COMMENTARY: Everybody Hurts (Music Videos)

"It is what it is, and I think anyone who refutes that is an idiot in 2008. We can all agree as a medium music videos really found their place in pop culture in the 1990s, [but they've been] replaced by the Internet in the 21st century... The music video is a dead medium..."

-- Michael Stipe, R.E.M. (via an Associate Press article and pushed out via blog posts by Wired Listening Post and Idolator)

Back when Bjork released her music video magnum opus for "Wanderlust," I was struck with a few questions: "[Can this video] have the kind of impact it should. Can a video get everyone talking? Can there be a big event video ever again, or will we never get back to Thriller? Or, is this more of a an art event than a music video?"

The day of the culture-shifting music video that everyone knows as a flashpoint seems to be over. But, I don't believe it has anything to do with a diminishment in the quality of music videos or a waning interest on behalf of music fans. I think it's largely due  to the overwhelming options out there. For example, when The Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan there were three channels. Of course a huge majority of TV viewers caught their greatness at the same watershed moment. I couldn't find how many cable channels were available when MTV launched on cable, but this Time Warner Cable lineup from 1986 makes me realize why MTV took off like it did in the '80s. Your options were watching something fresh and hip like music videos on MTV, or a broadcast of Falstaff on A&E or TNN's Mesquite Championship Rodeo. That's very different now. Even the notion of Bruce Springsteen's 1992 lament "57 Channels (And Nothing On)" seems quaint in 2008. My cable box has well over 350 unique channels, catering to each and every niche. More options means less viewers for each. Do music videos get less eyeballs? You bet. Same goes for the World Series, which has been on a steady ratings decline since 1980 while arguably being more popular than ever.

Even though music videos have a much harder time making a broad impact, they are still indisputably popular. YouTube even provides the numbers:

• 13 of the top 20 all time most viewed videos on YouTube as of June 2008 are proper music videos. They're not even viral or amateurish videos. They're honest to goodness, traditional music videos.
• 5 of the top 20 most viewed videos of the month on YouTube for June of 2008 are proper music videos.

Anecdotally, you can also see that almost every massive web site has a big music video component — MySpace, AOL, Yahoo, Video Static (Hey, it's my site. I can say what I want). I hear of new music video sites launching every single week, ranging from big endeavors to smaller blogs and video sharing sites and filters and on and on. Whether music videos — or any other piece of traditional media — can dominate the culture like what happened twenty years ago is another question. But, proclaiming the medium dead seems a bit off — especially when the pronouncement is made the same month that MTV launches a prime time video show.

It's not surprising to hear Michael Stipe personally no longer finds music video relevant. He once reaped huge rewards from MTV and its music video exposure and now finds himself at the end of the long tail, trying to make himself content with debuting a music video to an arena of paying fans, instead of how it was at the band's artistic and commercial peak. Since the breakthrough of "Losing My Religion," there have been music videos to support every single R.E.M. album. Some have been great, like "Electrolite." Some have been a bit less exciting. The fact that none of these newer videos resonated like "Losing My Religion" or "Everybody Hurts" probably speaks more to the increasing cultural clutter and the history of R.E.M than the overall viability of music video as a promotional and artistic tool. After all, the music video fade that Stipe notices does dovetail with the same inevitable sales downturn and stylistic meanderings that followed their landmark 1992 album Automatic For The People. (And, as an R.E.M. fan, I'm compelled to point out  that the new album Accelerate is about as good a rebound as you could have hoped for and the multiple feed video for "Supernatural Superserious" was a bold and incredibly cool experiment. That it mostly pleased dedicated fans like me and didn't spread beyond that probably further proves my point.)

This all leads me to a better state of the music video quote about the same phenomenon that Stipe notices:

"There was a time when the music video itself is what happened in culture, but now it's the music video and what everyone has to say about it that is what's happening."

-- Brian Graden, president of MTV programming (Reuters article)

That sounds a bit more on the money. At the risk of sounding like a pompous and/or very stoned moron: The content is no longer the content. It's the reaction to the content that's the new content. It's not about experiencing a music video, it's about incorporating it into your online life and playing an active role in promoting it, remixing it, sharing it and commenting on it. Music videos are at the center of all that activity and interest.

For now, at least.

TUNE IN: FNMTV with Day26, No Age, T.I., Maroon 5, Rihanna

FNMTV. The Friday night music video premieres are:

• Day26 "Since You've Been Gone"
• No Age "Eraser"
• T.I. "No Matter What"
• and live performances by Maroon 5 and Rihanna 

Show starts at 8pm with videos and other content also going live at mtv.com/ontv/fn-mtv/.

WATCH IT: Madonna "Give It 2 Me"

This is about as back to basics as you've seen Madonna in a long, long time. A bunch of simple and private performance and dance solo shots with an artful high fashion grit and sheen. A few shots of producer Pharrell Williams of Neptunes. A splash of pop art color here and there. But mostly it's just Madonna strutting for and staring down the camera, as if she's daring you to look away. If it was anyone else, you probably would click through or move on. But, Madonna still has the star power, charisma and sexiness to keep it compelling and make it look really, really easy. --> watch "Give It 2 Me" (YouTube)

Madonna "Give It 2 Me" (Warner Bros.)
Tom Munro + Nathan Rissman, director | Nicola Doring, producer | HSI, production co | Tom Munro, DP | Danny Tull, editor

WATCH IT: Vanessa Hudgens "Sneakernight"

High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens lets loose a surprisingly brassy tribute to having a busy, dance-filled night that requires sneakers. The song title "Sneakernght" gets transmogrified  into "Sneakerlight" for this video through glowing neon laces that distinguish Hudgens and her gal pals' sneaks. They strap 'em on (so to speak) and strut over to a dance party where they show of their streaky moves. --> watch "Sneaker Night" (YouTube)

Vanessa Hudgens "Sneakerlights" (Hollywood)
R. Malcolm Jones, director | Jason Valen, producer | Cafe 451, production co | Welles Hackett, DP | Mario Mares, editor | Baked Goods, effects

BOOKED: Daughtry - Kevin Kerslake, director

artist: Daughtry
song: "What About Now"
label: RCA
director(s): Kevin Kerslake
production co: Merge @ Crossroads
rep: Labuda Management

WATCH IT: Snoop Dogg "My Medicine"

While Snoop Dogg rocked the mic for years, he also reaped substantial side benefits, such as product endorsements, coaching little league football, directing pornos and starring in his own reality show. Is there anything Snoop can't do (besides stop smoking weed)? His latest video, a countryfied coupling with Whitey "Everlast" Ford called "My Medicine," proves that Snoop can put a little twang in his G thang. He tours the sites in Nashville and pops in on country star Brad Paisley before heading to Amsterdam for a session with kindred spirit Willie Nelson. Like "Senusal Seduction," this clip strongly references a genre of music, without existing within it. This isn't country, it's Snoop Country. (review by Craig Belcher) --> watch "My Medicine" (via MTV)

Snoop Dogg "My Medicine" (Geffen)
Pook Brown, director | Dylan Brown, producer | Big Pook, production co | Zeke, DP | Jason Resmer, editor

NEWS: BET Awards 08 Winners

The BET Awards rolled out its annual live telecast last night, doling out awards in music, entertainment and sports categories.

The winners of the two strictly music video categories were:

• Video of the Year: UGK f/ Outkast "International Player's Anthem" - Bryan Barber, director
• Best Video Director: Erykah Badu and Chris "Mr. Roboto" Robinson for Erykah Badu "Honey"

Full list of winners as follows:

• Best Female R&B Artist: Alicia Keys
• Best Male R&B Artist: Chris Brown
• Best Group: UGK
• Best Gospel Artist: Marvin Sapp
• Best Female Hip Hop Artist: Missy Elliott
• Best Male Hip Hop Artist: Kanye West
• Best New Artist: The Dream
• Best Collaboration: Kanye West f/ T-Pain "Good Life"
• Best Video Director: Erykah Badu and Mr. Roboto
• Video of the Year: UGK f/ Outkast "International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)"
• Best Actor: Denzel Washington
• Best Actress: Halle Berry
• Male Athlete of the Year: Kobe Bryant
• Female Athlete of the Year: Candace Parker
• BET J Award: Raheem DeVaughn
• Viewers' Choice Award: Lil Wayne f/ Static "Lollipop"

Performers on the telecast included Usher, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, T-Pain, Lil' Wayne, Ne-Yo, Keyshia Cole and many surprise guest appearances.

Encore presentations are scheduled for this Friday, June 27 and Sunday, June 29 @ 7:30pm, plus several other repeats in the coming week. Visit bet.com/betawards for clips, photos and many more details.

BOOKED: Rehab - Frank Borin, director

artist: Rehab
song: "Bartender Song"
label: Universal Republic
director(s): Frank Borin
production co: Factory Features
rep: Yell Productions

BOOKED: Soulja Boy - Kevin Custer & Jonas Morales, directors

artist: Soulja Boy
song: "Donk"
label: Interscope
director(s): Kevin Custer & Jonas Morales
production co: Raging Nation Films
rep: Yell Productions

BOOKED: Slim Thug/Boss Hogg Outlawz - Mr. Boomtown, director

artist: Slim Thug & Boss Hogg Outlawz f/ Ray J
song: "Keep it Player"
label: KOCH/Boss Hogg
director(s): Mr. Boomtown
production co: Raging Nation Films
rep: Yell Productions

WATCH IT: Old 97s "Dance With Me"

Alt country stalwarts Old 97s and Battlestar Galactica seem to have nothing in common — ok, the show's Cylon sexpot Tricia Helfer is apparently friends with Old 97 frontman Rhett Miller — but here they are in the same music video and it goes together just fine. Director Keven McAlester lays out a tale in which a sci-fi dork out for a nighttime ramble happens upon a posh party where Ms. Helfer is working it on the red carper. Armed, of course, with a copy of a Battlestar Galactica fanzine, our zero heads up to the velvet rope in hopes of an autograph only to be summarily rejected by the doorman. With that fantasy foiled, he goes for an even bigger flight of fancy. He imagines crashing the club to go all Kill Bill n' shit on the various scumbags inside before sidling up to his dream date for a little romance. As if it needs to be said: Not a fracking chance. --> watch "Dance With Me" plus a Making-Of/Stunt featurette at YouTube

Old 97's  "Dance With Me" (New West)
Keven McAlester, director | Paul Bock, producer | Ghost Robot, production co | Andrew Shulkind, DP | Christine Khalafian, editor | Heidi Gregory, rep

BOOKED: Hawthorne Heights - Adam Neustadter, director

artist: Hawthorne Heights
song: "Rescue Me"
label: Victory
director(s): Adam Neustadter
production co: Ghost Robot
rep: Heidi Greroy Management

SHOT: Reggie & The Full Effect - John Carlucci, director

Dapper director John Carlucci (third from left) with the creepy and kooky performers from the set of the new Reggie & The Full Effect video, "J Train." Band mastermind James Dewee is on the far right as The Mummy, with guest Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance to his left as Frankenstein.

Video will support the new RATFE album Last Stop: Crappy Town...

artist: Reggie And The Full Effect
song: "J Train"
label: Vagrant
director(s): John Carlucci
production co: Speedway Films

SHOT: Anthony Green - Scrambled Visual, directors

Solo project from the Circa Survive singer Anthony Green... That's Anthony on the far left (and on the monitor) with Scrambled Visualist Matt Stawski...

artist: Anthony Green
song: "Dear Child (I’ve Been Dying to Reach You)"
label: Photo Finish/Atlantic
director(s): Scrambled Visual
production co: Refused TV

Photo by Ashley Goris

SHOT: Opiate For The Masses - David Brodsky, director

artist: Opiate For The Masses
song: "Burn You Down"
label: Century Media
director(s): David Brodsky
production co: MyGoodEye

WATCH IT: Darker My Love "Two Ways Out"

Despite the song title "Two Ways Out," there seems to be no exit from the black void that serves as the setting for this creepy little clip   for psychedelic West Coast rockers, Darker My Love. The tone is way more surreal than existential, thanks to a clever trick in which director Toben Seymour portrays the band as a collection of disembodied heads and hands and instruments that float about and get all mixed up in various ways. The video is debuting today as an all day premiere on mtvU. --> watch "Two Ways Out" (mtvu.com)

Darker My Love
"Two Ways Out" (Dangerbird)
Toben Seymour, director | Nathan Lackie, producer | DNA, production co | David Michalson, editor | Ingenuity Engine, effects

WATCH IT: Steel Train "I Feel Weird"

Director Spence Nicholson delivers a solid and sharp performance video for buzzed-about Drive-Thru signing Steel Train. No B-roll or storyline or anything here to distract from the band rocking out in front of a corrugated metal backdrop festooned with a simple lighting pattern that looms near another backdrop that looks like red dawn on Mars. --> watch "I Feel Weird" (MySpace.com)

Steel Train "I Feel Weird" (Drive-Thru)
Spence Nicholson, director | Brant Barger + Elliot Dillman, producers | PandaWorks, production co | Samuel Brownfield, DP | Graham Turner @ Final Cut LA, editor | Melissa Balter, production designer | Daniela Salkinder, hair/make-up/wardrobe

MTV ALERT: VMAs Set For Sept 7 in L.A.

The MTV Video Music Awards will return to Los Angeles for the 25th anniversary broadcast of this annual video/celebrity bash. The show will be broadcast live from the Paramount Pictures Studio on September 7, making use of the various soundstages and backlots on the premises.

More details (tho not many more at this early date) at AP News...

BOOKED: Staind - Christopher Sims, director

artist: Staind
song: "Believe"
label: Flip/Atlantic
director(s): Christopher Sims
production co: DNA

SHOT: Jessica Simpson - Liz Friedlander, director

From her first country album...

artist: Jessica Simpson
song: "Come On Over"
label: Columbia Nashville
director(s): Liz Friedlander
production co: DNA