BY MIKEY MIGO
To bitch about MTV not showing videos is now officially lamer than the fact that MTV doesn't show videos. With the recent hubbub about MTV dropping the "music television" part of their logo, I have to ask those who are shocked… Where the hell have you been? Not since the Carson Daly says of TRL has MTV gave a shit about music videos. Music videos for at least the past TEN YEARS has been filler for MTV programming. It's like "No reruns to show at 2AM on a Thursday?" says on programmer to another. The second programmer replies "Let's just throw the same hour block of music videos on TV in a four hour rotation until the kiddies get up for school." And then they get back to their scheme of finding ways to spotlight douche bags and boring celebrities.
If you're still one of those people who bitch about MTV's program schedule then you should take a few deep breaths and move on. It's 2010, folks. Anything you'd ever want to see, and a lot of what you wouldn't, is available at the tips of your internet accessed finger tips. Seriously, who cares about MTV when you have You Tube or one of the other hundred video outlets at your disposal on demand? You can't tell me you don't have this capability. Despite 411mania plotting a interactive brain chip for a 2015 release, you ARE reading this on the internet.
The fact of the matter is that we're all just lazy dicks. We don't take the time to seek new music videos. We complain about there not being any, but we rarely ever take the personal time to research what's there. I know this because I too am a lazy dick.
This is why I do this column every so often. It gives me an excuse and a reason to dig deep into the "current scene" of music and see what music videos are out there right now. Today I'm going to look at what's popular on the charts, new videos from random bands of interest, and a few obscure fun/artsy clips.
"TiK ToK" by Ke$ha
I didn't know much about this girl except that she's all over right now. From the pictures I assumed she was a Lady GaGa clone, but I guess not. I recognize the song, but the video is pretty lame. Well crafted is the best thing I can say about it. There's nothing fresh, innovative, or visually appealing in the video. It's like a playful Pink video. It's a dancey-pop song, so I know I shouldn't expect anything mind blowing but I've seen plenty of similar song videos with much more to them visually, a more clever narrative, and a lot more style.
RATING: 5.5
"We Are The World 25 for Haiti" by A lot of People
I can't talk smack about the cause, but the original was monumental and I have trouble believing they'll even come half as close this time. Then the video starts off with Justin Bieber and makes me hate it. That kid has daunting eyes and I do not trust them. Mary J rocks it and then it gets weird with the Michael Jackson vintage footage with Janet overlayed on top. I could go on about every individual performance and cringe at the fact that it contains Miley, Jonas, Fergie, and so many others that make me cringe, but it's pointless. The rap portions of the song ARE LAME AS HELL. A whole bunch of 40 something rappers acting like bad asses during a song like this screams "gimmick". My main problem is that they used autotune! Yes, autotune! What the hell is this? The thing that made the original so impactful and cool was that it was one cohesive song. This sounds like a remixed Mash-up. Even though this video and song pale to the original you should still support the cause. Just don't buy this track and encourage them to do this again. Something's are left better not to be rehashed.
RATING: 6.0
"Ali In The Jungle" by The Hours
We start off with some choppy animation on an old performance stage. Nothing really changes. There is lots of random obscurity with the only lyrical performance being from one of the many skeletons in the video. It's well done, artsy, and creative but it doesn't keep my attention at all. I kept waiting for something to actually happen. Nothing ever happened.
RATING: 7.0
"White Feather" by Wolfmother
I've not heard much from these guys(now guy and new guys) in awhile. The is a simple "we're pretending to record this live RIGHT NOW" in the studio type of video. For what it is, it's very well done. The band has that "old school" sound and the video gives the same effect. The orange "sunrise" glow and the double layers of action give what would be a boring video a lot more personality and style. The song and the video feel like something I've already experienced and have forgotten. This stands out like nipple at a nudist colony. And that's after being there for a month.
RATING: 6.5
"It Ain't Nothin'" by Cypress Hill
This one really surprised me. I honestly wasn't expecting a narrative here, but there is one. I wasn't expecting the video to have such decent direction either. I just really like the way this video looks. It's got classic rap video elements, but has a modern edge to them. The camera movements and energy of the video actually improves the song for me. It's an okay song, but it's not my cup of tea. The visuals bring it to life and that's a sign of a really good video. This is probably one of the best videos out there right now for the genre.
RATING: 8.5
"Semi Precious Weapons" by Semi Precious Weapons
I have no idea who this is. No frame of reference at all makes this as true of a first impression as you'll find anywhere. We start off with a very flamboyant man telling us he can't play the rent, but he's "fucking gorgeous". It's sassy and gritty and a bit tongue in cheek, but I stress to you that neither my tongue nor cheek will be involved. The chorus reminds me of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" meets "MSI", but shipped in a GaGa-like wrapper. As much as the content isn't my cup of tea, I appreciate the energy and charisma of the production. Its oodles better than the new Ke$ha video and wears it's edge on its sleeve. I don't see myself running out to buy the album based off this one video and song, but I can respect its merit and explosiveness. Going into this video it's nothing what I had expected.
RATING: 8.0
"Promenade" by Street Sweeper Social Club
It's a really simple video, but the groove and attitude of it keeps your attention. The band performs in front of a school dance looking back ground and then into crazy rainbow tracers. The out of focus mixed with blue and red glows make it almost feel like it's a 3D video or at least very 80's. By the time Tom Morello rocks the solo in space my interest had faded. I've seen this group in concert and have the album, but so far their live show is about 100 times more entertaining than any of the videos they've put out.
RATING: 7.0
"Animal" by Neon Trees
I know nothing at all about this band. I guess they're from Utah. The video looks like it was shot outside of a meth lab, but the charisma of the lead singer puts some life into it. Then they ad in some zany tour van antics to make for a charmingly harmless silly video. The song is catchy and the video is "cutesy fun". I imagine VH1 showing this often in the early morning and radio stations that play/ed Maroon 5 eating this up.
RATING: 7.0
"Beautiful Thieves" by AFI
I'm not a normally a fan of this genre and part of me wants to kick my ass for liking them, but I'm always curious to what AFI has going on. Their songs are normally catchy and well done and their videos can be pretty amazing. The art direction and mellow dramatic tone of the video is nicely done. The story of drugging the wine with something that's pretty much ecstasy-turned poison is different. The actual performance portion of the video doesn't have the same creativity or maybe it's the energy/tone of the rest of the video. That withstanding, it's still one of the best videos in terms of visual direction.
RATING: 8.0
"11th Dimesnion" by Julian Casablancas
You forget that the dude from "The Strokes" has a sense of humor. With the first single off his solo album, it all comes back to you. The video incorporates a crazy laser future with a surreal old school narrative. Then at about a minute fifteen into it, all bets are off. We find Julian dressed in attire that could only be described as "if there was a pop band in Mad Max". The video is fucked up and trippy, but is still one of the most interesting videos I've seen in at least six months. I've now watched it three times and I'm not sure if it's genius or weird or both. I just know I want to watch it again.
RATING: 8.5
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