Indie bands doing short films is kinda so hot right now. As it becomes increasingly challenging to get noticed above the fray, artists have taken to the medium to give fans and newcomers alike a different way of entry for their music. Of course, Arcade Fire teamed with Spike Jonze for “The Suburbs,” while Beach House took the more DIY route and made “Forever Still” themselves. Now a couple more bands are stepping towards cinema with interesting results.
First up, Broken Bells—the project from The Shins frontman James Mercer and beatmaker/producer Danger Mouse—have dropped the first part of “After The Disco,” which also happens to be name of their forthcoming album. Titled “Part One: Angel and The Fool,” this one stars Anton Yelchin and Kate Mara in the reality/fantasy blurring love story that follows a man who yearns to fall in love with space traveler. Ambitious stuff, so check out the Jacob Gentry (“The Signal“) directed effort below and we’ll be keeping an eye out for more to come. This one arrives via The Creators Project, a partnership between Intel and Vice. Update 11/22: Part Two, “Holding On For Life,” added. [Pitchfork]
Meanwhile, Jared Leto continues to confound us by being an often very good actor who saddles himself with an almost intolerable persona as an artiste. Anyway, he’s gone behind the camera for “City Of Angels,” the new video/short film for his band 30 Seconds From Mars. Rounding up a staggering array of folks including Alan Cumming, Ashley Olsen, Corey Feldman, James Franco, Juliette Lewis, Kanye West, Lily Collins, Lindsay Lohan, Olivia Wilde, Selena Gomez, Shaun White, Steve Nash and Zoey Deutch, it finds a bunch of people getting ponderous about Los Angeles or something. It also features childhood photos of Leto, and the dude Jesus Christ posing outdoors as his band rocks out. If you can handle it, watch it below. [THR]
Lastly, Riley Keough (“Jack And Diane,” “Magic Mike,” Elvis‘ granddaughter) stops by the latest Justin Timberlake video “TKO,” to beat up the pop singer and then have sex with him. Ah, the power of music…. [Pitchfork]
