May 2013

Talk about a tough gig. David Bowie is the prophet providing some rock 'n' roll at an underground religious shindig for those who like to mix a lot of sin with their salvation. Guest stars include Gary Olman as an ass-kicking and ass-appreciating priest, and seductress Marion Cotillard, who brings the festivities to an unlikely hault when she gets unexpectedly hit with a case of Stigmata. 

Never let it be said that the CMT Awards has lost its music video roots. The 2013 Awards slate boasts seven video categories and over 40 different videos in contention. And 12 videos vying for the big award:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director. Final nominees announced during live telecast, with final voting held online at CMT.com during the show.

• Brad Paisley “Southern Comfort Zone” (Jim Shea, dir.)
• Carrie Underwood “Blown Away” (Randee St. Nicholas, dir.)
• Eric Church “Springsteen” (Peter Zavaldi, dir.)
• Florida Georgia Line “Cruise” (Brian Lazzaro, dir.)
• Hunter Hayes “Wanted” (BIRDMachine, dir.)
• Jason Aldean “1994” (Wes Edwards, dir.)
• Kenny Chesney “Come Over” (Shaun Silva, dir.)
• Little Big Town “Tornado” (Shane C. Drake, dir.)
• Luke Bryan “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (Shaun Silva, dir.)
• Miranda Lambert “Mama’s Broken Heart” (Trey Fanjoy, dir.)
• Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (Declan Whitebloom, dir.)
• Tim McGraw – “One of Those Nights” (Sherman Halsey, dir.)

See below for the full list and tune into CMT June 5 @ 8p to see the live telecast...

As someone who never mastered "scissors," I am in awe of the construction paper world of this new video from director/animator Eric Power.