This "interactive" ALB video could ruin your day. But, don't worry your computer is safe (at least according to the Terms And Conditions that of course I didn't read prior to downloading).
Here's how it works: You download the custom app, which seems like just a video player. And the video itself is quite nice and if you're a dude of a certain persuasion (aka: a sad, lonely dude who likes video girls) you might find yourself lusting after the woman with the magical box (sorry) and wondering why the guy in the video is so full of shame.
And don't worry about interacting with the video, since you have no control over it once it detonates and immerses you in the story. And then you can start to clean up.
2 Swedish girls falling hard for an Italian boy in Paris. That's impossible math with no chance of a happy ending, but who cares when you're in the middle of a bouyant French New Wave homage?
Say what you will about the opinion, but at least McFarland knows that some good old fashioned trolling is good for web clicks.
And he may have a point buried under all that: Interactive and non-traditional videos are at a disadvantage since they can't always be embedded or viewed on mobile. But, as our friend Doug pointed out, that's like criticizing Dylan for going electric in 1965 when that clearly cuts off the base of folk lovers in the countryside who may not have electricity.
In short, I guess if your viewpoint is that music videos shouldn't try to do anything but entertain the lowest common denominator in the most passive way possible, then yes, last week's interactive tour de forces by Pharrell and Dylan are failures.
Shit, most of my favorite videos are probably also failures. Who knew?
The Killers have surely earned the right to stroll down memory lane and create homages to their most memorable videos, but they're also smart enough to make sure these facsimiles are different in one key way: It's Glee star Dianna Argon in the role of singer Brandon Flowers, nailing every look (and, yes, even the moustache).
Love, jealousy, rage, consequence, redemption — Southern-American style. A new narrative piece from KOL with Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) as the lead.
Busta Rhymes first got mass mainstream exposure via the A Tribe Called Quest collabo clip "Scenario," so it's fitting that this comeback video borrows that structure and Tribe's main man Q-Tip, — plus Lil Wayne and Kanye West (aka: respect) — while keeping the straight from '92 lofi vibe.
Just in case you were hoping that director Francis Lawrence would come back to music videos and usher Lady Gaga back to victory with a follow-up to their epic "Bad Romance" clip, don't get your hopes up.
Don't worry: The kids will still be alright in the dystopian future, at least as imagined in this action-packed homeage to Japanese schoolboy martial art flicks.
"Ordinary Love" — no relation to Sade — is the first new music from U2 since the band's 2009 No Line On The Horizon. There's no drastic stylistic shifts — although an organ vamp takes precedent over The Edge's chiming guitar — and it's unclear if this will be viewed as a return to form, or how U2 fits into the modern music landscape, but it's a fitting tie-in to the Mandela biopic Long Walk To Freedom, and the lyric video has a classy handmade vibe that befits all involved.
I don't think Russell Simmons will mind if I just use what he wrote about this video...
Russell Simmons:
As we go about our day-to-day lives, it’s easy to forget how good most of us have it. I recently saw a video called “Under” by a young up-and-coming singer named Ahsan. The video depicts the life of too many black kids in America, struggling to survive in a city where there are more opportunities for things to go wrong than there are to go right.
Newark, New Jersey is one of the top 5 most dangerous cities in America. Their streets are no stranger to shootings, murders, and drug deals every single day. Ahsan’s message is powerful, “don’t let the bullets hit me, don’t let the dealers trick me…” It’s a desperate plea from a teen with so much potential, so much to lose, and in real fear of where his life might end up if he doesn’t get out.
But the same story can be told in cities like Oakland, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans…the list goes on and on.
Thousands of teens, particularly black males, are killed by unnecessary gun violence every year. Many we don’t hear about. It’s become so common that often times these young men who had so much more life to live come into the world and leave far too soon, and no one even knows about it. Ahsan’s message, and mine as well, is to put a face on the forgotten ones. Let them not be “the forgotten ones,” let’s share the message that this is happening across America and we must do whatever we can to stop it.
I am proud of Ahsan. I am proud that an artist would use his voice to talk about something that can really change our communities. Celebrity is worthless unless you use it to uplift others. At an early age, Ahsan has learned this important lesson. Let’s support the record and let’s support the movement.
This isn't a pop video at all, even though the storyline is about a pop star doing all the things that pop stars might do: Make videos, do drugs, make bad decisions and eventually regret that deal with the devil.
But dont worry: There's always another to take her place.
The kookiest one is unfortunately not on the list: Britney Spears and Jason Trawick, who was also her manager at the time (and has much better abs than any other music manager out there. Believe me.)
There also many notable hair metal omissions like David Coverdale of Whitesnake and Tawny Kitaen in "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love" (ed. It was not) and, of course, Sam Kinison and Jessica Hahn in "Wild Thing" ...
Read more for the full list, but hit Vulture for a breakdown of each one:
