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. That's why we provide a monthly rundown of noteworthy music videos.

Best Coast “Our Deal” – I previewed this MTV Supervideo directed by Drew Barrymore last month. Like many hyped videos these days, it comes in two versions. There’s a tidy 4 minute one that’s hardly worth watching, and a 10 minute short film that’s totally worthwhile. Familiar faces abound especially for fans of smart comedy like Community and Arrested Development, and for people who know what an iCarly is. But Chloe Moretz is the real story. Star-crossed lovers have been done to death, but she sells the hell out of it, even opposite a piece of driftwood like MTV’s own Teen Wolf.

Chromeo “When the Night Falls” – Chromeo videos are pretty much guaranteed to entertain. This one mixes a visual representation of the Tenacious D warning that sitting too close to the band will get you pregnant with a zombie movie. They’re capable of better, but it’s an enjoyable ride.

Prince Ea “Backwards Rappers” – I’ve made a habit of labeling every backwards video as a rip off of the Drop video. It’s easy. But it stops here. Not only is this video inventive enough that it breaks from the tradition, it’s the only way this video could have been made. It’s actually quite similar to Shad’s Rose Garden video, until you realize that the video is largely an aide to help people “get” the song, which is kind of a mindbender the first time through.

Red Hot Chili Peppers “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” – This song is way too bland, the performance way too subdued, and the crowd way too docile to make the whole performance on a roof thing work.

Scroobius Pip “Introdiction” – There are lots of videos out there made up of a single continuous shot these days, largely because digital recording methods allow multiple tries at very little cost. But few seem to only allow for the possibility of a single take. In that, this English rapper has something very unique. Otherwise, it’s just a highly entertaining video with a great allusion to Quantum Leap.

Miles Fisher “New Romance” – At this point, making a video based on the too-fondly-remembered Saved By the Bell is just incredibly lame. Crossing Saved By the Bell with the Final Destination franchise, and getting your costars from the latest installment to star in the video, on the other hand, is actually pretty inspired. They don’t take the concept far enough (they really blow their load with the first death), but it’s still pretty entertaining. Shout out to Nicholas D’Agosto. Oh yeah, and the song is really intolerable, even by crappy pop standards.

Blind Fury “Friends Before Lovers” – I always knew that someday there would be a blind rapper named after the blind Rutger Hauer samurai who unfortunately just missed the cut in our 1980s Badass Tournament, I just didn’t know I’d be alive to see it.

Bon Iver “Holocene” – Apparently Iceland is really, really beautiful and crazy looking. If anyone is struggling to come up with a good idea for a video just go to Iceland. This video doesn’t have much else going for it and it’s still awesome.

Low “Especially Me” – Despite some absolutely gorgeous bird’s eye shots of NYC at night, this one just doesn’t quite gel the way it should.

The N’Matez “Tragical” – The old school rap video vibe is usually boring, but Daz, Kurupt, Lady of Rage and RBX make it work so well that Snoop’s intro about what it means to stay “street” doesn’t even seem that ridiculous.

Fucked Up “The Other Shoe” – This might be the second video from the band’s celebrated rock opera, but it feels like the beginning of the story (I wasn’t crazy about the first). And I can’t wait to see what happens next. Here’s to hoping they stick with it.

The Raccoonists “Own It” – Making a video entirely from pre-existing footage is like the entertainment equivalent of recycling, which means it’s good for the environment. And unlike rinsing out bottles and putting them in a blue bin, it can actually be entertaining. Especially when your video is just clips of two very animated, very awesome, very disparate animals: orchestra conductors and raccoons. Rock on, Jeff Tweedy and sons.

The Jealous Guys “Genesis” – Sitting on a hill rapping has never been so captivating.

The Decemberists “Calamity Song” – Philistine Alert! I’ve never read Infinite Jest. Ergo, I don’t understand this video. But I think even people intimately familiar with the novel, who delight at seeing it represented here, would admit the video is a little light. Still, the absurdity of the whole thing makes David Foster Wallace’s celebrated epic even more appealing than it already was when everybody was telling me how great it is. It reminded me of Vonnegut’s Player Piano. Someone should make a music video inspired by that.

Matt and Kim, Souljah Boy and Andrew W.K. “I’m a Goner” – I just spent a solid 3 minutes staring at a static computer screen trying to figure out a way to avoid writing about this Frankenstein’s monster after the Converse player crashed with about a minute left in the video. I couldn’t come up with anything. This sort of corporate sponsored jamboree is simply a fact of life in the 21^st Century. And more power to the artists who are opening up some new revenue streams, because like any rational person, I only pay for music I really like. But who wants this particular collaboration? Only fans of the individual artists could possibly be interested, and I find it hard to believe any but the most lemming-like of those particular groups would find much to like in this salad bowl of suck (at least this Nike project from 2007 gave rap fans an inter-era group worth caring about). The video is silly, yet manages to make this unlikely grouping seem somewhat momentous, which is a pretty neat trick because, really, who cares? Also, why is Souljah Boy separated from everyone else for the entirety of the video (that I watched)? Did he do too much mean mugging?

B.o.B “High Life” – MTV used to have a show about the most expensive music videos ever made. If they made one about the most ballin’ videos ever, this one just might qualify. B.o.B just hangs out in that infinity pool on the top of a Singapore hotel with a bunch of models while telling you how rich and popular he is. The most ballin’ thing about it? They don’t even try to pretend that this video is anything other than an excuse to make haters jealous. It’s so pure in its intent that even if you find it boring and lame (it’s kind of both) you have to respect the clarity of message.

Nicole Scherzinger “Wet” – “Well I’m gonna rip my clothes off, take a leap and surf through the crowd.” Damn, is that what it takes to sell overpriced concert tickets in 2011?

Lil Wayne “How to Love” – I’m not sure if the answer is less drugs or more drugs, but something needs to change. Here’s hoping this is the corniest video he ever releases.

Snow Patrol “Called Out in the Dark” – Despite its video-within-a-video concept, there isn’t a whole lot of depth here. Still, it’s pretty amusing and the frequency with which the set-ups, costumes and action change should be a lesson to many video directors.

Raphael Saadiq “Day Dreams” – Not nearly as effective as Saadiq’s previous collaboration with an actor, but it features some mighty fine lip-syncing by Danny Pudi from Community, so you might as well watch.

OK Go and The Muppets “Muppet Show Theme Song” – As a champion of OK Go’s video efforts, I was very leery of this artistically bankrupt venture. Early on, it appears that rather than attempt to create a new memorable video, they are just going to riff on their previous ones. I’m fine with that, but it seems pretty half assed because I’ve watched a lot of OK Go videos over the past two years, and I only see direct references to two of them. The rest is just Muppet fan service, which I’m not interested in. Really though, I’m only here for the obligatory Statler and Waldorf appearance. It’s as wonderful as it is short (and it’s right around the 1:30 mark). Otherwise, the fake-out ending is amusing, but that’s about it.

Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars “Lighters” – I am fully in the corner of the refocused Eminem. His recent output may be uneven, but it’s a long way from his creative coma of a few years ago. If you feel the same way, then you’ll surely find some enjoyment here. Still, what could have been a cool, emotional hook is Oil of Olay soft in the hands of Mars, and why don’t we actually see any clips of Em and Royce da 5’9” performing in front of a “sky full of lighters”? Do people not wave lighters at Slaughterhouse’s afternoon set at Rock the Bells?

J. Cole “Work Out” – J. Cole’s affable personality lifts this song and video above the cliché party and bullshit content.

Iceage “You’re Blessed” – Usually, a performance and backstage video like this one is heavy on sentimentality. But these youngsters go the other way, offering nothing but energy and chaos, which perfectly suits the under 2 minute song.

Kendrick Lamar “ADHD” – If the world is going to hell, you might as well enjoy the ride. For kids that means drugs, flirting and Halloween masks. Sounds about right to me.

VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Jay-Z & Kanye West “Otis” – It has to be extremely hard to make a video simultaneously this stupid and brilliant. There is something incredibly ballin’ about ruining a perfectly good Maybach, but this video is really about ‘Ye and Jay being silly. It’s breezy, bright and tremendously fun. It’s miles better than the last major video offering I remember featuring these two, the joyless and self-serious Run This Town. This also marks back-to-back Videos of the Month for Spike Jonze. I’m having the Intern check to see if that’s ever been done before.

VIDEO FLASHBACK: Dinosaur Jr. "Feel the Pain" - In honor of Spike Jonze's unprecedented accomplishment (I don't know, probably), here's a deep cut from his catalog. I love that MTV2 spelled it "Dinosaur Jnr." Has anyone ever written it like that before? Pretty sure the answer is no. Mixing golf with citywide mayhem and violence is a lot of fun, not to mention golf cart stunt driving, which everyone should experience at some point. J Mascis claims a lot of the violence had to be cut out to make sure it got play on MTV (how'd that work out? seriously, I'm asking, I can't imagine this ever made it past 120 Minutes). So, that's a shame. Now a little part of me will always wonder what the video would have looked like free from the influence of fascists. The rest of me will continue to love it as is.

Tagged as: best coast supervideo, feel the pain video appreciation, spike jonze is still good at making music videos, the red hot chili peppers are too old for this shit