12 Of My Favorite Music Videos Of 2012

It's almost impossible for me to pick favorites, but here goes, in random order:  12 of my favorite music videos posted on The Nightfly  music blog in 2012.  Fortunately the songs are as sublime as the videos.

Tracey Thorn: Joy + The Making of 'Tinsel and Light'

Recently turned 50, North London resident Tracey Thorn, formerly of Everything but the Girl has been busy raising three children with EBTG partner Ben Watt whom she married in 2009.  The duo has not released a studio album since 1999, but both Thorn and Watt have done numerous solo projects and collaborations in the years since then.

Thorn's fourth solo recording 'Tinsel and Light' is a Christmas album that has her deftly avoiding the usual holiday schmaltz by offering interpretations of personal favorites by Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, The White Stripes, Ron Sexsmith, Scritti Politti, Sufjan Stevens, and more.  The 12-song collection also offers two original compositions: the title track and "Joy".

The music video for "Joy" was shot in Lille, France and was directed by Edward Bishop and Ben Watt.


www.facebook.com/traceythorn4ever

www.traceythorn.com/

The Presets: Ghosts

The Presets released their third studio album 'Pacifica' in September, toured the U.S. in October, and have six shows coming up in their native Australia between late December (Rhythms and Vine Festival) and mid-February.

'Ghosts' is the second of three singles off the album so far.  The superbly edited video was shot by 23-year-old Los Angeles based writer/director Abteen Bagheri.


https://www.facebook.com/thepresets/app_308540029359

http://vimeo.com/abteen

Mø: Pilgrim + Maiden

Copenhagen based recording and visual artist Karen Marie Ørsted aka Mø was signed to Sony on the basis of "Maiden" and "Pilgrim".  Both of these outstanding tracks will be part of her full-length debut to be released next year.  The album will be produced by No Wav., i.e. Ronni Vindahl of Boom Clap Bachelors, Robin Hannibal of Quadron, and Bjørn Nielsen.

The videos were created by Anne Sofie Skaaring.

www.facebook.com/MOMOMOYOUTH

http://nowav.tumblr.com/

http://annesofieskaaring.tumblr.com/

Rihanna: Stay (Live on SNL)

Far too many recording artists fail to deliver the goods when singing live; Rihanna is not one of them, as evidenced when she performed "Stay" on Saturday Night Live hosted by Anne Hathaway November 10.

The gorgeous ballad is from her November 19 full-length release 'Unapologetic', but this excellent live arrangement beats the album version: stripped down, slowed down, with Rihanna's vocals up front, not buried in the mix, it allows her to truly showcase her stunning voice.

The 'Diamonds' North America/UK/continental Europe tour kicks off March 8 in Buffalo, NY and wraps July 26 in Bergen, Norway.

Now if only she would permanently sever all ties with her abusive on-off boyfriend and focus on what she does best: singing.


http://www.rihannanow.com/live/

R.I.P. Jonas Thomsen Sekyere Dec. 11, 1990 - Nov. 17, 2012

It's been ten days since the murder of 21-year-old Jonas Thomsen Sekyere inside a Copenhagen, Denmark nightclub. His alleged killer is a fugitive at this point. [Note: August 2016 update at the end of this post.]

The funeral service will be held Wednesday November 28 at noon local time at Copenhagen's cathedral 'Vor Frue Kirke' in the city's historic Latin Quarter where Jonas spent much of his time:  he was in law school at the University at the time of his death and a resident at the prestigious dormitory 'Regensen.'   The public has been invited by the family to accompany the hearse to Jonas' final resting place a mile away at the 'Assistens' cemetery where world famous Danes Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard are buried. (Andersen's and Kierkegaard's funeral services were also held at 'Vor Frue Kirke', in 1875 and 1855, respectively.)

At age seven Jonas became a member of the renowned Copenhagen Boys Choir which often performs at the church where his funeral will be.  The first video is a performance by the CBC, performing at 'Vor Frue Kirke' alongside a male choir; the piece is by Rachmaninoff.

The second video is the popular South London boys choir Libera performing "Time".


NOTE: Be sure to also read my previous post from November 17:
http://latenightdj.blogspot.com/2012/11/trentemller-miss-you-posted-in-honor-of.html



A personal note, July 2013:
 On my annual summer visit to my original hometown of Copenhagen I visited Jonas' grave and left a single black velvet like flower from my parents' garden. My cousin who lives a stone's throw from the Assistens cemetery in the borough of Nørrebro accompanied me, and we spoke of Jonas and spent some time looking at the photos, poems, flowers and other gifts left by family, friends and people like myself who did not personally know this remarkable young man, but wish to pay tribute to him.


MURDER CASE UPDATE AUGUST 2016
Below is a link to an article in the (Copenhagen) University Post:
https://uniavisen.dk/en/killer-of-jonas-sekyere-convicted-in-somalia/

Trentemøller: Miss You + marstal:lidell: I Mit Hjerte Er En Rytme (Posted in Honor of Jonas Thomsen Sekyere)

I've been a Southern California resident for a long time, but being a native Dane I naturally like to keep up with Danish news on a daily basis via the Internet.

Today, I was deeply affected when I learned that 21-year-old Jonas Thomsen Sekyere had died at the trauma center at Rigshospitalet [Copenhagen´s main hospital] on Saturday morning at 6:13 am local time [Friday 9:13 pm California time], less than two hours after he was stabbed in the chest inside a popular Vesterbro city borough nightclub.  His killer is still at large. [see August 2016 update at the end of this post.]

I did not know Jonas personally, but upon seeing his photo online I immediately recalled his moving article published last year in Denmark's largest daily paper Politiken, a piece which earned him much praise and respect.  It was a humble thank-you to the system that took him under its wing, and gave him a chance that he might otherwise not have had.

The son of a Ghanaian father and a Danish mother, Jonas was born in Denmark, was raised first by his mother in Copenhagen, then by foster parents in the city of Vordingborg [60 miles south of Copenhagen] from the age of ten through eighteen. He excelled in school, was in law school at the University of Copenhagen at the time of his death, spent summers volunteering at an orphanage in Ghana, wrote freelance articles and opinion pieces, and founded several Danish info websites for students.

Clearly a highly accomplished and intelligent young man, he was also blessed with extraordinary physical beauty. However, what ultimately struck me more than anything as I watched him speak was his passion for life, excitement about the future, and his utter lack of arrogance or cynicism. 

I am posting this blog entry to honor Jonas who will be remembered long after the coward who snuffed out his brief but extraordinary life.


NOTE:
Non-Danish speakers who wish to read Jonas' opinion piece published in Politiken July 2, 2011 will find Google Translate useful. (computer generated translations unfortunately often contain numerous errors, but are better than nothing.)

http://politiken.dk/debat/ECE1323284/jeg-skylder-den-danske-velfaerdsmodel-alt/

https://translate.google.com/



Video 1:
Danish multi-instrumentalist/producer/DJ Anders Trentemøller's 'Miss You' never fails to move me; it seems a fitting track to post, and goes out to everyone, but especially to Jonas' family and friends in Denmark as well as outside Denmark.

Video 2:
A tribute song to Jonas by Danish duo marstal:lidell: Henrik Marstal and Anne Liddell; the latter was a friend of Jonas; they lived at the same Copenhagen dormitory, Regensen. The title translates to "In My Heart Is a Rhythm/Beat."


A personal note, July 2013:
on my annual summer visit to my original hometown of Copenhagen in July of 2013 I visited Jonas' grave and left a single black velvet like flower from my parents' garden. My cousin who lives a stone's throw from the Assistens cemetery accompanied me and we spoke of Jonas and spent some time looking at the photos, poems, flowers and other gifts left by family, friends and people like myself who did not personally know this remarkable young man, but wanted to pay tribute to him.


MURDER CASE UPDATE 2016
Below is the link to an article in the (Copenhagen) University Post:
https://uniavisen.dk/en/killer-of-jonas-sekyere-convicted-in-somalia/