***Guest Blogger Alert, guest blogger alert!***

The very musically experimental Devendra Banhart has been a staple on the indie circuit for many years.  He recently featured his ladylove Natalie Portman (and porn legend Ron Jeremy) in his music video for Carmensita from Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon.  Carmensita is styled like a 60’s / 70’s Bollywood movie and showcases a multilingual Devendra.

Devendra’s unique vocals turn even ordinary lyrics into a performance that truly stands alone.  The pairing of Devendra and Natalie and the subsequent casting in the video may draw comparisons to her acclaimed performance in the indie darling “Garden State” (did Zach Braff really win a grammy for a mixed tape??)  To me Natalie will always be Queen Amidala regardless of how many music videos’ she stars in.  Devendra will be crossing over to the big screen with his cameo appearance in Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist due in theatres October 2008 (Devendra also contributes to the soundtrack).  The art of the “cross over” is a tricky one and while I don’t think Natalie or Devendra will abandon their current occupation, I enjoyed their “out of the box moment” but please don’t do it again.

Finding a duet partner for Devendra has proven to be a bit tricky so I ask for a little slack and an open mind.  I would like to introduce the angel like harmony of a Canadian Trio called The Wailin’ Jennys.

The ‘Jennys could be described as the perfect marriage of country, folk with a bit of celtic for some flavour.  Firecracker came out in 2006 and the group is currently touring the USA. It’s a fun slightly campy cd — and can be found on their website.

I am hoping you can connect the dots here people…

~Judes