While skipping through a few older posts, I found this post containing a video that was no longer hosted on the video platform where I originally got it from.

A broken reference on a music blog might not seem like a big deal, but this particular case is one that I find very annoying. I am talking about the video “Stylo” from the Gorillaz.

Normally, when I am looking for a video, I go to YouTube, like most people do. For me, YouTube (and other video portals) have become the true successor to MTV since they stopped concentrating on music. YouTube is usually a great source for music video from all different genres, and I often use YouTube videos as references.

However, a while ago, YouTube introduced a technology called geoblocking . Essentially, what it means is that you can or cannot view certain videos depending on the country you are accessing that video from.

Geoblocking is relatively easy to circumvent, but when I referenced that video, I didn’t want to give my readers the hassle of having to figure that out. So I looked for a different source – and finally found one on Dailymotion. This worked for a while, but apparently it was an unauthorized video upload and they removed it.

Of course, anybody wanting to see the video will certainly find it, but this shows a serious problem of video portals: You can’t use them as an archive.
You can never know if any video will be taken down for legal or business reasons. And just because something is released in one country does not mean it will ever be accessible in any other country.

I can see the business logic behind this kind of decision, since from a marketing standpoint, you might want to have full control over what is realeased when in which country.
Nevertheless, from a cultural point of view, I am strongly against this kind of technology.

Music is an important part of our culture, and the internet should be used to enable access to it, not restrict it.

Anyway, the video is still cool, so here it is again. I hope it stays there.

Live visuals are one of the things that make it unique to experience music during a performance. When this is done well, this can really make the event much more special and enjoyable.

Today, I saw a video that made me think about how good live visuals actually could be:

What I love about this video is that music and visuals seem to become one. What you see perfectly fits to what you hear and vice versa.

For comparison: What you usually get to see at electronic music events is something like this.

Don’t get me wrong, these are certainly nice-looking visuals that fit well to the DJ performance.

I just feel that there is an extra mile worth going here: VJs often simply add an extra layer to the music. They use pre-cut video loops that they put together during their performance to match the DJ’s performance. If the VJ is good, he/she actually manages to sync the video to the beats.

But why do you never see video performances that actually match to the melodies or whatever is going on in the track? I assume that current VJ tools just aren’t made for this kind of interaction between music and visuals – but this is definitely something that could take live visuals one step further.

When a year ends, there are always dozens of polls about everyone’s favorites for the last year. I have to admit that I enjoy that kind of polls, especially when it’s about music.

Here are my favorite artists for 2009. Please feel free to share your favorites in the comments!

1. Fever Ray
Fever Ray is the solo project of The Knife’s singer Karin Dreijer Andersson. Her music is hard to descripe, but very, very fascinating. If you ever have the chance to see her on stage, don’t miss that! It’s a truly magical experience.

2. Gossip
I know they have been around for a while, but I was totally unaware of how good they really are until I saw them on stage last year. Very powerful live performance! And Gossip’s last Album “Music for Men” kicks more than just one ass!

3. Parov Stelar
He’s the master of many styles. From smooth downbeat grooves to funky dancefloor bangers – Parov Stelar can do it all, and he does it with style.

4. Simian Mobile Disco
Many artists who are good at creating great dancefloor tunes fail when they try to create a whole album that’s also good to listen to at home. Simian Mobile Disco are one of the few artists who excel in great dancefloor material as well as in catchy pop tunes.

5. The Prodigy
The Prodigy were probably the most influential band for me when I was a teenager. I was happy to see that their latest album “Invaders Must Die” finally took them back to their old greatness.

6. Chase & Status
I had totally mistaken Chase&Status for “yet another Dubstep artist”, but when I heard their remix for Nnekas “Heartbeat” on the radio, they caught my interest. I always like it when an artist can cover more than one style, and they definitely shine in Dubstep, Drum&Bass and even Funky Breaks (see below).

7. Malente
Malente is a genius in delivering dancefloor anthems with a certain twist. Both his remixes and his own productions made it into a few sets of mine in 2009.

8. Sub Focus
2009 was the year that let me re-discover Drum&Bass. I have loved fast, broken beats for a long time, but somehow didn’t keep track of what was happening for a while. Sub Focus‘ superb single “Rock It” was one of the tracks that showed me Drum&Bass is still alive & kicking.

9. The Crystal Method
Artists like The Crystal Method were the top choice for action movie soundtracks in the 90s. I always felt that there was more to this kind of music than just serving as a side dish to a movie, and Crystal Method have proven that they are still creative.

10. Jetlag Digital
Jetlag Digital is not actually an artist, but a Progressive House/Trance label. However, I wanted to mention them here since their sound has influenced me a lot in 2009. They just deliver great electronic dance music all the time and keep me wondering how just two guys (Shane and Hyline) can get so many artists from around the world together.

I have been a fan of the label Etage Noir (particularly Parov Stelar) for quite a while now. They release a great fusion of jazz, swing and electronic beats that’s still danceable and not just generic downbeat lameness.

However, I recently learned that they re-activated their sub-label Etage Noir Special and are aiming for a couple of new releases in 2010. They describe their style as “Electro House”, but their stuff seems to be much more interesting than your typical cheesy bigroom Electro House.

There’s also this amazing video for Saint Pauli‘s “I Need Rhythm”. It was relaeased in 02/2009 already, but I have totally missed this one. It takes the ideas of contemporary urban street art (-> Banksy) even one step further. Enjoy!