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Vagrant Records annually showcase their bands with the "Another Year On The Streets" series of CD compilations but last year, for the first time, their CD comp was joined by a matching DVD called "Another Year On The Screen", with videos and extra goodies for most of the songs featured on the CD. I managed to get a copy of the DVD from that music shop in the Bargate centre (time for shameless commercial plug) in Southampton, and I was pretty impressed.
The DVD has songs from Alkaline Trio, The Anniversary, No Motiv, Hot Rod Circuit, Saves The Day, Dashboard Confessional, The Get Up Kids and Face To Face which (I think) are all the bands on last years CD. Each video has a few extras as well, like band info, lyrics, and alternative camera angles which you can access by clicking on a little Vagrant boxer icon.
Some of the videos have more extras than the others. "Saints And Sailors" by Dashboard Confessional even has a little "making of" film. Unfortunately the videos aren't on the DVD in the same order as the list on the box so it's hard to follow which is which unless you know the bands or go through the track selection. The Dashboard Confessional numbers are as polished as you'd expect, giving a more chilled acoustic feel. The Get Up Kids "Overdue" is an amazing video, done in Gorillaz-style cartoon graphics, and there's also an older track by them, "Action & Action", a fairly amusing video where they're having a jam at home and pissing off the nerdy girl next door. Saves The Day are up next with "At Your Funeral", which is a pretty well-produced job with a lifetime of a guy going on in fast forward in the room in the background while the lead singer sings. Most of the songs on the DVD are typical Vagrant emo-punk stuff but Alkaline Trio provide a refreshing change from this with "Stupid Kid", a darker video with a satanic schoolboy, and a slightly more punk approach. No Motiv also have a punkier track in "Brand New Day", the video for which looks expensive despite being filmed in a garage. The lead singer looks a bit freaky! I really like this one and having heard little from No Motiv before it's certainly got me interested in them.
Next up is the best video and the worst band in my opinion: "Sweet Marie" by The Anniversary. The Anniversary used to be a fairly respected emo act but are now taking the Strokes 70's sleaze approach. The song isn't bad but the video is just a real gem. It's a big mish-mash of live footage and footage of the band messing around in their faux-70's gear, done on old style camera film so it looks about 25 years old. The most "punk" band on the DVD is Face To Face who finish the DVD with a live version of "I'm Trying". This is pretty shit and his singing voice sucks, I definitely prefer "The New Way" earlier on in the DVD which is more of a "proper" video, telling the story of the adventures of a misplaced Face To Face concert ticket.
So to sum it up, it's great if you like the bands and videos, and you may even find a track on there you like that will get you interested in a band you hadn't heard of before. It's a good mix of acoustic, emo and more straightforward melodic punk. Highlights are "Overdue" by The Get Up Kids and "Sweet Marie" by the Anniversary. Bad points are the fact that you only get decent extras for the more commercial videos (Dashboard Confessional and Saves The Day) and I think most places only have it on import, so twenty quid is gonna hurt for a dozen videos you can probably see on satellite TV anyway.
Jamie
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