Music Videos were the first thing that I watched on MTV. The summer before the 7th grade, I didn’t really go to camp. Instead, I stayed home and took art classes. I’m not sure if this was because I didn’t care for summer camp or because I felt like I had grown out of it. Anyways, that summer they had a “Brand Spankin New Music Week” and I was treated to videos by a ton of artists I had never heard of. It was at this point that I was introduced to my favorite music video of all time, Blur’s Coffee and T.V. This video chronicles the journey of a milk carton to find the missing boy on his side, and make their family whole again. On the way he encounters many difficulties including scary cans and bottles in a back alley. See the full video here.
Now I’m as big of a fan as anyone when it comes to creative and interesting music videos, even if they don’t necessarily have anything to do with the song. Take for example OK Go’s music video for their song This Too Shall Pass, which featured an inspired Rube Goldberg Machine, and which recently won a webby award. I’m also a fan of the long spectacle video - see Michael Jackson’s Thriller or Justin Timberlake’s What Goes Around…Comes Around. But recently there have been a slew of creative, yet bizarre, spectacle videos to come out, and I’m not really sure what to make of them or how I feel.
Let’s use the classic example. If you haven’t already seen Lady Gaga’s Alejandro video, then you are living in a box. I read somewhere that Alejandro is Gaga’s homage to Gay Love. Yet, I think it is a clear and classic homage to Madonna. Not only does Gaga wear a machine gun pointy bra (cones much gaga?). But she also has an obscene amount of religious imagery (see Madonna’s Like a Prayer) and it is also presented in a controversial manner. Also, in the middle of the video, Gaga also has a strangely choreographed number which is reminiscent of the dance moves in Vogue, including a face framing move very similar to the vogue pose itself. She also seems very sexually free in this video, using a whip and gyrating with a lot of half naked men. This again evokes Madonna in her video Erotica. So far what I got from this video is that she loves Madonna more than anything else, but what did this 8:44 video have to do with the song Alejandro? And why couldn’t the video at least take place in Mexico? (It is possible that it did, and there were just no realized locations in the video). I watched this video with my husband and we were both extremely confused. I had seen Gaga’s and Beyonce’s Telephone, and felt while it was bizarre, and didn’t necessarily fit with the plot, it was very colorful and interesting. Yet, I didn’t feel the same way about Alejandro which is a shame since it is one of my favorite songs off of her album.
The next video I want to touch upon is the recently released California Gurls by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg. Now this video should have been cut and dry. The chorus of the song goes California Girls were Unforgettable, daisy dukes, bikinis on top, sun kissed skin so hot we’ll melt your popsicle (woah woah) California Gurls we’re undeniable, fine, fresh, fierce, we got it unlocked. West coast represent now put your hands up (ohh woahh). Ok In my opinion this video should have been a piece of cake (not literally, like it is, but figuratively). How hard would it have been for Katy to make a video in California with a million great locations to choose from? All one needed to do was hop around the beach or a pool club in daisy dukes with a bikini top! Seriously! Why would Katy make a video about being in a candy land? Replete with cupcake/ donut/ and candy bras, and gummy bears who give you the finger? This video is mostly sugary sweet, but doesn’t have a purpose. Don’t get me wrong; If the video was called sweet girls, or candy girls (and there have been songs with titles like this) then this video would totally make sense. Or if the song really didn’t have any theme at all then this would be acceptable as well. But it does have a theme Katy! Don’t get me wrong I love this song, and I love Snoop. But would one make a video for the song I Kissed a Girl without a bunch of sexy girl imagery? Would one make a video for Waking up in Vegas without slot machines, casinos or Elvis? No one wouldn’t.This is evidenced by the fact that Katy's previous videos had all the right imagery. So why stop now?
Click on the song title to view the video and post your favorite bizarre music videos below!
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