Culture Blues

Internet Killed the Video Star: March

Music videos have disappeared from the airwaves but they're now available on demand 24/7 in cyberspace. Problem is, there's so much out there it's hard to find the good stuff (and the stuff so bad it needs to be seen). That's what we're here for, providing a monthly rundown of the music videos you need to be aware of.

Foxy Shazam “Oh Lord” – A huge song with an appropriately silly, over-the-top video. I was entertained the entire time, and I’ve come back to listen to the song a few times. These guys are like Queen for a new generation - a stupid, annoying, mess of influences, yet somehow still appealing.

Green Day “Last of the American Girls” – These guys just seem confused, and probably a little bit bored. The song sounds like a reach for radio play, which is weird because I think Green Day would be guaranteed ample radio play at this point. The song is forgettable without being totally unpleasant. The video is a silly waste of time with the last American girl spending time in the desert while two girls dance around her. Quick sidenote, I haven’t paid much attention to Green Day since I turned 14, but who the fuck is this fourth guy?

Raheem DeVaughn NOT ft. Ludacris “I Don’t Care” – Dear MTV: when I see “[insert name of artist here] featuring Ludacris” on your website, 9 times out of 10 I’m only interested in hearing Luda. So when you tell me he’s on a song, and he’s not, then you waste my time. Luckily, Raheem DeVaughn isn’t so careless with my precious time (if this ever happens with a Jesse McCartney song or a Justin Bieber song, I’m going to flip, seriously). The song is standard radio R&B, but the video cleverly mocks the out-of-control celebrity tabloid culture. It’s ok. What’s better? The video for the soulful if not subtle Bulletproof that DOES feature Luda.

MGMT “Flash Delirium” - The song takes its time, but it's another winner from MGMT. The video starts off weird and gets all Videodrome in the third act, perfectly matching the increasingly manic music. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better example of a song and video fitting together while still confusing the shit out of you.

Red Café ft. Fabolous “I’m ILL” – Red Café is a terrible name for a rapper. His lyrics are mediocre at best here, and Loso shows up to deliver a pleasantly juvenile verse full of questionable lyrics. But the real reason you need to watch this video (or at least the beginning of it): Jadakiss as the most laid back underground street race organizer of all time. “I need ya’ll to get in the whips, shoot outta here, race around the city.”

Reflection Eternal ft. Bun B “Strangers (Paranoid)” – I might be more excited for the new Reflection Eternal album if Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek weren’t having such respectable careers independent of each other. Still, this song recalls a lot of what made Train of Thought great, right down to the notable guest appearance,  and the no frills video is much better than the overly stylized In This World.

Dan Deacon “Woof Woof” – Good god this is annoying. The incessant electronic drone of the music. The undercooked and over stimulating visuals. The lasers, the puppets, the intentionally bad special effects. It’s just WAY too much.

Trey Songz “Neighbors Know My Name” – Does opening your song by saying “This right here’s a panty dropper” preclude your song from achieving true Panty Dropper status? Yes. For such a raunchy song, the video is pretty tasteful. Not to mention competent and visually pleasing, especially if you want to see Trey and some model make sex faces… a lot. Also, do we really live in a world where the neighbors are more likely to know your name because your girlfriend is loud during sex than because you’ve gone over and introduced yourself? Again, the answer is yes.

Honor Society “Over You” – What hath the Jonas Brothers wrought? This boy band holds instruments even though there isn’t a single thing in the song that sounds organic. Equally confounding is the fact that in the shots of their performance there is a keyboard just sitting there. No one’s playing it. How can this be? The keyboard player has GOT to be the busiest out of all of you guys. I don’t even know what else to say, except that this sucks.

Timbaland ft. Katy Perry “If We Ever Meet Again” – Another month, another Timbaland video from Shock Value II. On the Timbaland Ridiculous Face Scale (TRFS) this one rates a solid 6.5 out of 10. A big rebound from last month’s Carry Out which I would give a disappointing 4.0. This one doesn’t come close to the gold standard 10.0 Morning After Dark, but it’s a step in the right direction as we are back to a plot-heavy genre tale (both videos are directed by Paul Coy Allen). This time it’s about jewel thieves and I can’t make heads or tails of it. Good times. Also worth noting, on the Katy Perry Will Fuck You Scale (KPWFYS), this one rates a middling 5.0, not even in the same league as 3Oh!3’s Starrstruck, which you might want to wear a condom for.

Lil Wayne ft. Eminem “Drop the World” – Continuing the tradition established in Run This Town of millionaire rappers adopting images of revolution and riot, this whole thing reminds me of Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff, which is not a good thing. Considering these are probably THE two defining rappers of the last decade, I’d hope for a little more. NOTE: Due to fascism this links to an edited version of the song. If you look, you should be able to find someone on YouTube who has synced the unedited song with the video. The link I had got taken down, by the fascists.

Elizabeth and the Catapult “Race You” - Hipster wistfulness at its most cloying and unwelcome.

Deftones “Rocket Skates” – It’s comforting to know that the Deftones are still doing exactly what they were doing in the mid 90s. Their music was always more artful and challenging than their counterparts, and it’s why they never achieved the superstardom that Limp Bizkit and Korn did. Chino can still scream his ass off (in a manly way that is much more appealing than these screamo kids). The video doesn’t do a whole lot, but Chino’s charisma carries the performance sections.

VIDEO OF THE MONTH: OK Go “This Too Shall Pass – Rube Goldberg Machine version” – I know I know. But one impetus for this column was that in this young century, the music video has become a medium associated more with the internet than with television. Nobody has exploited this change more effectively than OK Go. They make videos that you just have to share with someone. The videos are undeniably gimmicky (something that turns me off), but the gimmicks involve such an awe-inspiring amount of planning, precision and skill that it’s impossible not to take notice. It doesn’t always work (I didn’t really care for the WTF? video and I didn’t consider the original This Too Shall Pass video worth talking about), but there are three things that make this video work: 1) the song isn’t bad 2) the song and video mesh well and build to a climax 3) the Goldberg machine on display is such a thing to behold that the fact that it’s a music video becomes secondary; this is documentation of an incredible piece of art first and foremost. And that’s a big part of the reason I chose to highlight it here. Music videos don’t just have to be music videos anymore. There’s been plenty said about this video already, so I’ll just add a few quick thoughts:

-Replacing the xylophone with a bunch of glasses was truly inspired

-I love the typewriter bit

-Smashing the TV playing their star-making treadmill video for Here It Goes Again was a nice bit of self-awareness

-Obviously, I had a cynical reaction when the State Farm logo popped up at the end, but they ponied up the money to make this happen and it’s an awesome, artistic application of a shitload of scientific knowledge. The amount of dedication and painstaking work involved is inspiring. Good for you, State Farm, you scumbags.

VIDEO FLASHBACK: Elton John “I’m Still Standing” – Music videos seem to be getting weirder and weirder, but sometimes, you just can’t beat the originals. Where to begin? There’s the ever changing dimensions of the frame. There’s the multitude of scantily clad dancers in a variety of get ups (including Bruno Tonioli from Dancing With the Stars – thanks Wikipedia). There’s the car with people hanging off of it. But it’s not all just wackiness. There’s some playful and highly amusing choreography, especially the shot down the stairs with about 30 people walking in unison. There’s Elton John performing like the rock star he is. And, of course, there’s the incredible song backing it all up. Chances are good you’ve never seen this video. Rectify that immediately.

Tagged as: bun b, dan deacon, deftones, elizabeth and the catapult, elton john, Eminem, Fabolous, foxy shazam, green day, hi-tek, honor society, katy perry, Lil' Wayne, ludacris, MGMT, OK go, raheem devaughn, red cafe, Reflection Eternal, Talib Kweli, timbaland, timberland ridiculous face scale, trey songz, TRFS