Culture Blues

Internet Killed the Video Star: July

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.

Janelle Monae ft. B.o.B. & Lupe Fiasco "Tightrope (Wondamix)" - I love how they seem to have created a black and white video through costuming and set design rather than simply changing the camera to B&W. The stripped down video works well thanks to a good opening from B.o.B. and a show stealing last verse from Janelle where she really shows off her charisma and energy. Quite enjoyable.

Killian Wells "V.I.P." - 3OH!3 can now officially be considered someone's musical influence. And Satan laughed.

Evan Taubenfeld “Pumpkin Pie” - Looking like DJ Qualls from The New Guy, Evan Taubenfeld has released a video where a lot of the drama and action plays out via Twitter, in shots too quick to read thoroughly during playback. It’s kind of despicable, yet I actually enjoyed going back and pausing to catch all the jokes. Like someone suggesting he eat a cheeseburger, or StacyLoFi wondering “whoa, was that Draco Malfoy?” Or CourtneyLoveUK proclaiming “I youtubbed your video. What a F*ckin douchelord”. Then Avril Lavigne and Pete Wentz offer endorsement tweets, which somehow actually seems valid, and Puff Daddy and Drake get namedropped by way of their Twitter handles. It’s all just drenched in this popular, modern form of communication. I hate the video, but someone in the marketing department sure deserves a raise.

The Postelles "White Night" - There's nothing wrong with a song that would sound at home on a golden oldies channel and a video featuring crazy lights and the odd beauty of dreary, snow-covered New York streets.

Ne-Yo "Beautiful Monster" - Do you have 8 minutes to burn on a Ne-Yo video? Well, you better because Moonwalker and Kung Fu Hustle had a baby and through the opening scene (very funny) and up to the first chorus, it’s terrific. Unforunately, they lose their way a bit after the first fight scene. It's kind of an Icarus moment. Ne-Yo actually released two videos this month, both end with "to be continued" cards and yet I believe they are unrelated. It's a bold move, let's see how it works out.

Daughtry "September" - You have to miss the target by a lot for me not to feel anything during this kind of video. Daughtry performs his ballad about summers and September and getting out of Dodge in an empty auditorium while pictures from his youth flash on the wall behind him, followed by the view from a speeding car. It's not quite a career retrospective since they don't look back at his time since stardom at all, but you're tugging at the same nostalgia-strings, and yet I was left totally cold. The song doesn't soar and the video fails to tap into the grandeur and passage of time these things need to in order to be successful.

Waka Flocka Flame "Hard in the Paint" - I'm only including this video because I want everyone to have the chance to see Waka Flocka Flame's Fozzie Bear chain in action. I don't even know what else to say. Except for "wocka wocka."

Paramore "Careful" - See Daughtry, this is how you do it. It's really not hard. Start with the magic of live musical performances in front of thousands of excited fans, go heavy on how much fun it is to be in a rock band and then throw in just a dash of how tiring all the traveling and photo ops are. The playbook's all written. You just have to follow it.

Lights Over Paris "Turn Off the Lights" - Seriously? Is someone screwing with me? Are there really two 3OH!3 offspring? Already? Where did the record companies find these jerk-offs? Were they working in the mailroom?

Kylie Minogue "All the Lovers" - The closest thing to "the pile" from the Goobacks episode of South Park you'll ever see in real life (hopefully). You've been warned.

The Roots ft. John Legend “The Fire” – Many videos aspire to that short film feel, but few go as far toward achieving it as this. The band doesn’t appear, it’s a period piece, it features a full cast of characters and the story is complicated enough that you need to pay attention yet cohesive enough that it seems like there actually is a story. It's not great but it will keep you interested.

Christina Aguilera "You Lost Me" - Just months after ripping off Lady Gaga wholesale and convincing me that her career was just about over, Christina Aguilera releases a song that isn't Lady Gaga or even Christina Aguilera. It's closer to Fiona Apple than either of those. It's sad and pretty beautiful. Aguilera's (relatively) disheveled appearance in the video strips away the tiresome self-consciousness of the controversy baiting Not Myself Tonight. The video offers simplistic beauty and emotion on par with the song. It isn't much more than the sum of its parts but it's nice to see restraint from Aguilera and the very much in demand director Anthony Mandler.

N.A.S.A. ft. Karen O, Ol’ Dirty Bastard & Fatlip “Strange Enough” – Abstract, visually stimulating, animated videos are a dime a dozen these days. Videos featuring the late ODB are not. This album full of experimental rap-centric collaborations didn’t make much of a splash last year, and it’s hard to understand why listening to this track. The visuals are typical in their weirdness but well done, and more than good enough to support a pairing of the loose cannons from Wu-Tang and The Pharcyde.

Broken Social Scene “Meet Me In The Basement” – A grand, pulse-quickening song set to images and videos flickering past your eyes almost too quickly to digest. And somehow it seems to encapsulate so much of what living in 2010 feels like. This is also a great example of pure editing. There is a genius behind how quickly the images fly by, when they pause on something longer and how it all matches up with the song. It may look chaotic, but it’s actually incredibly meticulous. Put on your headphones and press play right now.

VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Brandon Flowers "Crossfire" - There is something irresistibly clever about casting Flowers as the battered and bruised damsel in distress who needs to be rescued repeatedly by his long suffering and supremely badass girlfriend (Charlize Theron). It's so anti-rock star. There is plenty of humor in the concept, the ninja antagonists and Flowers' reactions, but the somber song is matched by a sort of melancholy as Flowers needs to be rescued again and again by a weary yet game Theron. It finely toes the line between goofy and poignant.

DIRECTOR SHOWCASE: ANTHONY MANDLER

Anthony Mandler seems to be a real up-and-comer. He’s a very frequent Rihanna collaborator and he’s already gotten his hooks into Drake. So he’s hooked up with two very popular young artists, but over the last year I’ve developed an up and down relationship with his work. I gave good marks to Drake’s Find Your Love and Rihanna’s Russian Roulette. I was unimpressed with Jay-Z’s Run This Town and hated Muse’s Neutron Star Collision. I also went out of my way to insult Young Forever when I was supposed to be talking about On to the Next One.

Digging further into his back catalog, I see that a very literal approach worked wonders on his crafty little staging of Common’s Testify, (featuring “before you knew them” performances from Taraji P. Henson and Wood Harris) but didn’t fare so well for the self-indulgent self-loathing of Eminem’s When I’m Gone. Attempting to craft a story out of more abstract songs helped him create two out of his three videos for The Killers (the best of the mediocre bunch is A Dustland Fairytale). The steamy clip for Rihanna’s international single Te Amo plays like a sexy, erotic thriller, but in the past Mandler’s work has often boiled down to fluff featuring female stars in revealing outfits (see Beyonce’s Irreplaceable and Fergie’s Big Girls Don’t Cry). I’m encouraged to think that Mandler’s work seems to be getting better, but I still need more. We will undoubtedly be seeing more high profile clips from him, so I’m interested to see what he does in the future.

AUGUST VIDEOS TO WATCH FOR

August is going to get off to a huge start with the two rappers that ruled the last decade (one the first half, the other the second) both releasing videos, possibly in the same week. Eminem’s abusive relationship themed Love the Way You Lie is a stadium rap monster. The dramatic song should make a perfect video. And with Joseph Kahn, the man who ruled TRL with teenybopper videos at the turn of the century (you’ll certainly remember him from MTV’s Making the Video), at the helm, the likelihood of a real crowd pleaser is pretty high. By the way, Kahn was also responsible for this month’s Kylie Minogue video. Oh, did I mention the song features the first lady of stadium rap, Rihanna (herself recently involved in a violent relationship) and that the video stars Megan Fox and Charlie from Lost. It should be released any day now.

Kanye West will also release a video for Power, the first single from his newly as-yet-to-be-titled album (Good Ass Job is apparently no more). Demolition Man director Marco Brambilla directs the video, but don’t let his action movie cred fool you. A video installation of his put him on Kanye’s radar, and Brambilla considers the Power clip to be a “video work that’s been commissioned by Kanye to accompany the music” rather than simply a music video. Don’t worry, ‘Ye is still going to wear a massive chain. Read the NY Times preview here. The video is expected this week (read: next week at the earliest).

Tagged as: anthony mandler, b.o.b., beautiful monster crazy video, Beyonce, brandon flowers, Broken Social Scene, christina aguilera, common, daughtry, Eminem, evan taubenfeld, fatlip, fergie, janelle monae, Jay-Z, john legend, Kanye West, karen o, killian wells, kylie minogue, lights over paris, love the way you lie video, lupe fiasco, Muse, music videos, n.a.s.a., ne-yo, ODB, paramore, power video, The Killers, the postelles, The Roots, waka flocka flame