Eminem -- Without Me

guess who's back?

back again.

wikimusicvideo's back.

tell a friend.

For the three of you who read this blog, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. Did it feel so empty without me?

In my time away, I've been busy cruising around in my Lamborghini Murcielago and bodyslamming various individuals.

P.S. A special shoutout to Universal Music Group for the nearly unwatchable resolution / all the ads in your youtube videos!

Music video

The music video of the song features a number of scenarios built around its context, including Eminem and Dr. Dre as parodies of comics in general, specifically Batman, Robin and Blade trying to save a child who bought a copy of The Eminem Show that has a Parental Advisory sticker. Eminem and his band of heroes rush to the rescue before the child puts the CD in and he snatches it away from him, and showing that his CD has explicit lyrics. Eminem also appears barefoot throughout some of the video where he is on a hospital bed being pushed through a ward (a reference to ER, which here is called EM drawing from the rapper's stage name). Porn star Jenna Jameson and fitness model Kiana Tom appear in bed with Eminem at the beginning of the video. Eminem also dressed up in various costumes as Osama bin Laden as he is chased by D-12, a TV ad salesman shocking a Dick Cheney-look alike, his mother Debbie Mathers-Briggs (also played by Eminem himself) being flipped off, and Moby getting bodyslammed. The video also features a Lamborghini Murcielago.

This video received MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, and Best Direction (for Joseph Kahn, who directed it), as well as gaining nominations for Best Editing and Viewer's Choice. It also won Best Short Form Music Video at the Grammy Awards of 2003.

Clips of the video for "Without Me" can also be seen playing in a number of other music videos, including 50 Cent's "In da Club" and Tony Yayo's "I Know You Don't Love Me".

embedding disabled by request (naturally).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QggN4XPEiRY

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

ooh...a candidate for speedy deletion.

better post this now while it's still HOTTTTTT.

marty callner's directorial output is composed entirely of music videos, live music performances, and stand-up comedy tv specials.

way to carve out your niche in hollywood, marty!

it's actually quite extraordinary...

Music video

This file is a candidate for speedy deletion. It may be deleted after Wednesday, 9 September 2009.

The music video for the song was directed by Marty Callner^[1] who directed most of Whitesnake's videos in the 1980s. It became memorable due to actress Tawny Kitaen's appearance wearing white lingerie. In the video she is seen prancing on the hood of Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale's Jaguar and massaging him while he is trying in vain to concentrate on driving. Kitaen would later become Coverdale's wife for a brief period.

The music video was parodied in an American Dad! episode, as well as the films Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Death Proof. It was also featured a number of times in the Frat Pack film Old School. It was also parodied in Bowling for Soup's "1985" music video. Originally recorded by SR-71, the song itself contains further references with the lyrics "She was gonna shake her ass/On the hood of Whitesnake's car".

embedding disabled by request.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTiwCez6Zs

Metallica - Hero of the Day

commentary can make a video seem much more intriguing than it actually is, even when it fails to mention the booty call at 2:35.

Music video

The music video for this song was directed by Anton Corbijn and features a drug-addled youth watching a television, with every channel featuring Metallica in some way. A Western movie titled Load is featured, starring Newsted and Hetfield, followed by a boxing match with Hetfield as coach, Newsted as the referee, and Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett as the fighters. After a drink called "Load" is advertised by Ulrich and Hetfield in matching suits, a game show called "Hero of the Day" is seen being played, hosted by Newsted with Hammett, Ulrich and Hetfield as contestants (with Hetfield eventually winning). Then, it cuts to the news with the anchorman played by Hammett and featuring a clip of Hetfield singing the lyrics to the song. At the end, the youth passes out and dreams of tiny robot creatures, rendered in stop motion, emerging from his ear. He awakes from the dream and vomits into his toilet.[1]

embedding disabled by request.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEETC3msD9U

Hammer - 2 Legit 2 Quit

in this heat, i need to be endowed with several blasts of energy in order to blog.

i looked really hard to find the extended version with jim belushi. it's just not a video without jim belushi.

actually, i didn't have to look hard at all. this "extended version" clocks in at over ten minutes.

i don't know if i can bring myself to watch the whole thing, but i have a sneaking suspicion that i probably can.

how is this even possible?

Music video

The video for the song begins with an impatient crowd waiting for MC Hammer to perform, while Hammer has a lengthy conversation with James Brown, who calls Hammer "Godson" and enlists him to get the glove of Micheal Jackson. Brown endows Hammer with several blasts of energy, before sending Hammer off to perform. The performance is high budget and laden with impressive pyrotechnics. The video ends with a purported Jackson (seen only from behind) having seen the performance and conceding Hammer to be the superior dancer, while doing the "2 Legit 2 Quit" hand gesture. Hammer personally spoke with "MJ" on the phone about the video, with Michael giving his approval of it. This amusing story was recently mentioned on The Wendy Williams Show (July 27th, 2009) when MC was a guest.[1][2][3]

The song's music video features several athletes in the video. These athletes can be seen in the video in the following order: José Canseco, Isiah Thomas, Kirby Puckett, Jerry Rice, Rickey Henderson, Deion Sanders, Andre Rison, Chris Mullin, Roger Clemens, Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott, Lynette Woodard,The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, David Robinson, and former Atlanta Falcons coach Jerry Glanville. The extended full-length version of the video also has Jim Belushi in it.

The video was number 5 in MAX music's World's Worst Ever Video countdown and number 1 in its Forgotten Video Clips countdown in 2008. It was also voted number 24 on MTV's all-time "25 Lame" countdown in 1999. However, it has been ranked as one of the most expensive videos ever produced, and a viewer's favorite by VH1. Too Legit to Quit shares its name with a short video, produced in 2009 by Triceratops Productions, about a man washing his truck. The film features the song as well. [4][5][6]

A hand gesture became popular as a result of the title song and video which was also shown in the "Addams Groove" movie video and on MTV. It involved forming the number "2", an L for "Legit", two for "Too" and a "cut" motion for "Quit" with the hand and fingers (as seen in the video).

Usher -- Yeah!

It seems appropriate that somebody named Mr. X would love laser beams.

Music video

Usher in the music video of "Yeah!", using blue and green hues for laser beams

Mr. X, formerly Little X, had previously captured videos for Usher's single "U Don't Have to Call" and "U Got It Bad". Mr. X was inspired with the treatment of laser beams after listening to the song.^[29] He felt the sound was a laser beam for him, referring to the beat as "distinctive".^[29] Usher and Mr. X combined ideas to create a dance video for "Yeah!". The treatment was accompanied of how Usher wanted to be portrayed in the video, particularly showcasing his dance moves.

The music video was filmed in a vacant art gallery in Los Angeles over two days. When the shooting started, Mr. X recalled Michael Jackson's "low-tech" and "laser-flashing" 1979 "Rock With You" video, and used it as a reference.^[29] Forty extras were commissioned to dance with Usher, and two ladies to tempt him in different scenes. They went through photo browsing and phone calling, opting for Destiny, a friend of Mr. X, who seduces Usher in the club ala Marilyn Monroe wardrobe to complement the lyrics.^[29] Usher's other would-be seductress is portrayed by model Melyssa Ford. Lil Jon acted as an assistant director during the sessions. Usher took charge of his ideas on his wardrobe and choreography, with additional routines, specifically the Rockaway and the thunderclap, which Mr. X learned from Jamaica. The Rockaway influenced Fat Joe and Terror Squad's "Lean Back" video.^[29]

Usher's dancing in front of the green and blue laser beams is prominently featured throughout the video. Lil Jon and Ludacris appeared on the video as well.^[1] Ludacris protégé Chingy also appears near the end of the video, holding up his chain which shows his name. Sean "Diddy" Combs' former assistant, Farnsworth Bentley, made a cameo at the end of the video as well, when he was in Los Angeles and Mr. X begged him to dance in the video with his violin.

The music video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live at number ten on February 19, 2004.^[30] "Yeah!" topped the countdown, and retired on May 3 at number six after appearing on the countdown for fifty days.^[31][32] "Yeah!" became one of the most successful music video by Usher, alongside "Confessions Part II", which also remained for fifty days.^[30] At the 2005 Soul Train Music Awards, the video was nominated for Michael Jackson Award for best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video.^[18]

Jamiroquai -- Virtual Insanity

i never knew this guy's name was Jay Kay. what a horrible name. in this internet age, he's known simply as j/k. what an honor to have your name become part of the online slang/shorthand lexicon (j/k!)

man i hate it when my couch bleeds.

my own insanity seems far from virtual these days.

Music video

"Virtual Insanity" is perhaps Jamiroquai's best known music video. At the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1997, it earned ten nominations, winning four awards, including "Breakthrough Video" and the "Best Video of the Year." In 2006, it was voted 9th by MTV viewers in a poll on music videos that 'broke the rules.' It was directed by Jonathan Glazer. The single was released in the U.S. in 1997.

[edit] Video description

Jay Kay in the "Virtual Insanity" music video

The video consists mainly of Jamiroquai's singer, Jay Kay, dancing and performing the song in a bright white room with a grey floor. Throughout the video, there are several combinations of couches and easy chair, which are the only furniture in the room.

The video earned recognition from critics for its special effects: the floor appears to move while the rest of the room stays still, allowing for Kay to perform moves not normally seen in music videos. At some points the camera tilts up or down to show the floor or ceiling for a few seconds, and when it returns to the central position, the scene has completely changed. Other scenes show a crow flying across the room, a cockroach in the floor, the couches bleeding and the other members of Jamiroquai in a corridor being blown away by wind. This became the second video released by Jamiroquai to be successfully done in one complete, albeit composited, shot (Space Cowboy being the first).

In a short making-of documentary, director Jonathan Glazer describes how the four walls move on a stationary grey floor with no detail, to give the illusion that the floor is moving. However, he does not state where the fourth wall is. In several shots, chairs or couches are fixed to the walls so that they appear to be standing still, when in fact they are moving. In other shots chairs remain stationary on the floor, but the illusion is such that they appear to be moving. The moving walls were not completely rigid and can be seen in some shots to wiggle slightly.

Israeli singer-songwriter Ninet Tayeb used the song's video clip concept for her own video clip of the Israeli hit Hi Yoda'at. In the video, the singer is in a small white room, and slowly paints the walls in Gothic red and black.

Lady Gaga - Poker Face

i had never even heard of lady gaga until a car trip this weekend.

i was blissfully ignorant of her existence.

i wish things had remained that way.

the wikimasters have provided us with so much here that i don't even know where to begin.

this is why i started the blog.

Music video

Gaga emerges from the pool in a black leotard and wearing a crystal masquerade mask in the music video for "Poker Face".

The music video for "Poker Face" was directed by Ray Kay and was aided by Anthony Mandler.^[57] Premiering on October 22, 2008, The video is set by a pool, as well as in a mansion. The video begins with Lady Gaga emerging out of the pool wearing a shiny masquerade mask and a black full body leotard, with two Great Danes beside her. She throws the mask aside and the song begins with a facial shot of Gaga singing it.^[57] Gaga wears a metallic sticker on her left cheek in this shot. Featured in the video are scenes of Gaga in a mansion and dancing poolside with her dancers in a turquoise leotard.^[57] Gaga attends a wild party where every man and woman tries their luck on a stripped poker game. The party gets wilder when all the party's guests strip down to their underwear, dance around, and share kisses with each other. The video also features two harlequin Great Danes and several white mannequins on her swimming pool deck who are supposedly playing her servants. During the musical interlude before the "I won't tell you that I love you" hook, Gaga is shown in her trademark "Pop Music Will Never Be Low Brow" sunglasses while sitting beside the pool. The video ends with the head shot of Gaga singing the Mum-mum-mum-ma hook.

Gaga explained in the nineteenth episode of her "Transmision Gagavision" series, the main idea behind the music video of "Poker Face". She said that "I knew I wanted it to be sexy, so I thought no pants, because that's sexy, [...]And I knew I wanted it to be futuristic, so I thought shoulder pads, because that's my thing."^[58] The music video premiered on MTV UK on February 17, 2009. In some versions of the song, the words "muffin" (being a slang term for the woman's vagina), "Russian Roulette," and "gun" are censored out (bleeped) by the mum-mum-mum-ma hook.^[59]

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ5uCfwK6qw

The Cardigans - Lovefool

i seriously have no idea what this commentator is talking about...this video is completely devoid of lilliputians.

The song's US music video features Lemuel Gulliver from Gulliver's Travels being lost on an island holding a gold bottle being put in the water.

Boyz II Men -- I'll Make Love To You

no matter the area or landscape,

clothes still make the man.

**Special Bonus -- From the Billboard Hot 100**

this song spent 14 WEEKS at NUMBER 1 in 1994. 14 freakin' weeks!

Music video

The music video features a woman and a man. The man Dwayne, installs a security system in the woman's house. She later invites him to have a drink, but he's busy. It turns out that she really likes him, likewise as he likes her too. In the end, he writes her a letter, she receives it and reads it; a love letter, with the song lyrics.

And throughout the video, Boyz II Men appear in two sets of white and beige clothes, white shorts and pastels over white muscle shirts, shorts and track jackets over t-shirts, dress pants and chest-bearing open dress shirts, colorful suits with muscle shirts underneath. All in different areas and landscapes.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqU2WXKcUb0

Warren G - Regulate

this song pops into my head more than once a week.

i had never considered it for wikimusicvideo until ciccone brought its excellent commentary to my attention. he even provided a weblink.

thanks, ciccone.

i feel like i've seen this video a million times in my life, but until today i've never really noticed the seemingly random clips from the tupac shakur vehicle "above the rim" that are interspersed at seemingly random intervals throughout the video.

DID I BLOCK THESE OUT OVER THE COURSE OF ONE MILLION VIEWINGS?!?

any way you slice it, it's all very meta.

i can't believe they're taking warren's wealth.

The song tells a story in which Warren G., while looking for some "skirts" (women), is mugged in Long Beach, California. Nate Dogg is trying to find Warren G. at the same time, and when he finds that Warren G. is getting mugged, he kills the people mugging him. The two then look for women together, whom they eventually find.

The music video featured scenes from the movie Above the Rim including an appearance by late rap superstar Tupac Shakur.

*Special Bonus (from me)*

Mad props to anyone who can provide a complete list of bleeped-out words in this youtube clip, many of which are not expletives. Please submit your answers in the comments.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x5Olen_1co

Eddie Murphy - Party All The Time

Unfortunately, the wikimasters didn't have much to say about this gem, opting to mention it only in reference to Sharam Tayebi's 2006 homage.

What amazes me about this video is that everybody in it seems so nice, earnest, and genuine.

In the 80s, could one be nice, earnest, and genuine and STILL party all the time (PATT)?!?!

Eddie's girl couldn't, but maybe Rick and Eddie could.

In reality, Rick definitely couldn't.

That's why this video remains such a mystery. I never assumed Rick James or Eddie Murphy to be especially nice, earnest, or genuine.

Especially during the 1980s.

I also find it slightly dubious that VH1 ever aired a program entitled "The 50 Most Gay Sucky Songs Ever," but I don't watch much VH1 these days.

Thanks to Carlander for suggesting this video.

He wisely commented, "At they very least, Hegel would have been way into music videos."

*Special Bonus (also from wikipedia)*

Eddie Murphy's singles discography, a catalog which deserves super celebration:


"Party All the Time" was a single recorded by comic actor Eddie Murphy in 1985, written and produced by Rick James and Kevin Johnston. The single reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the only major hit of his music career. Rick James also provided some vocals for the song. Later, "Weird Al" Yankovic covered part of the song in one of his polkas.^[1] The song holds the dubious honor of being ranked #2 in VH1's list of "The 50 Most Gay Sucky Songs Ever",^[2] and #8 in Blender magazine's list of the "50 Most Terrible Songs Ever".^[3]

In 2006, house DJ and producer Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish released a remix of the song known simply as "PATT", an abbreviation for "Party All The Time" that reached #8 in the UK. The subsequent music video is a homage to the original, which had featured Murphy, James, members of the Stone City Band and some backup singers recording the song in a studio.

[edit]

Embedding disabled by request.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAcWl9qu3h8

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me

i just finished reading Slash (by Slash)

slash is deplorable.

i like him much less after reading his book.

...but i still really like slash.

this video is worse than slash's book but better than the song it promotes.

the single's artwork outshines the book, the video, and the song by miles.

i am nearly certain that the full color poster originally included with the single would have even topped the artwork.

to clarify, i should rank the aforementioned items in my order of personal preference:

1. slash the guitarist / rock star

2. the poster accompanying michael jackson's "Give In To Me" single (in theory)

3. the artwork for said single (in practice)

4. slash by slash

5. the music video for said single

6. the single itself

7. slash the man

in conclusion, it's a veritable slash sandwich, or slashwich.

Music video

The music video for "Give In to Me" features Michael Jackson performing the song on stage with former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Gilby Clarke and Teddy Andreadis at an indoor rock concert. According to Jackson - when he was interviewed by Oprah - it was shot in just about 2 hours in Germany. Near the end of the clip, a "pyrotechnics malfunction" causes sparks to fly across the stage, making Jackson dance with the electric bolts running all over his body.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqDOsKKhb88

Berlin - Take My Breath Away

sorry it's been so long since my last post. i got a new job down at the aircraft boneyard and it's been pretty busy.

if i had known berlin looked like this i probably would have taken their music much more seriously.

Music video

The music video features scenes from the movie Top Gun intermingled with Berlin's singer Terri Nunn performing the song in blue coveralls walking between pieces of planes in a windy junk yard or aircraft boneyard at night. Bandmates John Crawford and Rob Brill are shown relaxing in the yard and then following Terri.^[2] This video clip can be seen occasionally in VH1 Europe's Top 10 Movie Soundtracks program. This video was re-released within the 2004 Top Gun DVD Collector's Edition.

Ace of Base - The Sign

it's dreary outside.

a little story filled with romantic and frolic images is just what i need.

wait a second...wft is this commentary? this video is dreary as hell.

Music video

The music video of the song features the pop group singing amidst romantic and frolic images; "The Sign" was depicted as an ankh and a djed.

Amid the images is a little story of a man and woman sitting side by side until the man leaves, seemingly abandoning the woman. However, he comes back with a rose and offers it to the woman. The woman graciously accepts and takes his hand. However, a bright light shines in the woman's face, drawing her away, abandoning the man and dropping the rose on the chair.

Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn

music videos like this one and others from "similar songs of the era" are boring.

except for g and r's patience, which is AMAZING yet absent from the song's wikipedia entry.

Music video

The music video for this song is in the same vein as other videos for similar songs of the era. It features Michaels sitting down, playing the guitar, and singing along to the song, interspersed with black and white clips from concerts, and colour frames of what passes for a 'storyline' that follows the song.

Duran Duran - The Reflex

OMG you guys i just thought we should take a moment and commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the day they filmed Duran Duran's video for "The Reflex!"

Break out those light pens!

Music video

The video for "The Reflex" was shot during the Sing Blue Silver tour at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario on 5 March 1984. Director Russell Mulcahy filmed some of the closeup footage in the indoor arena that afternoon, and the rest was filmed live during that evening's concert.^[2]

"The Reflex" is primarily a concert video, accurately portraying Duran Duran's Sing Blue Silver tour performance style. However, in keeping with the band's insistence that their videos "never be ordinary", the video screen above the stage displayed bits of naked models wearing collars and chains illuminated with black light, occasionally interrupted by computerized video white noise. At one point, a waterfall appears to pour out of the video screen above the stage to soak the audience. The computer graphics used to achieve this were cutting edge at the time, but rapid advancement in the field quickly made the effect look dated.

Keyboard enthusiasts have taken special note of the Fairlight CMI (the first digital sampling synthesiser) that Nick Rhodes operated with a light pen in this video, and throughout the tour.

[edit]

embedding disabled by request.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVeR__R5jBM

Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

in these trying times, we must remember to stop bemoaning our luminous gloves and CHOOSE LIFE over drug abuse and suicide!

- motor trade Guru Peter (Froudy) Froud.

Music Video

The music video, essentially the duo performing (it also introduced Ridgeley as a guitar player for the band) to a teenage audience, was memorable for the clothes, which became a lasting sartorial image for the 1980s as a decade. Michael and Ridgeley, plus backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie, along with motor trade Guru Peter (Froudy) Froud , were wearing Katharine Hamnett T-shirt designs which said "CHOOSE LIFE" (originally a slogan targeted at drug abuse and suicide) and "GO GO", which became much sought-after fashion items of the year, along with her similarly stark garments as part of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood phenomenon which said "FRANKIE SAY RELAX", among others. Michael was also seen in luminous gloves, which he later bemoaned as the clip of him always picked out by advertisers whenever "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" went on to a compilation album. The video was filmed at the Carling Academy Brixton in London.

embedding disabled by request.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Rb2uifS8c

Toto - Africa

thank god they're not rocking it down on paperbacks.

*special bonus (also from wikipedia)*:

"Africa" was played on all of Toto's tours from its release until the band's breakup in 2008. ^[3]

so toto had been holding it down, blessing the rains THIS WHOLE TIME. but like so many other once-profitable businesses, 2008 proved to be too much of a struggle for them.

Music video

The music video was directed by Steve Barron.^[4] The story is of a researcher in a library (portrayed by band member David Paich, looking for clues to a book called Africa. Many scenes include the band performing atop a stack of hardcover books.

Falco - Rock Me Amadeus

today is my birthday...and, serendipitously, this particular presentation of Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus" was shown on the TBS late night music video program NIGHT TRACK as part of its 6th birthday spectacular.

happy birthday to us!!!

Music video

The song's music video mixed elements of Mozart's time with modern times; early on, Falco is shown in a modern dinner jacket walking past people in eighteenth-century formal wear. Later, he is shown dressed as Mozart, with wild colored hair, being held on the shoulders of men dressed in modern motorcycle-riding gear. At the end, the two crowds mix together.

Paula Abdul - Cold Hearted

it's almost the weekend.

hang and grind.

Music video

Paula Abdul in the "Cold Hearted" music video, directed by David Fincher.

The video for "Cold Hearted" was inspired from Bob Fosse's erotica dance sequence from the movie All That Jazz. In the video, Abdul dances for music executives with a group of semi-nude dancers. The dance floor includes scaffolding where Abdul and her dancers hang and grind. Abdul's choreography for this video was very sexual and intricate, showing her more naughty side. The video was directed by David Fincher (of Fight Club fame), and spent more than three weeks on top of MTV's video rotation list.

It is notable for featuring both female/male and male/male dancer combinations. In 1999, Christina Aguilera shot the video for her second single "What a Girl Wants" in the same place and with a similar plot to Abdul's video for "Cold Hearted".

Lou Bega - Mambo Number 5

constantly amid the white circle???

what could it mean? i kind of get it...the white circle is behind lou bega for a good portion of the video, but it is by no means a constant presence.

the white circle is this video's lamest piece of mise en scene.

but at least it's not this lame...






Music video

The music video features Lou Bega singing and dancing with flappers, possibly a homage to the music of the 1920s and 1930s. Constantly he can be seen amid a white circle in the background. Clips of movies and newsreels showing jazz-like themes such as trumpets big bands can be seen.

Poison - Nothin' But A Good Time

this must have been c.c. deville's favorite bedtime story.

sweet dreams little c.c.!!!!!!

[edit]

Music Video

The music video features as a person washing dishes while listening to the Kiss' hit single Rock and Roll All Nite performed by Poison. Then his manager turned off the radio as he told him to wash the dishes quickly, because he was moving in two speeds, "slow and stop". Frustrated, he stopped washing the dishes and left the washroom. As he left, a live stage occurred beside the washroom, and as he banged the door shut, the band performed the song live without any audience. At the end of the song, his manager returned, and surprisingly all the dishes are washed.

Len - If You Steal My Sunshine

in these last few weeks of blogging, i've learned A LOT about the art of the music video. and i've learned EVEN MORE about the art of wiki-ing about a music video.

but today is special.

The Burger Pimp and B-rad can teach you A LOT about DIRECTING a music video.

SPECIAL BONUS (also from wikipedia):

For The Village Voice, Richard Riegel described the song's beat as "McCoy Tyner playing the Kraftwerk^[10] songbook, outlined in aural neon".

i seriously can't believe how much i've always liked this song.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Marc Costanzo and Bradley Walsh, under the stage names The Burger Pimp and B-Rad.^[15] When Len had signed to Work Records, one of its demands was to be able to direct its own videos.^[3] The group used a $100,000 budget to make the video. It flew to Daytona Beach, Florida with two dozen friends while the area was crowded with people on their spring vacations. They spent much of the budget on alcohol, buying enough that they broke their hotel's elevator trying to lift it. They shot the video in an afternoon so that they could recover from hangovers in the morning and drink in the evening. The scenes were shot without a script or storyboard. In the video, Len and its friends are shown relaxing together and riding on skis, scooters, and go-karts.^[16]

Motorrad, whose scooters were included in the music video, later held a promotion giving away scooters of the same model.^[17] At the 1999 MuchMusic Video Awards, "Steal My Sunshine" won awards for "Best Video", "Best Pop Video", and "Favourite Canadian Video".^[18]

embedding disabled by request.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcSyIClhk_c

Olivia Newton John - Physical

i'm a little late to it today, but only because monday is by far the most sensuous, lusty, and PHYSICAL day of the week.

p.s. thank you famous mortimer for the comments. keep 'em coming.

Music video

The video featured a lusty Olivia, dressed in a tight leotard, working out in a gym with several overweight men, who eventually transform into attractive muscular young men. The gym setting may have been partly an attempt to divert attention from the overt sexual connotations of the term "physical". This was further emphasised by the twist comedy ending of the video, when the transformed men who are now oblivious to Newton-John's advances are ultimately revealed to be gay (this was also a source of controversy; MTV frequently cut the ending when it aired the video, and the sometimes sensuous nature of the video also led to it being banned outright by some broadcasters in Canada and the United Kingdom). The video won a Grammy Award for Video Of The Year in 1983. The song was banned in South Africa for its suggestive lyrics.

Like her first number-one single, "Physical" sold over two million copies, being certified platinum.

The video was featured on Pop-Up Video on VH1.

embedding disabled by request.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQXECBdPgEA

New Radicals - You Get What You Give

i once went to the staten island mall. it was a rainy night in december and i was joyriding with a friend in his pickup truck. we saw a bad movie on a whim.

the events of that evening were nowhere near as exciting as the ones in this video. however, i did learn a lot from the experience. i gave nothing on that trip to staten save for the bridge toll, and and thus i got very little in return.

when i do eventually go back, things will be different. i plan to hijack a lambretta and do a little moshin' in the food court.

Music video

The music video for "You Get What You Give" was filmed in the Staten Island Mall, New York and directed by Evan Bernard. New Radicals' front man Gregg Alexander said he chose this setting because he sees the shopping mall as a metaphor for society - a fake, controlled environment engineered to encourage spending. The video showed a group of teenagers led by Alexander, going through the mall wreaking havoc -- tossing nets on security guards, placing businessmen in animal cages, knocking overmerchandise, hijacking Lambrettas, and moshing in the foodcourt.

embedding disabled by request.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdB5x8Jsgpw

Lionel Richie - Hello

between the ages of 2 and 4, lionel richie was my favorite recording artist without question. my favorite song was "dancing on the ceiling." i remember staying up until 2 AM to watch him perform it at the closing ceremonies for the 1984 summer olympics in los angeles. except instead he performed "all nite long." at least that was my second favorite song.

anyways, oh what a feeling.

summers in spaldeen, stickball lessons...

the greatest story never told / sold.

full of deception, inveiglement, and obfuscation.

there is more to say here than i could ever say.

Music video

Arguably the music video attracted more attention than the song, for its story of Richie's character (a music teacher) having a seemingly unrequited love for a blind arts student (played by Laura Carrington, an actress who is not really blind) until he discovers she shares the feeling as demonstrated by the discovery that she is sculpting a likeness of his head (which was actually created by a professional sculptor who never met Lionel). The video has been parodied a number of times including a Starburst commercial when the sculpture is made from Starburst candy. According to the video's appearance in VH1's Pop Up Video, the video was an adaptation of an unproduced screenplay called "Spaldeen Summers".

Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart

most of the time I TOO feel like an archetypal Everyman trying to make it through the day.

they sure don't make 'em like they used to.

Music Video

The song's music video, directed by Peter Christopherson, received a great deal of airplay on MTV, introducing the revamped Yes lineup and sound to a new generation of fans largely unfamiliar with the band's very different earlier work, which had helped to define the genre of progressive rock. The video begins in standard music video fashion with the band members performing in a studio all the way through the first chorus. Then, abruptly, Jon Anderson says, "Hang on, hang on! Maybe there's another way to do this." Then, each of the band members is shown transforming into a different type of animal before the song is re-started as the soundtrack of a black and white film. The film follows an archetypal Everyman as he tries to make it through a day whilst being shocked by pseudo-psychotic flashes of being menaced by the various animals. He is brought to court by government-looking toughs, summarily thrown out of court and into a boiler room where he fights a bruiser, then runs onto the roof of the building. There, he is confronted by the various band members, shifting back and forth between human and animal guises, which drives him to leap from the building. The video then ends with the same man in the same crowd as at the beginning of the video, but instead he turns back, presumably to go home and avoid the day.

The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Puff Daddy and Mase - Mo Money Mo Problems

is Mase...

a) a bad rapper

b) a bad dancer

c) a bad preacher

d) all of the above

biggie's spirit helps me win at bowling, scrabble, and magic the gathering all the time.

and pivotal moments in music video history need no citations.

Music video

The video directed by Hype Williams featured Mase and Combs in futuristic locations, including a tunnel lined with fluorescent lamps and a stark white chamber with pressurized air blowing out of the floor, allowing the two to float in midair. This video is also famous for the red shiny jackets that are worn by Combs and Mase and which are remembered to this day as a pivotal part in music video history.^{[citation needed]} The "air chamber" also had a video screen showing, at first, images of Kelly Price lip-synching to the sample of Diana Ross' voice and singing the song's chorus. During the final verse, which the Notorious B.I.G. performed, Mase and Puffy looked on as the video screen showed archival footage of B.I.G. performing, run at a speed so that the footage seemed to sync with B.I.G.'s vocals; since the rapper had died just prior to the release of Life After Death, and well before the filming of the video, this was the only way to have him appear in the video. Song produced by Steven "Stevie J." Jordan and Sean Combs The video also has a short story, which is about how Combs was competing in a golf tournament and gained help from the spirit of The Notorious B.I.G, who helps him win the tournament.

MuchMoreMusic ranked "Mo Money Mo Problems" #31 on Listed's "40 Most Memorable Videos Pt. 1 & 2" for its flashy wardrobe, and use of syncing old footage with the lyrics. VH1 ranked the song #63 as one of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s". The song was also partially influenced by the 1992 movie Mo' Money.

Matchbox 20 - Push

remember when rob thomas got fat...and they said it was "glandular?" and then a couple of years ago he claimed that the weight gain was a result of his cocaine addiction during that fat period? and remember how it seemed completely improbable that anyone in matchbox 20 could

A. become a cocaine addict and

B. then become FAT because of it?

you probably don't remember ANY of these things, but it really hurts me that i can remember details about the life and times of rob thomas so effortlessly. i didn't even have to look them up.

for me, he's a little like the electric fence in this video. i wanna leave it alone, but i keep coming back for more while my compatriots just stand there watching.

Music video

The video for "Push", directed by Nigel Dick, starts and ends with Rob Thomas playing with a puppet. Throughout the song, the band is seen playing in an alley. A couple of scenes feature Thomas chained to a wall. Another scene is of Thomas holding onto an electric wire fence while the band stands in the background. He gets zapped by the fence but keeps putting his hands back on it. Thomas is also seen in a room containing a clock and a bed, though no windows are shown.

EDIT 2/18/09 -- I changed the embedded "Push" video to a weblink because the player autostarted the music when wikimusicvideo loaded. Dearest readers, if there is one song on here that I REFUSE to subject you to hearing without making a conscious decision to listen, it is and will forever be Matchbox 20's "Push."

http://www.slack-time.com/music-video-2989-Matchbox-Twenty-Push