The new Broken Social Scene video is a pastiche of shocking news footage and ugly still photos that basically amounts to the same "We are Rome before the fall! The world is ending!" gist you've seen projected on wall space at too many college art shows. But the editing is so expertly crisp and the song itself so propulsive and engaging that by the end, you find yourself ready to sign up for the revolution. The you're like wait, what revolution? And then you just hope that huge packs of humboldt squid would come flying out of the oceans and finish us off already. Seriously great song, [...]

Instrumental rock is a tough sell. It's hard to sing along with, for starters. (What I am supposed to do with this hairbrush, brush my hair?) And it's often boring, a film score without the film. But Australia's Dirty Three do it right. Really right. Violinist Warren Ellis is like Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson without the flute and the ren-fair tunics (and, of course, the singing)-all shambling madman with crazy eyes and messed-up hair and guitar-hero chops and poses. Drummer Jim White and guitarist Mick Turner provide him with elegant, restrained romance for backdrop. By all means, see them live if you get the chance. Here, in this Pitchfork video [...]