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Okay, I can no longer keep my raging fandom towards this band a secret. Please let me present you with De Staat ("The State"), my new favorite Dutch (but English-speaking/singing) band. They have some of the most creative videos I've seen since the 80s and their live performances also always sound just fantastic. With Herculean effort, I have compiled a Playlist for ya on You Tube that I kept to ONLY eight entries but rest assured, it is merely a teensy fraction of what they've produced in the last ten years. (note: okay, I've added to it a bit since I first posted this) So what made my list? 1. WITCH DOCTOR was the video that got me going. It was made by a trio of animators that approached De Staat's songwriter, Torre Florim, to ask about licensing an older song for a piece they wanted to create. Instead he gave them the rights and appeared in it too (in fact, he's the only real person in the cast of approximately 2000 characters). Elsewhere on You Tube there is a cute making-of feature that shows just how low budget this was, a dolly made of plywood, a borrowed motion-capture suit and three very patient men who pushed $500 worth of editing software to do amazing things. 2. PEPTALK The follow up video to Witch Doctor and first single from the new (released two weeks ago) album; this looks deceptively low-tech but it's super funny and includes a great callback to the Witch Doctor near the end. 3. BUILD THAT, BUY THAT The boys record live in Torre's house...and try to keep the noise down to avoid annoying the neighbors. The resulting hushed performance is extremely charming. 4. SWEATSHOP A very simple concept - De Staat in old-timey clothing, working (out) for the Man. Plus nurses doing aerobics (?) This is a killer tune that could make the laziest person in the world want to leap up and get stuff DONE, in time to its beat. 5. I'LL NEVER MARRY YOU A melody (guitar and Theremin!) that gets in your head and stylish vid. 6. ALL IS DULL Perfect blending of song, subject matter and story. Poor, bored De Staat! 7. TALK DIRTY TO ME The band covers Jason Derulo live, in-studio and improves on the original to an unimaginable degree. A bit of Ol' Dirty Bastard, anyone? 8. MAKE THE CALL, LEAVE IT ALL. Their karaoke film, if it existed.