Finally, a bad rap video about driving an old Mercedes on fryer grease

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The Mighty 190D video

Rapping and bragging about cars goes back practically to the very beginning of the genre. After all, a lot of hip-hop is about presenting a tough swagger and having a cool ride is a huge part of that. The group The Mighty 190 certainly isn't the first to rap about rolling in a Mercedes-Benz, but it might be the only one to rhyme about cursing in a vegetable-fueled Mercedes 190D.

While rapping about how getting the veggie oil to fuel the 190D and showing serious pride in the ride, the group's for the new song That Grease sports all of the classic hip-hop video tropes, including scantily clad women, calling out rivals and boasting about its success. The members deserve some credit, though, because their skills behind the mic seem better than their song The Mighty 190 from 2012. Don't go into this expecting too much quality, but the intervening years show a little improvement in their game.

Warning, there's some explicit language in the video that makes it not safe for work. However, if you're really into it, the group promises that the song's coming to Spotify and iTunes soon.

Continue reading Finally, a bad rap video about driving an old Mercedes on fryer grease

Finally, a bad rap video about driving an old Mercedes on fryer grease originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Oct 2014 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Camaro Z/28 and Mitsubishi Starion meet in this nostalgic vision of ’87 Japan

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Orange Orchid music video

The '80s is just far enough away now that it no longer seems like an era defined by Reagonomics and neon clothing. Filmmaker Matt Clark has embraced the look of the music videos of the decade in his new short film titled Orange Orchid, set in 1987 in Chiba and Yokohama, Japan. The video features some great sports coupes of the time and is set to the song I Know There's Something Going On from Abba-alum Frida (along with drumming and backup vocals from Phil Collins).

Clark really embraces the pop-culture look of the era's videos with big hair, a healthy dash of neon, inexplicable smoky rooms and big, over-wrought movements. However, the real stars for us are the pair of '80s sports coupes that also kind of personify the main characters. Nijo in her denim jacket has a modded Camaro Z/28 with huge, dished wheels sticking way out past the fenders. Naturally, the Chevy also features some great butterscotch paint and a car phone inside. Alex, the guy pursuing her, forgoes any obvious upgrades in favor a clean, all-white Mitsubishi Starion to go along with his tailored suit and giant cell phone.

We wish this video featured the cars a bit more prominently, but that drumbeat from Collins on this forgotten 80s gem is pretty fantastic, too. Give it a listen in the video.

Continue reading Camaro Z/28 and Mitsubishi Starion meet in this nostalgic vision of '87 Japan

Camaro Z/28 and Mitsubishi Starion meet in this nostalgic vision of '87 Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Aug 2014 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Camaro Z/28 and Mitsubishi Starion meet in this nostalgic vision of ’87 Japan

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Orange Orchid music video

The '80s is just far enough away now that it no longer seems like an era defined by Reagonomics and neon clothing. Filmmaker Matt Clark has embraced the look of the music videos of the decade in his new short film titled Orange Orchid, set in 1987 in Chiba and Yokohama, Japan. The video features some great sports coupes of the time and is set to the song I Know There's Something Going On from Abba-alum Frida (along with drumming and backup vocals from Phil Collins).

Clark really embraces the pop-culture look of the era's videos with big hair, a healthy dash of neon, inexplicable smoky rooms and big, over-wrought movements. However, the real stars for us are the pair of '80s sports coupes that also kind of personify the main characters. Nijo in her denim jacket has a modded Camaro Z/28 with huge, dished wheels sticking way out past the fenders. Naturally, the Chevy also features some great butterscotch paint and a car phone inside. Alex, the guy pursuing her, forgoes any obvious upgrades in favor a clean, all-white Mitsubishi Starion to go along with his tailored suit and giant cell phone.

We wish this video featured the cars a bit more prominently, but that drumbeat from Collins on this forgotten 80s gem is pretty fantastic, too. Give it a listen in the video.

Continue reading Camaro Z/28 and Mitsubishi Starion meet in this nostalgic vision of '87 Japan

Camaro Z/28 and Mitsubishi Starion meet in this nostalgic vision of '87 Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Aug 2014 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vampire Weekend singer responds to burning Saab controversy [w/video]

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Vampire Weekend burns classic Saab 900 Turbo Convertible for

Last week, we tipped you off about Vampire Weekend and their new music video for the song Diane Young, a short film that consists entirely of setting fire to two perfectly nice-looking Saab 900 automobiles. The indie rock band's video - viewable by scrolling down - predictably triggered the internet ire of classic car enthusiasts - Saabophiles in particular - and word of the unrest eventually got back to the band itself.

According to music site Spinner (nb: owned by Autoblog parent AOL), the group was "stunned" at the backlash - enough that lead singer Ezra Koenig felt compelled to respond himself. According to Koenig, the band was under the impression that their record company was "looking to purchase the cheapest, oldest cars possible; they weren't trying to buy a beautiful perfect condition car." By way of apology, Koenig even goes so far as to note that bandmate Rostam Batmanglij is a keen fan of Saab.

Other reports have claimed that the cars may have been purchased under false pretenses, sold by owners who "wanted to see them go to a nice new home," but Koenig takes issue with that characterization, countering that he understood that the cars had substantial electrical problems.

Interestingly, more vitriol appears to have been spilled over the fiery deaths of these two Saabs than was drummed up by Jay Z and Kanye West in their music video for Otis, which saw the superstar rappers take a blowtorch to an exponentially costlier Maybach. Either way, Koenig and Co. appear to have at least some regret that they elected to base their video on the song's opening line, "You torched a Saab like a pile of leaves."

Continue reading Vampire Weekend singer responds to burning Saab controversy [w/video]

Vampire Weekend singer responds to burning Saab controversy [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vampire Weekend burns for Saab

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Vampire Weekend torches Saab 900 Convertible for music video - screencap

Or is it the other way around?

Could Vampire Weekend be trying to tell me something? A just-launched music video for the indie rock band's new single Diane Young features what looks like a pretty mint black Saab 900 Turbo Convertible being torched in slow-motion. In fact, with the exception of a brief, flickering cameo by a 900 three-door of a similar vintage, that's all that there is to the nearly three-minute long video. It's both sad and oddly beautiful.

Coincidentally, I have a similar-looking turbocharged black Saab convertible sitting in my garage, and I've been reluctantly pondering its sale this very week. Admittedly, mine is a later model (2001 9-3 Viggen), but tri-spokes and more tapered rump aside, it looks eerily identical. And while mine isn't mired in flames (I love it too much to torch it), through no fault of its own, it's been sitting motionless far too regularly. Thankfully, I see a better future for it than the droptop seen above.

So, what's the deal? Did VW lead vocalist Ezra Koenig have a Saab love affair that went bad, leading to this conflagration of music video? Is he unhappy about the fate of the perennially troubled Swedish automaker? Or did he and the band just figure that the video below was an attention-grabbing/artsy and inexpensive way to put promote their forthcoming album, Modern Vampires of the City? The world might never know...

Continue reading Vampire Weekend burns for Saab

Vampire Weekend burns for Saab originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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