Culture Blues

Internet Killed the Video Star: August

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.

Cee-Lo Green “Fuck You” – The internet compelled me to link to this. It’s breezy and entertaining like the song but it also adds nothing to what is already an internet phenomenon. I wish Cee-Lo all the best though; I heard he’s still paying off his brat daughter’s Super Sweet Sixteen.

2 Hungry Bros ft. 8thw1, P.SO & Fresh Daily “Can’t Win ‘Em All” – Not enough people get body slammed into swimming pools in music videos.

Chromeo “Don’t Turn the Lights On” – Somehow practical effects just always beat CGI. A Little long but full of entertaining gags.

Kanye West “Power” – Well now I see why director Marco Brambilla preferred to think of this as a video piece rather than a music video. It only covers one verse from the song. Still, it’s visually striking and I love how it starts so simple and as the camera slowly pulls back it quickly becomes congested and overwhelming. Also, check out this early version of the video. It offers a glimpse into the creative process and breasts.

Dev “Booty Bounce” – What do you get when you mix a subdued hipster chick with dance beats and played out rap lingo? Fucking terrible music. Yet, director Ethan Lader has created a video that I am forced to recommend you check out. Simple yet meticulous editing ascends to dazzling visual trickery. If only the video weren’t for a bad Ke$ha rip off.

NLX “Young Love” – Back in June, we had the opportunity to interview NLX at NXNE. This month, she popped back up with this video. The low-key, foul-mouthed pop on display here is imminently listenable, and the polished video features an almost hypnotic game of jump rope in which players stay in the air for seconds. I only wish there were more Double Dutch and less interpretive dance.

Erykah Badu ft. Rick Ross “Window Seat (Remix) + Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)” – Well, here it is. A collabo I never thought I’d see. It opens with a very solid verse from Ross and then descends into the weirdness you should expect from such an odd pairing. Warning: it ends with a “to be continued.”

30 Seconds to Mars “Closer to the Edge” – Jared Leto’s band offers up a Tour Retrospective which actually seems to be a big commercial for a live DVD (although I’m not sure because I’m stubbornly refusing to look it up). The craftsmanship is admirable as they hit some of the requisite high notes for this kind of video. But there’s also obnoxious text on the screen gratuitously holding your hand and at times telling you what to think (don’t tell me the kid standing on other people is awesome, he’s at a 30STM show, he’s not that awesome), and hanging over the whole thing is a pandering sentiment I find tiresome, insincere and basically revolting: the fans are important. It didn’t work for Taylor Swift and it doesn’t work here. If I wanted to hear juvenile philosophizing from your fans, I’d go to your message board. Also, points off for a one minute long credit sequence for a standard video, even though it does feature clips that should have been in the video proper (including Leto living out his pro wrestling fantasies with a Triple H water spew).

Bishop Lamont ft. Marsha Ambrosius “Your Lover” – Just when it seems that Bishop Lamont has gone soft, he explains that he is not, in fact, into sitting in the park with snow cones. Then he expounds on the differences between our instant gratification generation and those that came before us. He has a sneaky sort of intelligence and this simple, sincere song is matched perfectly by a single shot video that gives him the opportunity to forge a connection with the viewer.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists “Bottled in Cork” – With some pseudo-celebrity help, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists effectively skewer all those insufferable pop music inspired Broadway shows. And they pack amusing opening and closing scenes into just over five minutes. Good for them.

Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne “Miss Me” – Last month, when I carefully examined his career as a whole, I decided that director Anthony Mandler still hasn’t done much to distinguish himself. And then he drops this snoozefest. Thanks for nothing, Tony!

Wavves “Post Acid” – From the John Norris intro to the Waiting to Exhale t-shirt to the special effects, this video so desperately wants to take you back to the 90s. And it works. If you told me that you remembered seeing this on 120 Minutes back in 1992, I’d have no choice but to believe you. And for some reason, I absolutely love that.

Eminem ft. Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie” – I should have know it would be an unwieldy mess, and I think it’s safe to say the man behind some of Britney Spears’ biggest videos was not the right choice to direct. Hey, at least we still get to watch Charlie Pace and the girl from Transformers alternately wrestle and overzealously make out.

Arcade Fire “We Used to Wait” – This “video,” which asks you to input your childhood home and then incorporates Google Earth imagery of the location is many things. It’s a clever and, at least sporadically, triumphant use of new technology to push a somewhat stagnant medium forward. It’s also a blatant attempt to artificially enhance the viewer’s connection to the music. It’s a marketing initiative attempting to coerce you into downloading Google Chrome (I used Firefox because I’m an internet rebel). It’s super processor heavy and quite likely to make your browser crash. It’s perhaps the most artful use of pop-up windows yet. It’s cool and lame at the exact same time. I applaud the effort though the final product shows the rough edges of something so different.

The Thermals “I Don’t Believe You” – Frantic and paranoid, a woman tears her house apart hunting for little speakers in an attempt to silence The Thermals. But why would she want to? The song is terrific.

VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Of Montreal “Coquet Coquette” – This was a tough choice. There were many really good videos, but nothing truly outstanding. In the end, I went with the only video that features warring tribes savagely murdering each other on a beach. I don’t know what the hell’s going on but it sure is fantastic. It’s Lord of the Flies meets Braveheart, but with more corpse humping.

ONGOING VIDEO EPIC OF THE MONTH: Ill Bill “Kill Devil Hills” – I didn’t recommend Part 1: Cult Assassin because I didn’t think it stood well enough on its own and I was uncertain we would ever see further installments. Now, just a month later, Part 2: Kill Devil Hills has already been released and the plot is thickening. I think it’s now safe to get on board this “retro saga.” You can check out a trailer for the whole thing here. It’s basically Ill Bill’s Illuminati paranoia and gun fantasies as an 80s action cartoon. Seemingly intent on giving away his entire new album as videos, Bill also released an extremely low budget, action movie-esque clip for Ill Bill TV that would make Robert Rodriguez proud, what with all the CGI muzzle flashes and bloodspray. I’ll cover Kill Devil Hills in more detail once all four parts have been released.

SEPTEMBER VIDEO TO WATCH FOR

Here’s a preview of Raekwon released a preview of his upcoming Ason Jones video. It’s a tribute to ODB and appears to tap not only into the sense of loss felt from the death of a one of a kind artist but also nostalgia for a time when the Wu-Tang Clan was just a bunch of early 20 somethings who changed the landscape of rap music and the industry as a whole. It’s shaping up to be a real tearjerker. “The way he did it with a mic and some wine.” Indeed.



Tagged as: 2 hungry bros, 30 seconds to mars, 8thw1, Arcade Fire, bishop lamont, Cee-Lo, chromeo, dev, drake, Eminem, Erykah Badu, fresh daily, ill bill, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, marsha ambrosius, new music videos, NLX, of montreal, p.so, raekwon, rick ross, Rihanna, ted leo & the pharmacists, the thermals, Wavves