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]

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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.