The best of YouTube: #45
Every Friday, the MusicRadar team submits its own personal favourite music videos and clips on the net.
Some clips we really like, others are simply comedy classics or oddly intriguing. But all are worth watching.
In this episode of BOYT, Norman Cook is bottled by Iggy Pop, 'Big Daddy' is running a Back Porch business and, for a spot of comic relief, the cat plays the piano.
To be continued...
Nora the piano-playing cat
Aren't cats funny? Well, if you're getting as irritated by the internet phenomenon LOLcats as I am then actually, no, they're not. However, pry a little further into the internet-cat world - past stupid pictures of illbred pets propped up by ill-conceived captions - and you'll find felines of genuine intrigue, such as Nora the piano-playing cat.
Not only has Nora got every technique from duets with humans to minimalist jazz improv nailed, but she's cute and fluffy too. And what does Nora say about her ivory-tinkling skills? "I'm on ur pianoz, ruinin ur melodeez," of course... Chris Wickett
'Big Daddy' and his 5-string cigar-box/license plate resonator
Big Daddy's Back Porch Mojo company makes guitars out of cigar boxes and cookie tins so you don't have to. And, weirdly, they sound pretty smokin'. He's even built a 4/8-string double neck. Michael Leonard
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The Kinks - Low Budget
"Times are hard, but we'll all survive / We've just got to learn to economize." Timely words, yes, but they were actually written by Kinks leader Ray Davis in 1979, whose wry social commentary on that year's recession and oil crisis gave the band one of their biggest hits. (Of course, it didn't hurt that the almost-heavy metal riff shook the hills.) Interestingly, the group recorded the album of the same name at New York's Power Station, which at the time was one of the priciest joints around. No low budget for them. Joe Bosso
Cassius - 1999
I realised this week that this song was released almost exactly ten years ago - that really does make me feel old. I include it here not simply because it was a great record, but because it still sounds remarkably fresh. Its reliance on technology means that dance music doesn't always age well, but 1999 could be put out today and still sound current. Ben Rogerson
John Martyn plays Couldn't Love You More on The Old Grey Whistle Test
Following the sad news of John Martyn's death on 29 January, here's another classic performance from the 'serious' BBC Music Show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977. Martyn is joined by Danny Thompson on upright bass for this spellbinding rendition of Couldn't Love You More from his experimental 1977 LP One World. Chris Vinnicombe
Magnetic drums for lazy wrists
This is called the FielDrum and it was created by the Magnetic Musical Training Project. In a nutshell, it's a drum fitted with MIDI-controlled magnets: you hit 'attract' or 'repel' and the stick moves on its own. It's supposed to help teach your limbs the "complex physical gestures required to play musical instruments". Tom Porter
The Brighton Port Authority - He's Frank (Slight Return) Feat. Iggy Pop
The first time I saw this, I thought it was a viral video for Government drug help bods Frank and was illustrating that whilst The Ig is an invulnerable übermensch constructed from buffalo leather, he was also prone to Class A-fuelled outbursts that should be avoided by mere mortals such as you and I. In reality, it's the new single from Fatboy Slim's latest pseudonym and shows that despite jettisoning all credibility by taking filthy ad coin from a car insurer, Iggy has somehow just about still got it. How? Erm, by hitting Norman Cook over the head with a bottle. Just watch til the end… Mike Goldsmith
Still bored?
Behold the self-procliamed Elbow Drummer. It kicks off at 2:20 - given his arm action, you may have your own theories as to how he got such a strong right bicep.
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