MMVA09: VideoFACT Indie Video of the Year

May 28th, 2009

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This MMVA category is almost too cool for school. That’s right. These five groups are all so incredibly cool that VideoFact was all, “Hey Guys, have some money to make a bad ass music video!”, and the bands were like “Totally Tubular Dude!”. Or, you know, something pretty close to that. I wouldn’t lie. Here’s the lowdown on the nominees for VideoFACT Indie Video of the Year:

Bedouin Soundclash – Until We Burn in the Sun (The Kids Just Want a Love Song) (watch!)

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Last year, Kingston’s own Bedouin Soundclash were nommed in this same category for their video for “Walls Fall Down”, and now they’re back with a hot video for “Until We Burn in the Sun”. Seriously, you can see the heat waves coming off this one. As the boys trudge through yellow-tinted sand dunes that just make you feel sweaty and gross by looking at them, and try to find civilization again, they encounter cowboy and -girl figures that just might help them find the way home. Or maybe not. Whether they’re burning in the sun, burning in the desert, or burning up your TV screen, these guys sure know how to roll.

Metric – Gimmie Sympathy (watch!)

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More battle-hardened veterans to this category, Metric walked away with the MMVA for Best Indie Video (for “Poster of a Girl”) in 2006, and were up for two other awards that year too. This year they’ve come back strong with a seamlessly smooth performance video for “Gimmie Sympathy”, where the band never stops rocking out, even though they keep switching instruments. You can see Emily Haines try her hand on the drums, and watch James Shaw rule the microphone. Even though they’re asking for it, Metric doesn’t need your sympathy: look at them go!

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains – Who Do We Care For? (watch!)

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Formerly half of the infamous group Death from Above 1979, Sebastien Grainger has recruited some Mountains to bring you a uniquely Canadian video experience. After all, what is more Canadian than snow, explosions, and rocking out in the cold? Okay, so maybe I’m playing with a few stereotypes here, but this video is anything but generic. Sebastien Grainger has come to defy your expectations and prove who, and what, he cares for.

Shad – The Old Prince Still Lives at Home (watch!)

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London, Ontario born rapper Shad takes a break from earning his business degree to bring you a video for “The Old Prince Still Lives at Home”, in the style of a quirky Fresh Prince spoof, where he raps about having no money and borrowing his parents car. The video ends hilariously, when Shad has to perform the last verse of the song himself because he “didn’t have enough money to afford the beat” for the video. This video is up for not one, but two MMVAs this year; a sure sign that Shad’s fortunes are changing.

The Midway State – Never Again (watch!)

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Coming to you with a sick performance video set in Lower Bay Station (probably) are Collingwood-by-way-of-Toronto band The Midway State. Interspersed with the guys playing their instruments for all they’re worth is some kinda-endearing, kinda-stalkery footage of singer Nathan Ferraro finding pieces of a missing girlfriend around Toronto, and painstakingly reassembling them. The Midway State are also up for multiple MMVAs this year, which makes us so excited we could burst into a million pieces (we’re sure the Midway State would pick us up again).

Tags: mmva09