New Vivian Girls Video - "Moped Girls"
The video for "Tell The World" found the Vivian Girls driving a convertible in front of a green-screened forest and battled bats, among other things, but mostly staring ahead at the road unblinkingly until they stopped to belt out a few lines in a faux forest. This new Brady Hall-directed clip for "Moped Girl" also involves a bunch of disengaged staring -- it's their thing -- but the Girls also show us they have a sense of physical humor via pies and bass guitars in the face, brown bags and spilled milk over the head, and broken arms, popped balloons, a recurring cute cat, an Olympic medal, and various other site gags. If the song sounds new, it's because it's from a limited edition 7".
(Via P4K)
The "Moped Girls" b/w "Death" 7" is out via For Us, aka the label of Rough Trade Shops.
Posted at 4:25 PM by brandon in Video
Tags: Vivian Girls
(fuck you)
Score = 7
I'd bang the fat one.
Score = 32
She looks like a cross between the one guy from Yo La Tengo and Thelma from Scooby Doo
Score = 6
Absolute garbage. Whatever "classic sound" they might have borrowed ... it just feels like they are trying on that sound on like a pair of jeans and looking around the room to see if they seem cool.
I know, I'm ranting. Sorry to all the vivian girl fans.
I still have that silly bathtub interview in my mind.
Score = 22
I can't say it's terrible, but it's terribly pedestrian, like everything else I've heard thusfar from them. It's odd considering all the press this band gets. It makes me wish Sleater Kinney would get back together so the press could jizz themselves over them for a while. They were overrated too, but at least they were worth a good deal of the initial praise.
Score = 5
bathtub interview?
Score = -13
Seriously, this band sucks. Their songwriting and musicianship iare not even at high school talent show level.
Speaking of which, if these lame-ass bitches ever entered a high school talent show they would lose to Smoosh - and I think they're still freshmen.
Score = 7
Just don't mention blooming onion gate.
Score = 2
the fat one gets all the abuse.
Score = 14
bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview bathtub interview
Score = -3
aww word! me too, but only after she gets hit in the face with the pie..
Score = 1
uh.. that was a reply to yumm.
Score = -1
idk..i don't care what you elitists fucks think...i like it. it's not life-altering...but i like it..and seriously..how long has it been since you've actually heard high school bands at talent shows? Because they suck...hard.
Score = 12
Why all the hate for Vivian Girls? They make really great music, so let's put blooming onion-gate behind us. :)
Score = -3
This video reminds me a lot of Overload by Sugababes. Except Overload is awesome.
Score = -5
Hahahahaha. I would love to high five whoever threw the pie in the fat/ugly girl's face!
Score = -24
I think there is more juvenile and misogynist BS in music blog comment sections than in all the frat houses in America combined. You people are fucking idiots.
Score = 44
Actually, if this band were a bunch of guys making this awful racket they wouldn't even have a record deal and EVERYONE would be shitting on them.
Just terrible, out of tune, talentless tripe. If they're going to ape C86, they should at least learn to play their instruments and sing a bit. Put some effort into it. They're probably too busy smoking and doing lines to practice.
Score = 11
This is bad, just bad. This seems like a case of the Emperor's new clothes or a joke perpetrated by music writers. "Let's get the worst fucking band imaginable and tell everyone one they're good."
Score = 7
So we're not supposed to hold them to the same standards as other bands because they're girls? Pfft, I'm going to go listen to some Slits now.
Score = 0
Has anyone heard if they are going to put a link to the bathtub interview in this article?
Score = -6
bathtub interview > woodman backgina
Score = 3
are we seriously still on about that interview? wasn't that like a million years ago in internet time?
Score = 4
things (e.g. bathtubs) are most present in their absence from your post, brandon.
Score = -2
"I think there is more juvenile and misogynist BS in music blog comment sections than in all the frat houses in America combined. You people are fucking idiots."
I second that.
it's a damn shame.
Score = 9
i think the offensive comments were mostly because people hate the vivian girls rather than REAL misogyny / sexism. The fact is, they came across to a lot of readers of this blog as pretentious and stuck up in a paritcular interview. (blooming onion gate) That's the fact, and the reality is that in relatialtion to the insults they (possibly inadvertantly) levelled at many people (including many people who read this, and many previous fans of theirs) in such a nasty way, people retaliated at them. Noone would have said those comments if this article was about sleater kinney - mostly because people have respect for them. Whereas people felt DISrespected by the vivian girls. Time will tell if they can get beyond that or not, my suspicion is yes. Blooming onion gate was ages ago and people seem to still like this band.
Score = 14
tldnr, is this about the fat girl if so i will chuckle now
Score = -2
this music is awful.
Score = 7
who cares about bathtubs? this music is lazy nonsense. video is pretty alright though.
Score = 2
Kinda boring, just off the mark. They are pretty though >.>
Score = 1
This is like the Shaggs, but somehow worse. And in tune.
Score = 3
i appreciate the bags over the heads and the masks and stuff but the music is so fucking boring. please, vivian girls, just write a good song. wtf.
p.s. the drummer is definitely snorting cheeseburgers when off camera.
Score = 2
Maybe they should rethink hitting the drummer square in the face with a delicious pie and the pouring of an excessive amount of white fluid over the bass player's comely face.
Score = 2
they're fun live yall
Score = 1
That was awful.
Score = 3
Awesome
best track so far from the vivian girls
Score = -4
Can we stopped talking about the bathtub interview? And how fat the fat drummer is?
Thank you.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I've tried to get into Vivian Girls' music for awhile, but I just can't. I think their sound is awful. I mean, seriously, why the super-shitty guitar while all of the other instruments sound just fine? And the vocals sound like the chick is strung out or something. Yucky.
Score = 7
they sound like shit.
fuck wavves
fuck woods
fuck talentless assholes
Score = 5
bathtub interview.
and your damn right.
http://rdfrnds.blogspot.com/
Score = -1
"MOPEY GIRLS"
Score = 6
I just dont like the whole "were way too cool to be interested in the music were playing" look they all have. The 90's ended a long time ago.
Score = 5
Hey. Fuck you with your 'fuck Woods'.
Score = 8
Yeah, seriously... not fair for Woods to get lumped in with Wavves and Vivian Girls... On record they sound nothing like either band. They're on their own trip, man. A much better trip.
Score = 0
songs of shame blows.
At rear house is their only good album. (woods)
if you want lo-fi psychedelic listen to raccoo-oo-oon.
Score = 0
This isn't any better or worse than 90% of what's passed off as indie rock anyway. The reason people are so vehement in their hatred for the music is because they came across as even more arrogant and pretentious than most indie rock groups really are. The also have no sense of humor. Indie rock groups are supposed to be humble, namechecking like crazy. Or they're supposed to be goofy. You'll get the pretentious, serious artists (Connor Oberst, Arcade Fire) but they don't go so far over the edge that they become petty like Vivian Girls did.
And perception is reality. So while everyone was creaming themselves over Vivian Girls four or five months ago, now they're the band to hate. Every big indie experiences it -- they ride the wave of blog popularity then suddenly everyone hates them. Except Vivian Girls were dumb enough to cut that interview before they could take off like last year's indie darlings Vampire Weekend or Cold War KIds before them or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah before them and so on. They just jumped right to the backlash.
Score = 2
yo yo love you girls
Score = -4
I honestly don't hear what so many people (Jim DeRogatis, for instance) heard in putting Vivian Girls in their top-5's for 2008, but this really isn't bad. Like Rob S. said, "[t]his isn't any better or worse than 90% of what's passed off as indie rock". My only caveat: would it kill them to mix the vocals just a touch higher?
Score = 0
It would actually kill YOU if the vocals were higher.
Score = 9
nice
Score = 0
zzzzzing
Score = 0
way better than the the 90ies
cool stuff
Score = -6
I agree that the bathtub interview is pretty old by now, but it's pretty hilarious seeing Vivian Girls fans say that something is overhyped and should have been forgotten already.
Score = 2
Vivian Girls are a shit copy of The Aislers Set.
Score = 3
Yeah, what I love about indie rock is the virtuosity of the bands. Dig the artful fretwork and colorful singing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7-f60inNhQ
Vivian Girls may be extremely derivative, but at least they're derivative of music I love. I just don't see what the fuss is over this band. They're not great, but they're not terrible either.
Score = 1
I do agree wholeheartedly that the comments on this blog echo the neanderthal goings-on of frat houses across America: petty, knucklehead bullshit. BUT, I also agree that this band is truly awful, and another terrible example of how ridiculous and misleading the hype machine can get.
They can't play their instruments, they can't sing, the song is completely forgettable, and there is simply no emotion conveyed at all. Are they even having fun? It's hard to tell.
You can't convince me for a second that if you took these girls and put them in a High School Talent Show that they would stand out in ANY way.
So let's forget the bathtub gossip shit and just call it like it is. This band is just shy of mediocre at best and completely over-hyped.
Score = 1
saw them open for king khan about a week ago. had never heard their music and came in with an open mind. they definitely seemed like a high school band.
people talk about misogyny...but if this band were boys no one would take them seriously/have heard of them. this is the type of thing that leads to female musicians not being taken seriously.
Score = 1
I just want to echo all the posts saying that their music is terrible, and that they wouldn't even get a second glance if they weren't women. Because it's true, and their music IS terrible.
Score = 1
Think this song sucks? Think you can write something better?
Then go fucking do it instead of wasting your time trash talking musicians on the internet. And if you can't, who are you to bitch?
Jesus, people....
Score = -8
No internet argument over any artistic endeavor is officially over until someone makes the retarded "YOU THINK YOU COULD DO BETTER?" argument. And now the circle is complete!
The funny thing is that while usually, say if the argument is on the IMDB boards or something, the answer is no... No, I personally could not make a movie like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, not that it has anything to do with my ability to criticize that piece of shit. But I think that pretty much anyone in this comment thread actually COULD start a band that's at least as good as the Vivian Girls... I see shit-ass indie rock bands all the time that are better than them but still not anything special... Which is why it's so irritating that they're so hype.
Score = 7
i'm in no way a sexist person but there's definitely some truth to them garnering exposure, cred, hype, etc due to them being girls (and some of them being cute totally helps) . that doesn't make me sexist, it makes the industry that propelled the hype and the zombie indie wannabe's that bought into it the sexist ones. sorry folks, but i have reiterate- if they were a bunch of dudes doing this, they would be discarded in seconds. this band is soooo talentless, it's a joke...so many suckers in this indie hipster world that buy into the hype, it's sad.
Score = 0
There is something about this band that attracts me....Maybe its the orc playing drums?
No but seriously, I like Vivian girls, and I'm aware they can barely play there instruments.
ESPECIALLY the guitarist. Is she even playing chords?!
There still a fun band to listen to. They have some catchy numbers
Score = -1
seriously this is really bad, i can't understand that people might actually like/listen/buy something like that; the drums are poor, the bass player is having trouble repeating the same riff in rythm during the whole song, the guitar sound is just noise and the voice is out of tune and poorly mixed. there is no melody or catchy hook ; is it bad on purpose?
is there something to like? please explain
Score = 2
And the backlash is in full swing.
Anyone who complains that groups like Vivian Girls can't play should be forced to listen to nothing but Joe Satriani and Rush.
Score = 3
I like the idea of Vivian Girls more than I actually like Vivian Girls.
Score = 5
Still don't understand why people like this band so much.
Score = 0
I don't wanna like it, really I don't, they are horrible musicians an insult to real ones who are constantly working to improve their craft and aren't in a band simply because it's cool there is nothing about them I should like...but damn I somehow like it.
Score = 0
I absolutely agree. If you want virtuosity then listen to Franz Liszt and Neil Peart.
That's not to say that I like this song. It's boring, but not because it's simple and easy.
Score = -1
The bathtub interview was better.
Score = -1
A few things:
If you have to preface you're statement with the phrase, "I'm not sexist but..." Guess what? Kind of the same thing as saying "I'm not racist but..."
But yeah, going with that line of thinking - it must really be true if Vivian Girls was a band of guys they wouldn't get any attention. Which completely explains the hype for Wavves, Jay Reatard, Times New Viking, and any number of other low-fi bands that have guys included as members. I'm amazed the indie community will still say something like, "Yeah, it's because they're girls." It's pretty fucking awesome because it confirms how insulated and incestuous this all can be. Reminds me of that Dears' song "Whites Only Party." Because apparently, unless you have a penis and lack melanin you're probably gonna get accused of preferential treatment.
Indie rock: the new frontier for conservative politics.
Score = -2
HUH? I dunno about the other two bands you mentioned but Jay Reatard is wayyyyyyy the fuck more competent than Vivian Girls, both in terms of songwriting and technical ability. Maybe you could compare his old band to the Vivian Girls, but certainly not his more recent stuff!
I think maybe the "because they're chicks" angle is a frustrated response to the fact that it's hard to imagine what the fuck else is unique about them... In truth their popularity probably has more to do with being well-connected scenesters, because it's certainly not like they toured their asses off for years and made it big the ol' fashioned way. Kinda like the Strokes, but the songs aren't as catchy.
I could see you busting out the sexism card for people being dismissive of PJ Harvey or something, but THESE twerps? Get your shit together.
Score = 2
What exactly is so terrible about them? They can't play their instruments? How many dozens of bands have released nearly atonal music that sounds like crap to the vast majority of people yet are heaped endlessly with praise? I'm not trying to compare them to great acts but seriously, there's a case to be made for Vivian Girls having catchier tunes than bands like Suicide or Jesus & Mary Chain (at least, a good deal of Psychocandy). The fact that you even begrudgingly admit that the girl angle might be an exasperated response still points to sexism because the very notion that they could only be popular is for being female is itself sexist.
And since when did competency dictate how good a song/band was? Most original punk bands from Ramones to the Dead Boys could barely play their instruments, yet they created some of the most vital music of the last half century. Captain Beefhart couldn't sing for shit but you still hear people citing him as an influence. Vivian Girls is a young band with some okay-ish songs. Is all the hype warranted? No. But is the even more insane backlash justified? Definitely no, especially since a good deal of it revolves around the fact that they're a band getting unwarranted hype for being female, not that they're a band getting unwarranted hype.
Score = -2
Kickball Katy is so hot
Score = 1
If Vivian Girls is honestly the worst music you've ever heard...then you need to listen to more music. God forbid y'all ever come across Hair Police or something...
Score = 1
I really wanted to like this band. I like their music, I just hate their shitty attitudes about everything. I get it, it's "not cool" to go to TGI Fridays after working at your shitty job. It's not cool to have a shitty job. It's not cool to do anything mediocre that involves a modicum of dedication.
I kind of agree, but I still think it's "not cool" to be an asshole to people who are stuck in depressing jobs and depressing lives. Maybe empathy is not cool or something. I don't really know. I just wish they'd keep their half-assed philosophies to themselves and just make cool, dissonant music.
Score = 0