Today's Pick

It's been more than a hot minute since Foster The People's glossy single "Best Friend" was officially released as the second single off rock band's sophomore effort "Supermodel" in early March, but here we are at the cusp of summer and its accompanying model themed video has finally premiered and it shows the monstrous side of modeling with a multitude of gorgeous supermodels (appropriate, matches the album's titled) struggling with self-acceptance and willing to devour the attributes of her counterparts in order to achieve the "perfect" body.
This funked-up pop jam, struts with funk-ified guitars and crisp, lofty falsettos, finds Mark Foster singing: "When your best friend's all strung out, you do everything you can 'cause you're never gonna let it get him down." The Foster The People frontman explained that the line is not about drugs, but about his difficulty coming up with the lyric, "It's like your creative spirit, your best friend that you rely on is out of action." The accompanying video, however, infused a little haute in a classic horror-style and provides some commentary on how the fashion industry pressures women to feel what the 'perfect body' is.
In the Brewer-directed clip, we get a front-row seat to a truly frightening fashion show. It details one particular glamazon on the prowl for the perfect figure as this modelesque beauty laying on the couch, surrounded by pills and cigarettes that spell out "Best Friend." The model starts popping pills and putting on make-up in order to show up to a catwalk gig. After what looks like a mental breakdown gone maliciously magical in the bathroom, the model attacks another model asking if she's "OK" and the rival model disappears into a pile of bedazzled clothing. She then absorbs the sexiness of the model–including beauty mark. Monster model then becomes a couture killer, picking and choosing her favorite attributes–and murdering for them.
As Foster The People tell it, the clip is meant to address issues relating to body image and America's beauty obsession in a more jovial manner. It clearly shows the senselessness about yearning to be something more than are and escapism through drugs and delusion. "It's a commentary on the modeling industry and the fashion industry and the pressures women feel and girls feel every day," frontman told MTV. "It's a playful take on that; it's not too heavy handed." The end result is an eye-catching alien-like creature.

The boys from Foster the People have premiered the '80s-inspired music video for their brand-new song "Coming of Age," the lead single from indie pop band's forthcoming sophomore studio album, "Supermodel" (out March 14th via Columbia), the follow-up to their 2011 smash debut "Torches." The band also created a time-lapse video of the mural's construction using "Coming of Age" as the music, as they telling stories of California kids struggling to fit in. From the Flock of Seagulls-like chiming guitars to the neon geometric shapes and dramatic motorcycle-ride-on-the-coast shots, the video looks and feels like a lost 1980s teen romance.
Formed in Los Angeles in 2009, The group is composed of Mark Foster, Cubbie Fink, and Mark Pontius. Their music was described as melodic dance-infused pop and rock, spans many genres. Co-written and co-produced by British music producer Paul Epworth, who worked with Adele on "Rolling In The Deep," "Coming of Age" was written with frontman Mark's social life as a background to the song, and finds Mark singing about a girl he has moved on from but just can't seem to do without: "I see you standing there like a rabid dog/ And you got those crying eyes/ Makes it want to surrender/ And wrap you in my arms."
Mark stated to XFM London: "Lyrically it is almost a confession. It is about a moment of clarity, having a moment of clarity and I think for me this year, being home, was that quiet after the storm of touring for two years and my life drastically changing. It was kind of the first breath I had to really look around and see that there were some things that happened during that period with my friends and with my loved ones, with the people that are close to me and with myself as well. It is the first time that I got a clear look on those things and that's kind of what the song is about. It's about growing up."
Directed by Vern Moen and Zachary Rockwood, the video showcases the LA Freewalls project and features time-lapse footage depicting the creation of a mural of the "Supermodel" cover. "We wanted to kind of capture the staple American past times, like classic Steve McQueen," Mark expressed to VH1. "The staple moments in the 70s and 80s that we thought kind of captured what America was in cinema. Those moments made us feel nostalgic about life." In clip, the band hone in on a distinct 80s vibe, the golden era for coming-of-age teen films. It splices together washed-out scenes of Mark and crew playing on a nondescript stage with various characters having a rough time. It's all stuff we can relate to in a very John Hughes way.

Foster the People show their fans how committed they are to their job in a music video for their single "Houdini," is the fourth single taken from the indie pop group's critically-acclaimed debut album "Torches." The band pulled the upbeat "Houdini" out of its hat way back on its first EP last year, but the track still works its synthesizer magic.
Foster the People's "Houdini" clip, directed by Daniels, is not for the faint of heart. Mark Foster, Cubbie Fink and Mark Pontius are due to perform at a big concert, but the trio dying in a horrible production accident and crushed in an on-stage mishap during a video shoot, sending everyone on the set into panic mode. Ouch. Don't worry, it's easy on the gore. But thanks to some Hollywood innovation and a mysterious video-rescue squad, they're quickly turned into reanimated People-puppets.
The 'Pumped Up Kicks' hitmakers have taken the stage with sore throats, broken feet and all manner of cuts, scrapes and bruises, both mental and physical. But after surviving a high-speed car chase in their "Don't Stop" clip, when the time came for Foster the People to suit up for the video for "Houdini," they decided to show just how dedicated they are to going on with the show.
The video comes one year after the release of "Torches" and a month before three-piece group prepare to launch their summer tour on May 29. The outing includes three sold-out nights in New York's Central Park, where they will play to more than 17,000 fans, as well as a first-ever trip to the Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival. After playing alongside the reunited Beach Boys at this year's Grammys, they will hook up with the legendary beach pop group on two of their summer dates.
A call to an expert is made to bring the three guys back to life in time to finish the video shoot, bust some choreographed moves and play a show as animatronic robots! Actually it's kind of hard to know what exactly is going on, but the fellas are somehow rebooted and able to pull off the sold-out show the next night, bringing tears to the eyes of their crew. They also have superpowers that allow them to hop way up in the air and dance like pros. But, by the end they are either so wiped out, or their batteries are so depleted, that they crash on the couch backstage as everyone celebrates their triumph around them.

Los Angeles indie rock band Foster The People are exploring stranger territory with their new lip-enhancing video for "Call It What You Want," the third single off People's Choice Awards nominees' breakout debut hit album "Torches." Foster The People's priority is to experiment and create rather than to lavish in fame, or if it's just a super fun, tongue-in-cheek kitschy kind of video.
"Call It What You Want" is a melange of increasingly creepier images set to the band's characteristically up-tempo indie pop. It finds frontman Mark Foster singing about how in today's society, people are too ready to conform instead of being themselves and doing their own thing. It's probable the song was influenced by the band's irritation with the music industry's attempts to pigeonhole them.
Foster and his bandmates find themselves suddenly living in a mansion in the Ace Norton-directed clip, where, to say the least, they don't quite seem at ease. The imagery includes Foster shooting six female fans, whose shirts spell out "Foster," with his hand in the shape of a gun. Norton explained its concept: "The video is about the void you create in our life when you have everything you want. How with success, people tend to fill that void with meaningless things. It's about the creative extremes we go to when time passes by us at light speed; how boredom gets our minds racing into beautiful tangents. It's about the surrealism of the mundane."
The new video for "Call It What You Want" is the most lavish of their young career. On one hand, the clip, with its nondescript gaggle of female fans and Hollywood mansion setting, seems to be making a statement about the band's new-found fame following the surprise success of their Top 10 summer smash "Pumped Up Kicks." While on the other, there's just a whole lot of creepiness, with no rhyme or reason, going down.