Victoria Abraham defines one up and coming artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Grimes, a dream pop artist from Vancouver, British Columbia.
This 24-year-old is more than just a musician; she is also an artist, a music video director, and a member of the band L$D with Kreayshawn and Tragik. Grimes began recording experimental music while studying at McGill University in Montreal, where she got in to the underground electronic and industrial scene. She is yet another badass Canadian artist to add to your iPod.
Origins: Vancouver, British Columbia
Full name: Claire Boucher
Known for: Grimes is known for an eclectic musical style that mixes together a variety of musical influences from pop to hip hop to noise rock and medieval music.
Used in a sentence: “With her Unicorn-esque pink and green hair and ethereal sound, Grimes makes me think of mystical creatures frolicking in a meadow.”
Listen to now: Oblivion
File next to: Björk
Fun facts: Read more…
Here’s what you get when you add Kreayshawn with Grimes, Tragik and Blood Diamonds. A trippy video built around the refrain: “I be that grimy motherfucker.” The group, called L$D, wrote “Don’t Smoke My Blunt Bitch” in under 10 minutes and shot the trippy video in under an hour at a Los Angeles thrift shop. Then, it was loaded to Tragik’s YouTube page.
We’re not sure if this was a one-time thing or if they plan to release more. Either way, a dream come true?
The Hives – “Go Right Ahead”
In The Hives’ new video for their latest single “Go Right Ahead,” which we previously featured on Musical Prozac, the boys (men?) suit up, leave the garage behind and head to the studio. The video was filmed in Benny Andersson from ABBA’s brand new studio in Stockholm. The Hives were lucky enough to be the first band to record here. The whole video looks they shot it in one take, though with all their energy the rowdy song doesn’t need anything more to carry it. Oh, and top hats are included. The Hives’ new album Lex Hives will be released on June 1.
Nelly Furtado – “Big Hoops”
The bigger the better, the bigger the better, the bigger the better…. Hoops that is. As in, Nelly Furtado’s new single “Big Hoops” off her fifth album, The Spirit Indestructible (June 19.) Nelly’s first music video in three years delivers, with Native American hoop dancers, and Nelly herself wearing stilts, towering over LA. The song has some serious swag and is on par with her new hip-hop style. Also, as Nelly adamantly sings, she can move fast, she can move slow, she can go places nobody else goes! Wait, we’re still talking about hula hoops right?
Grimes – “Nightmusic” ft. Majical Cloudz Read more…
Let’s call this the Variety Post of andPOP. Even we miss a couple stories every week that we wish we could cover. Here are some quick hits from the past couple days.
1) Highlights from Project X premiere party
Project X is being labeled the party movie of the year and the premiere blowout certainly verifies that. The party included performances by Tyler, The Creator, A-Trak, The Hundred In The Hands, Drop The Lime, Jesse Marco and Kid Cudi. Okay, I’m hooked.
2) Baby Snooki
As we know, Snooki is probably going to turn her supposed pregnancy into a Jersey Shore spin-off. Jimmy Kimmel envisions the show as more of a Rugrats style cartoon, but it still has plenty of spit-ups, burps and baby herpes to go around.
3) Grimes’ premieres “Oblivion”
This airy video, directed by Emily Kai Bok, is for a track from Grimes’ first album “Visions.” The quirky pink-haired singer dances awkwardly in a football stadium. It’s definitely a chill track to replay over the weekend.
4) Jingle Punks
The Jingle Punks are a hipster orchestra that created an Oscar mashup of all the best songs over history. The live performance includes shoutouts to Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, James Bond and Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard.
5) New scene from The Hunger Games
With all the trailers and scenes being released for The Hunger Games, I feel like I’ve pretty much seen the whole movie. What’s left? Today they released yet another new seen to torment you. The short clip features Katniss’s mean archery skills.
6) Justin Bieber’s dad posts a birthday video
When I first saw this video I thought it was some sort of parody or spoof… but no, it’s really Justin Bieber’s dad, Jeremy Bieber. What do you get the boy with everything for his birthday? How about a tattoo of the initials “JB,” for Justin Bieber, though it conveniently stands for his initials too. The worst part is when his dad picks up his phone and says: “Hello Weezy, what’s popping?” Cringe!
Although reports claim that starlet Shenae Grimes is causing trouble on the set of 90210, Jessica Lowndes, who plays Adrianna, says otherwise.
According to E! News, Lowndes says the reports on ridiculous.
“None of it’s true. We’re all like a little family. There’s no drama, and everyone’s trying to create drama.”
As for drama on the show, Lowndes says audiences will expect a lot of it.
“Oh my God! It gets worse,” Lowndes said of her character. “The drugs just get harder and harder. And starting this Tuesday, my character starts her downfall. It’s pretty crazy. It’s pretty shocking. I definitely think people are going to be shocked.”
