this year at the Airwaves Feestival 2006. Watch the video (qt).

GOMEZ: How We Operate

Plucky banjos herald a return to Gomez's folksy rock side. The over zealous studio wizardry is vacant on this lead track to the fifth official album form the Southport band. The video is another black and white treatment of a band playing together... with dramatic underlighting and a continuous Blair Witch-like shakey camera oneshot. Watch the video (qt).

GNARLS BARKLEY: Crazy

This will be the single of the summer. At least here on cliptip. The killer combination of Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse perfect a bouncing soul magic spectacular that has been ringing in my head since I first heard it. The Brits have already got this track on the Top of the Pops- will North American broadcast media be so savvy or will we have another Goldfrapp effect? And rumour has it that Danger Mouse is also producing the new Rapture record. The mouse has been busy! The video, directed by Robert Hale, quite appropraitely builds around the beauty of the ink blot. Watch the video (win - stream). UPDATE: video (qt - stream).

THE FAINT: Desperate Guys

I think crazy goth loving electro may be going out of style as the sunny spring optimism starts to fill the air. So here's a video that merges musical influences of new-wave, industrial, and goth orchestral with visual influences of art school confidential with clips of yonder by a-Ha and Peter Gabriel. Watch the video (qt).

WHERE IS CLIPTIP?

Jetting to Vancouver and contracting a deathly bout of food poisoning, cliptip is nursing a jumpy belly in the confines of the San Francisco nesting spot. Happy centennial!

METRIC: Poster Of A Girl

*COACHELLA* Indie nu rockers Metric belly up to the bar with a proper splashy music clip to please your ears and eyes. From the Live It Out album, the brand continue their fusion of indie rock and new wave synth pop lead by the cooing and defiant Emily Haines. Admittedly, only Canadian bands can pull off the bilingual English and French lyrics with authority (pay attention Madonna). If you're anxious for new Metric stuff, there band will likely be on hiatus for a while... as Emily releases her first solo record. Watch the video (qt).

SNOW PATROL: You're All I Have

This has always befuddled me. Are Snow Patrol from Ireland or from Scotland? Well, thanks to the always truthful wonders of wikipedia, I have learned that the band members are Irish but formed in Dundee, Scotland while in university. And before the legal threats, they were called Polarbear. So there you have it. This is the latest video and single. I cannot tell if the video is meant to look this way. The electrodes and lightning streaks must be intentionally that bad. I just gotta believe that. Otherwise, I want to not like the band anymore. Watch the video (win).

THE SAM ROBERTS BAND: The Gate

Brand spanking new single for the nomad Montrealers. In writing and recording their new album, the band fleed the northern hemisphere for the seclusion of a geared-up church in remote Australia. The video is reflective of the single, tuneful, energetic and psychedlic. The big difference is the immediacy of the music- the once instant gratification of the Sam Roberts hook is replaced with layers that bear repeated listening to fully appreciate. I much welcome return for fans, a test of patience to casual listeners. Directed by Christopher Mills. Watch the video (qt).

COLDCUT: True Skool

*COACHELLA* The press release calls this single from the Ninjatune founding production duo a "crypto-Egypto pop-dancehall beat". Oh. Now I know what section to look under at the local record store. Despite the navel gazing genre fusion shennanigans, the track is pretty solid, with rubbery basslines and thumbling tablas, but mostly thanks to the commanding rap stylings of cliptip favourite Roots Manuva. The whole ethnobeat with the chanting and stuff? A little played out, but not completely hokey. The flood of remixes hits this Monday. Watch the video (qt).

DRESSY BESSY: Electrified

Denver based band rocks the powerpop with a mod twist. Tipped by the ever impressive tastemastery of Marenco, this indie jewel of Colorado takes its name from a popular 70's doll by the ironically poorly spelt kids toy company Playskool. The band features delicious vocals by frontwomanTammy Ealom. The full length is also called Electrified and... well, it electrifies. Listen and love this track. It will sass you up. Watch the video (youtube).

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE: 7/4 (Shoreline)

Delightful pop licks eminating from Toronto's ultimate collective. Slick video complete with retro tape deck motif, and black clad band members. One of my favourite tracks off the self titled long player, no doubt because of the vocal contribution of the lovely Ms Feist. Directed by Micah Meisner. Watch the video (qt).

JUNKIE XL: Today

Speaking of fabulous hair, the Dutch electronic producer who crossed to the mainstream with an amped up remix to Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation", releases this latest single from same titled the forthcoming album. First time director Glenn Cole provides the hair clipping concept. Watch the video (qt).

WOLFMOTHER: White Unicorn

*COACHELLA* I have gone wolf crazy. Australian rock anthem freaks Wolfmother hail from Sydney and are signed to the same label as electro siblings Cut Copy and The Presets. But do not be mistaken, Wolfmother sounds not electro, but like the Darkness without the high sheen unitards and thinning hair drama, cross bred with Black Sabbath without the bat head eating. Now, if that conjures images of images straggled backcombing you will be pleasantly suprised that the three piece is actually fair clean cut. Except lead singer Andrew Stockdale has a muffin-fro a la Sideshow Bob. Because the track is so good, you won't be distracted it. Much. Edits and psychedelic post effects tweaked by Kris Moyes. Watch the video (qt).

WOLF PARADE: Modern World

*COACHELLA* Whenever I see a video that involves wooden puppets of the non-brightly coloured-childrens-television-program persuasion, I get nightmarish flashbacks to Tool music videos where I want to put all those miserable marionettes out of their miserable lives. That said, Montreal's Wolf Parade have a not nightmarish, but still disturbing video of wooden stick people to accompany their new single. Directed by Adam Bizanski who has also directed depressed origami livestock for the Shins. Watch the video (qt).

BENNY BENASSI: Who's Your Daddy?

Funny story- I was out late one night at the She Want Revenge concert in Toronto. I got home around 2:30 or so in the morning and like I do always, check email before I head off to dreamland. I responded to a email from a friend, who then replied with "What the hell are you doing on the internet at 2:30 in the morning... checking porn?" So when someone tells you to "not think about Elephant" and all you can think about are elephants, I surfed on over to Fleshbot where I found this porntastic video. The Milanese electro techno head continues his pro-feminist agenda with another racey centrefold music video. His latest single will be blasting out of Ibiza niteclubs and suped-up irocs the world over. Watch the video (qt).

ZERO 7: In Time

How rude is that? I post one Zero 7 video (an old one at that) and all I can do is talk about the new single? Featuring Swedish crooner de jour Jose Gonzalez, the new track, which there is no video yet available, is called Futures and sounds a little like this. Now watch this older video from the second album. Go on. Mind you, it does look like old seventies era family footage with all those soft filters, super 8 sepia undertones and centre parted hairstyles, but the single's really from 2004. Nostalgic to say the least. Watch the video (real).

FRANZ FERDINAND: L Wells

*COACHELLA* When b-sides get their own videos, that I always invite the question, if it was so good to release it as a video, why the hell didn't you include that bloody song of the goddamn album, jackass? Lindsey Wells is the lovely subject of this non-album track. And as the single does not appear on the album, neither does Franz Ferdinand appear in this video. The single is on the double A-Side single of The Fallen. Watch the video (win). UPDATED: video (qt)

NENEH CHERRY: Buffalo Stance (Ghislain Poirier Remix)

This one is P-H-A-T. Take one of the most seminal female MC's from the late 80's and add one of the most exciting beat mechanics of today and you have the trickiest white label track going. I've just posted a video of Ghislain but I am obsessed with this Montrealer's wicked aesthetic. And Neneh Cherry... are you kidding me? Nothing needs to said about this tag team made in hip hop heaven. Watch the video (qt).

DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979: Black History Month (Sammy Danger Remix)

Remix number 2 for this week, this time DFA79 reblended by Sammy Danger. Same video, respliced. Not a bad way to sustaining the viral interest in a phat track- no new video production, take an existing audio remix and just add some video re-editing. Take notes all- keep the record fresh, keep the costs low, and cliptip is all over it. And so should you be. Nice work, Vice. Watch the video (qt).

LADY SOVEREIGN: Random (Remix)

*COACHELLA* It's a remix threesome on cliptip, and we kick it off with the "biggest midget in the game", Lady Sovereign. Hot rocking, bass heavy remix to the grime wonderkind's solid single. The track features addition rhymes from Riko and will fuck you up until you get down. To fill your brim until Lady Sov releases more goodness, here are some MP3's to tide your hunger. Get 'em while they're live. MP3: Mizz Beats Remix. MP3: XXX Change Remix. MP3: Random (Rucker & Sindens Remix). Watch the video (qt).

HOT CHIP: Boy From School

The impending second album from Hot Chip, now signed to the excellent DFA records has gotten me all bothered. This is another great track from the UK odd collective, mixing their unusual electro pop potpourri with sparse, almost lonley visuals courtesy of director Garth Jennings. Get hip to the 'Chip. Watch the video (win).

DAFT PUNK: Prime Time Of Your Life

*COACHELLA* Vocoders galore in the latest in Daft Punkery. The video, whether a cautionary play on teenage suicide or bulimia or whatever is possibly the least playful of all the French duo's video treatments. Even the horror factor in the similar Gunther von Hagen Body World flesh peeling Robbie Williams "Rock, DJ" video has more cheek, so to speak. Watch the video (real).

THE FLAMING LIPS: The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song

No, it's not a tribute to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Freak indie rock heroes The Flaming Lips are set to drop another progressive indie gem on shoegazing set with the album At War With The Mystics. I've always had a very slow growing appreciation of the Flaming Lips, finding their music meandering and foolishly whimsical. Granted, once past the lullaby exterior, Wayne Coyne's bloodied white suit uniform and outrageousness of their stage persona, there's a real quality to the songwriting that is undeniable. This video takes the old joke of tying a pork chop around a kids neck just so the dog will play with him to another space cadet, signature Flaming Lips level. I'm waiting to seem how many listens before my compulsions bring me to actually pick up this new record... Until then, watch the video (qt - stream).

PHOENIX: Run Run Run

No this is not a new Phoenix track, but riding the tide of hype, I am pleased to announce there's a new album coming soon. Perhaps pop music gets a shitty rap, but Phoenix's brand of French pop cum eighties borderline schmatz rock is way to cool to possibly dislike. Director Mathieu Tonetti gives this track from album #2 an iconic retro futurist feel. Watch the video (real).

GHISLAIN POIRIER: Don't Smile It's Post-Modern

While Edmonton is being heralded as the new Montreal, ace electronic producer Ghislain Poirier is giving Montreal another shot of cool. With big name collaborations and remixes for such new school heavy hitters Lady Sovereign, Beans, TTC and DJ/Rupture, the Montreal beat chemist is set to keep the Franco-Canadian metropolis on the music map. The video, showcasing the lost art of urinal pop-lockin', is directed by Notice Bureau. Watch the video (qt).

THE VINES: Don't Listen To The Radio

Brand new video from the Sydney, Aussie rockers. It's really good- definitely a more matured feel with a bit of that sun soaked beach rock feel rather than the typical loud and brash axe grinding grunge baggage. Another black and while band video, but reasonable well executed with enough gloss and flare to forgive the "i've seen this before" treatment. And it looks like lead singer Craig Nicholls finally combed his hair. The latest album, Vision Valley , is out April 4th. Watch the video (qt).

SHY NOBLEMAN: Baby In The Rain

Director Oren Shai sneaks me a peak of this absolutely genius video by Isreali pop delights, Shy Nobleman. This track fits comfortably between the New Pornographers and some insane power pop marriage between the Kinks and the Beatles. The video is a brilliant concept- high school yearbook brought to life in the best Brady Bunch, retro 70's kitsch imaginable. Check out the familiar cast of high school characters with corresponding hairstyles and polyester duds. Watch the video (qt).

SOUTH: A Place In Displacement

This is possible the best record the New Order never recorded. Melodic brit-poppery with a killer chorus hook and just enough enough punch to get you humming along in the car. The video is black and while and not that original, as it does your typical showcase of your band with instruments playing to the song. However, all is forgiven as the track is meatty. Watch the video (flash).

BEANS: Mutescreamer

This video is an accurate depiction of the weather I am currently experiencing in Edmonton. There is snow everywhere and it's actually quite charming. Did I also mention that Edmonton is considered the new Montreal? I do not own any Beans records. Not a single one. Yet, I am drawn to his hip hop lyrical content, his electro-electronica sound and his sense of original style. Take a listen to this solo work post Anti Pop Consortium. Watch the video (qt).