Thursday, January 24, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 1/24/08
Feist is simply wonderful. Like sharing a milkshake with someone you love, her music is indescribable. Sure, everyone got tired of her "1,2,3,4" after Apple stretched it thin but her new single "I Feel It All" and its accompanying visuals bust the gate wide open for great new videos in 2008. Enjoy a few minutes of bliss.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Keith's Favorite Music Videos of 2007
I'm a rather visually stimulated guy so I thought I'd give some kudos to a few music videos (and it really is a few, the art of the music video has taken a giant downfall in the last two years) that got me watching them over and over again in 2007. In no particular order:
BAT FOR LASHES - What's A Girl To Do?
Call her Donna Darko but this clip took all of the mood and dread of Richard Kelly's cult film and whisked it in a bowl with a little dark chocolate and champagne. The result is delicious.
KANYE WEST - Good Life
The rap video has evoloved into a very boring formula as of late. Gather your crew. Call up some hot chicks. Gather some bling and shiny cars. Get in real tight to the camera and just rap. Rinse. Repeat. Mr. West not only avoids those cliches (especially for a song about success) but he makes a point to keep things nice and colorful. Amid his penchant for Cosby sweaters and Sesame Street fun he's made the rap video vibrant again.
M.I.A. - Jimmy
Going low tech in a video can sometimes look like you're trying too hard but M.I.A.'s disco/ Bollywood cover just screams for a little eye candy. Some felt she was exploiting Indian culture with her vision I say she was giving it a tweak and a kiss at the same time.
PETER, BJORN & JOHN - Young Folks
There's nothing worse than hearing a catchy tune over and over again and then finding that the video lands with a dull thud. Thankfully this little animated gem gives the song even more of a bubble-gum pop sheen than it already had.
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - Hustler
I love when a video has two versions because one was a little more "out there". This was the more disturbing but far more brilliant version. I always enjoy a video for a dance song that makes me uncomfortable in ways that I haven't felt since Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin were making nightmares come true.
CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY - Behave
I've already praised this video this week but for good reason. The video just succeeds in being more than an illustration (literally) for a tune but ends up becoming a complete short film, with a vison, story and characters, which the best music videos of yesterday were so successful in doing.
RIHANNA - Umbrella
Not just the single of the year but also one of the best videos too. It's got singing, dancing, sex appeal and visual power. If "Singing In The Rain" were ever to get a worthy update, this would be it.
KID SISTER - ProNails
Truthfully, I'm a sucker for a cute gimmick. Walking, dancing fingers just does it for me. What should have been a throwaway video for a throwaway style song ends up being fun and enjoyable. Oh look, and there's Kanye again...
SNOOP DOGG - Sensual Seduction
Is it retro? Is it from the future? Is it over the top? Is it sincere? This love letter to sex, Prince, George Clinton and blaxploitation hits all the right notes.
FEIST - 1234
All those Apple commercials might pull some of the joy out of this piece but if ever a video were to showcase what the artist was all about this would be it. One magazine called it a clash of the hula dance from the Dirty Dancing talent show and Spike Jones' bizarre dance troupe. Either way, it's delightful.
NINE INCH NAILS - Survivalism
Funny how the videos that get censored always involve voyeurism. Like Madonna's "Justify My Love" this one has been tweaked with over its visuals of gay sex and nudity. Despite the hangup it pulls you in just the way it wants you to and delivers its social message by making you do what its talking about.
GWEN STEFANI - Four In The Morning
There's a moment about 2 minutes into this video that the camera stays with Gwen's face for about 30 seconds (which is long for a video) and we can see see all of the obsession, worry and frustration that Ms. Stefani is singing about. It's a testament to director Sophie Mueller longtime collaboration with Gwen that makes her videos seem like an honest confession. Oh yeah, and she has REALLY good hair in this video too.
JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E.
I love when simple concepts come out looking great. Just like a simple icon on a tee shirt. It only asks that you look for a second.
CIARA - Promise
I like my R&B videos a certain way. Sexy, smoky and H-O-T-T (the second T is very important) Ciara's got all of that here and in ways that don't make her seem like a helpless doll. Her masculinity, evidenced in her dance sequence, is something she's obviously at peace with alongside her femininity.
BAT FOR LASHES - What's A Girl To Do?
Call her Donna Darko but this clip took all of the mood and dread of Richard Kelly's cult film and whisked it in a bowl with a little dark chocolate and champagne. The result is delicious.
KANYE WEST - Good Life
The rap video has evoloved into a very boring formula as of late. Gather your crew. Call up some hot chicks. Gather some bling and shiny cars. Get in real tight to the camera and just rap. Rinse. Repeat. Mr. West not only avoids those cliches (especially for a song about success) but he makes a point to keep things nice and colorful. Amid his penchant for Cosby sweaters and Sesame Street fun he's made the rap video vibrant again.
M.I.A. - Jimmy
Going low tech in a video can sometimes look like you're trying too hard but M.I.A.'s disco/ Bollywood cover just screams for a little eye candy. Some felt she was exploiting Indian culture with her vision I say she was giving it a tweak and a kiss at the same time.
PETER, BJORN & JOHN - Young Folks
There's nothing worse than hearing a catchy tune over and over again and then finding that the video lands with a dull thud. Thankfully this little animated gem gives the song even more of a bubble-gum pop sheen than it already had.
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - Hustler
I love when a video has two versions because one was a little more "out there". This was the more disturbing but far more brilliant version. I always enjoy a video for a dance song that makes me uncomfortable in ways that I haven't felt since Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin were making nightmares come true.
CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY - Behave
I've already praised this video this week but for good reason. The video just succeeds in being more than an illustration (literally) for a tune but ends up becoming a complete short film, with a vison, story and characters, which the best music videos of yesterday were so successful in doing.
RIHANNA - Umbrella
Not just the single of the year but also one of the best videos too. It's got singing, dancing, sex appeal and visual power. If "Singing In The Rain" were ever to get a worthy update, this would be it.
KID SISTER - ProNails
Truthfully, I'm a sucker for a cute gimmick. Walking, dancing fingers just does it for me. What should have been a throwaway video for a throwaway style song ends up being fun and enjoyable. Oh look, and there's Kanye again...
SNOOP DOGG - Sensual Seduction
Is it retro? Is it from the future? Is it over the top? Is it sincere? This love letter to sex, Prince, George Clinton and blaxploitation hits all the right notes.
FEIST - 1234
All those Apple commercials might pull some of the joy out of this piece but if ever a video were to showcase what the artist was all about this would be it. One magazine called it a clash of the hula dance from the Dirty Dancing talent show and Spike Jones' bizarre dance troupe. Either way, it's delightful.
NINE INCH NAILS - Survivalism
Funny how the videos that get censored always involve voyeurism. Like Madonna's "Justify My Love" this one has been tweaked with over its visuals of gay sex and nudity. Despite the hangup it pulls you in just the way it wants you to and delivers its social message by making you do what its talking about.
GWEN STEFANI - Four In The Morning
There's a moment about 2 minutes into this video that the camera stays with Gwen's face for about 30 seconds (which is long for a video) and we can see see all of the obsession, worry and frustration that Ms. Stefani is singing about. It's a testament to director Sophie Mueller longtime collaboration with Gwen that makes her videos seem like an honest confession. Oh yeah, and she has REALLY good hair in this video too.
JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E.
I love when simple concepts come out looking great. Just like a simple icon on a tee shirt. It only asks that you look for a second.
CIARA - Promise
I like my R&B videos a certain way. Sexy, smoky and H-O-T-T (the second T is very important) Ciara's got all of that here and in ways that don't make her seem like a helpless doll. Her masculinity, evidenced in her dance sequence, is something she's obviously at peace with alongside her femininity.
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