Video Roundup: Poor Boy's Soul, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, And And And, Strategy, Youthbitch, Aaron O'Bryan Smith

Lots of cavorting in this edition of the Video Roundup. In this case, it's a bunch of well-dressed young folk playing leapfrog with tombstones, playing dice and smooching in a church, and boozing it up to the sound of Poor Boy's Soul's one-man stomping folk-blues.

Leave it to Unknown Mortal Orchestra to come up with a strange and hilarious clip for their song "Strangers Are Strange" that looks like a '70s Czech crime drama. It fits perfectly with the wonky funkiness of the song. In both song and video, not much happens...it just works over all the corners of a simple idea, riding it comfortably into blackness. 

On the other end of the spectrum comes this new clip from And And And featuring the most uncomfortable tea party in the world. With the added touch of creepiness that all the people in it are wearing these half-masks of animals. Alcohol is drunk, crockery is smashed, blood is shed...and those masks still stay on. If it weren't for the bubbly pop song running underneath it, I'm not sure I could watch this all the way through. 

One of the coolest pieces of news that I've stumbled across is that Portland's own electronic wizard Strategy is about to release his first record on the ever-brilliant dance music label 100% Silk. And to whet our proverbial whistle, the label and Strategy put together this eye-popping little teaser video using swirls of 8-bit graphics and denatured video footage. And the song? Absolute perfection, even in this edited form. Can't wait to hear the full thing. 

When a Portland band writes a little ditty about California, what do you do to visually represent it? Well, for the smart aleck punks known as Youthbitch, it's a chance to hit the beach with a bottle of cheap liquor, a super 8 camera, and some instruments. Like everything the band has done to date, it feels charmingly thrown together and silly but absolutely engaging. 

Let's round out today's roundup with a little R. Kelly/Ne-Yo-styled soul from a young gent named Aaron O'Bryan Smith. It's a sexy meetup in a hotel room set to the tune of Smith's sexy slow jam. Keep an eye out for Smith looking longingly into the camera chewing on the edge of a Magnum condom and his wicked dance moves. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to act like the old white dude I am and go Google "Good D" to see what in tarnation that is.