Lip Sync Videos: Celebrity Cameo edition

One of my favorite music video customs is when a celebrity (either a friend of the artist or a random celebrity in general) is the main star of a music video. What I mean by this is all the music videos where a celebrity is basically lip-singing in place of the actual artist. The reasons I love this style of music video is because I feel like a) the people probably had a ton of fun making the video, and b) they usually don’t need a lot of trimmings in order to be considered funny or exciting.  One of the most recent videos to do this is Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe. In the video below Carly Rae’s friends (J’Biebs, Selena Gomez, Ashley Tisdale and more!) dance, lip sing, and all around have fun.

Here are some other classic videos with also do the same thing. 

Paul Simon: You Can Call Me Al:

Why I love this video: Not only is this song so catchy, and fun (although I know maybe 10% of the lyrics), but it stars Chevy Chase as Paul Simon! It doesn’t need a lot of frills or special effects. It’s just two dudes hanging out in a semi pink lit room playing random instruments (including a pen flute!), and yet I’m literally enthralled every time I watch it.

Elton John: I Want Love:

Why I love this video:  Because I love everything with Robert Downey Jr. No MATTER WHAT! But seriously. How amazing is he in this video? Its important to note that RDJ did this video right before/as his career was resurrecting itself. This isn’t the only Elton song on the list, and it had me wondering if he just felt like he didn’t love the way he looked anymore and had to get relatively attractive ‘younguns’ to sing in his place? Discuss…

Sara Bareilles: Uncharted:

Why I love this video: This video wins MAJOR points from me for putting Adam Levine, Pharell Williams, and Josh Groban in the same 4 minute clip. It involves a bevy of music artists lip-syncing Sara’s tune and is really fun to watch. Is Sara friend with all these people? And if so, can I be her friend so I know all of them by extension?

Fiona Apple: Not About Love:

Why I love this video: Didn’t every woman growing up in the 90’s go through a Fiona Apple phase? That being said how fabulous is it that Zach Galifianakis, who was not at all famous at the time is the star of this video singing Fiona’s lyrics with her voice? This isn’t his only video appearance on this list either…

Snow Patrol: Called Out in the Dark:

Why I love this video: I’m not sure why I love this video more; the fact that Gemma from Ringer plays the director of the music video or the fact that Jack Davenport plays the lead singer of snow patrol while the ACTUAL lead singer of snow patrol plays a desperate stand-in wishing he was the star. Ps for all of you who aren’t a freak like me who recognizes every celebrity, you might recognize Jack Davenport from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, or NBC’s Smash.

Elton John: This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore:

Why I love this video: Justin Timberlake! Yes that is JT in full 70’s Elton garb. It was this video that made Elton believe that JT should play him in a biopic on Elton Johns life (and who would be the first person in line to see that movie? 3 guesses). JT does have the look down for sure (even down to the teeth, details people!). I guess it’s interesting to note that this is the only video on the list where the celebrity actually dresses up like the person to which they are lip synching.

Beastie Boys: Make Some Noise:

Why I love this video: Well most of you who have previously read my blog know that I love this video in general for the 1,000,000 celebrity cameos in general. But the brilliance of this video, aside from the fact that the beasties made music that was actually good 20 years after their debut, is the casting of the 3 boys. Knowing the beasties are too old to act like partying fools they hired thee current actors who have played stoners pretty recently (including Elijah Wood in the very oddball series Wilfred). Whatever the case, the whole video is brilliant to me.

Kanye West: Can’t Tell Me Nothing:

Why I love this video: Who doesn’t want to see a super white weirdo singing Kanye West? The greatness of this video stems not only from the fact that Zach Galifianakis is the Kanye of this scenario, but also the fact that this song about Kanye telling his haters virtually to go screw themselves, and how he deals with the pressure of fame, is sung by random white people on a farm in a COMPLETELY serious way. Favorite part is when all those random milk maid style girls are dancing with the guy in overalls. Classic.

Bonus Video:

The Black Keys: Lonely Boy:

Technically speaking this is not a celebrity lip-synced video so it couldn’t be included in the list above, but it’s so great. This random dude at a random looking motel singing and dancing to black keys= Perfection.

Did I miss your favorites? Post about them below!

“Get Off Your Rich Asses and Lets Have Some Fun!” AKA Grammys Roundup

Thank you Bruno Mars for that amazing quote. After a brief blogging Hiatus I am back with my Grammy performance round up.

But first on a more somber note- RIP Whitney Houston, your talent was undeniable and will be missed.

-in order of performance-

Bruce Springstein and the E-Street Band- We Take Care of Our Own-  Bruce is always good for a traditional performance. I never find anything über exciting about it but it is usually quite good, and this was pretty much the same. This particular song, a new release, was only ok for me. Maybe I would have liked it if he had played Dancing in the Dark or Born to Run I would have been more excited.  B

Bruno Mars- Runaway- Aside from giving everyone that awesome quote Bruno mars is amazing. I seriously think he is so freaking talented. He a) has a great voice and b) can really move! The dance moves were nuts like his legs were made of jelly. He also kept right along with his “doo-wop” Motown feel which I commend him for. Way to go consistency! A-

Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys- Etta James’ Sunday Kinda Love- Alicia Keys sounded good on this, but Bonnie Raitt was freaking awesome! I couldn’t believe how great she sounds for her age. Also wasn’t a fan of Alicia’s pompadour. The ode to Etta was too short in my opinion but very classy in the downscale performance. B

Chris Brown- Turn Up the Music/Beautiful People- Begin Rant- I like, this article feel like Chris Brown should NOT have been allowed to perform at the Grammys. Remember that time that Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMA’s and was completely ostracized for a long time (til my dark twisted fantasy helped bring people back on board the ‘ye train). Why in the world was Kanye treated worse than a man who hit his gf so hard she had to go the hospital?! Domestic abuse is not ok and should not be perceived as so by allowing Chris Brown to perform on a large scale stage- End Rant. That being said Chris didn’t do much singing on these two numbers. Mostly dancing with crazy men in flying squirrel costumes. Blah. The guy can dance but why is that being showcased here? C-

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson- Don’t You Wanna Stay- I’m not really sure what is so great about Jason Aldean and why he is currently the “golden boy” of country music, he sounds like most other country singers to me, and even had an embarrassing situation when his mic went out on stage during this performance. He looked pretty annoyed. Kelly on the other hand has been awesome live (see national anthem performance at superbowl) and this performance was no exception. Their harmonizing was good though. B-

Foo Fighters (1)-Walk- Foo Fighters are apparently not cool enough to perform on the ACTUAL grammy stage so they have to perform in the tent outside. Regardless I kinda wanted them to sing Rope because I thought it would give them the chance to rock out hard, unlike Walk which is a great song but more somber. Regardless they performed Rope later so look out for it at that point. B

Coldplay and Rihanna- We Found Love/Princess of China/Paradise- This might come as a surprise but I am not a huge fan of the club anthem We Found Love. It’s too much synthetic beat for me to really love it. When she sang it acapella for about a minute I was like…wow this is great. And then the club music came in. I mean she’s a great live performer so the performance itself was good, but again I don’t love the song. On the collaboration between Coldplay and Rihanna Princess of China they sounded ok; again this isn’t one of my favorite songs off of Mylo Xyloto. On Paradise Coldplay tried to re-create some of the magic of the Charlie Brown video with all the black lit bright paint splotches. It made me wish they were singing that song instead of Paradise because I think it’s normally a hard song to sing and Chris Martin struggled a bit, but all in all a pretty solid performance by both artists. B

Beach Boys, Foster the People, and Maroon 5- Surfer Girl/Wouldn’t it be Nice/Good Vibrations- Foster the people and Maroon 5 showed exactly how hard it is to sing a Beach Boys song. While Adam Levine did admirably on Surfer Girl, Foster the People sounded/looked a bit nervous when taking on Wouldn’t it be Nice. I told my friends earlier that day that I had thought Foster the People should sing Good Vibrations, and was honestly disappointed when they didn’t. BUT then the Beach Boys came out and sang it and everyone joined in! Dream came true. B+

Paul McCartney (1)-My Valentine- I had been trying to listen to Paul’s new album Kisses on Bottom for days and hadn’t been able to, but this new song deemed a “new” valentines day standard was pretty boring and sad, and prompted the millions of twitter followers to say “whose Paul McCartney anyways?” C+

The Civil Wars- Barton Hollow- Literally this 60 second snippet of this folk/country band had me BEGGING for more. I loved every second (of the sixty) and have been listening to this band non stop on spotify ever since. Amazing. A

Taylor Swift- Mean- Most of you know that I am not Taylor’s biggest fan, but I actually like the song Mean.  She plays the banjo well and I like the jamboree feel and the close re-creation to her music video. All in all a good folksy performance. A-

Katy Perry- ET/Part of Me- Both of these songs and subsequent performances were only ok for me. I get that she was going for a very futuristic vibe but it was a little too much for me. B-

Adele-Rolling in the Deep- Oh how I love Adele. She is seriously the best ever. Not only does she look amazing but she sounds amazing live. Her performance didn’t need a ton of frills to be great either which is part of the reason why she is so singular in her awesomeness. I also re-watched this performance probably 4 times because of how great it was. A+

The Band Perry/Blake Shelton/ Glenn Campbell- Tribute to Glenn Campbell- I like the band Perry better than Lady Antebellum. There I said it. Sue me. I also like Blake Shelton and his charming country boy ways. As you know I’m not a huge country fan in general but everyone did well I thought. Including Glenn Campbell himself. B+

Tony Bennet and Carrie Underwood- It Had to be You- While this pairing was random Carrie did quite well against the always classy and wonderful Tony Bennet. There harmonizing was pretty good too. B+

Jennifer Hudson- Dolly Parton/Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You- in this tribute to Whitney JHud soared. She sounded elegant and didn’t do a carbon copy of the original which I commend her for. The performance really showed the classic beauty of the song. A

Chris Brown, David Guetta, and Lil Wayne-I Can Only Imagine- So while I do like David Guetta I still really don’t like Chris Brown. This song is pretty catchy albeit super clubby, but the entire performance was odd. There were all these audience members holding up random giant glow sticks (like miniature inflated flailing arm tube men) and also looked like it was filmed via audience member in the outdoor tent area. C

Foo Fighters and Dead Mau5- Rope- Really Glad Foo got a chance to rock out but why the need to make it more clubby with the addition of Dead Mau5(who btw haunts my nightmares, someone get that guy off the stage!) B

Nicki Minaj- Roman Holiday- aside from the random thirty second amusing homage to The Excorcist, this was some weird performance. Weirder than ANYTHING Gaga has turned out and that is saying A LOT. Unlike most of her hits this tune didn’t really have a great hook. How much more awesome would it have been had she performed super bass. Seriously. C-

Paul McCartney- Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End- For the last performance of the night the Grammys wisely brought back Sir Paul for this awesome rendition of the Beatles classics. I thought he sounded great (although looked old) and I loved it when he brought so many people on stage with him to rock out at the end (including Dave Grohl finally performing on the real grammy stage and looking thrilled!, and The Boss). A

All in all a more B average night overall. Who, like me, wishes Adele was their friend?

Best Albums of 2011

Below you will find my list for fav albums of 2011. If you agree/disagree post comments below! and Happy New Year!

10. 4 Beyonce/ Talk that Talk Rihanna: Why I love it: I know I know, I can’t choose, and it’s sort of a cop out but I seriously can’t pick which album I like more. Both have hits which I love, both have songs which I really disliked. B get’s points for being preggs and still doing crazy dance moves in all of her millions of videos released this year. Rih gets points for still sounding original a million reggae-pop albums later. So for now both will be in my top ten at number 10. Favorite songs off the album: Beyonce: Countdown, Love on Top. Rihanna: You Da One, Talk that Talk.  For fans of: Destiny’s Child, Mary J Blige, Lady Gaga

9. Whatever Hot Chelle Rae : Why I love it: 2011 Radio airwaves would never have been the same without Hot Chelle Rae’s Tonight Tonight. This album is pure punk-pop perfection. I happen to love random silly lyrics with really catchy tunes. If you do too then you will definitely want to give this album a try. Another reason why I love this album? It makes me feel like a high school girl again and I can always use an album that makes me feel young. Favorite Songs off the Album: I Like it Like That, Honestly, Whatever. For Fans of: The Ready Set, The Click Five, My Favorite Highway

8. Stronger Kelly Clarkson: Why I love it: Good for Kelly. In this album Kelly shows a real maturity which her other albums had been lacking. While there are still tons of pop-hit-anthemy type songs, you can tell that Kelly’s real inner angst has disappeared and she is happy. Not unwilling to try new things the songs on Stronger range in influence from r&b to country but still maintain the pop background that made us fall for Kelly in the first place. Favorite Songs off the Album: What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger), I Forgive You, You Love Me. For Fans of:  Pink, Beyonce, Avril Lavigne   

7.Mylo Xyloto Coldplay: Why I love it: Unfortunately for Coldplay, this album could not compare to the brilliance of Viva La Vida. Yet, there are some strokes of brilliance on an album that had a few duds. Apparently this album is a concept album which tells the story of two people who find love in a dystopian society. (Did anyone get that? Because I didn’t, so thanks Internet!) While there is some cool usage of instruments, again the effect is not the same as their brilliant previous album. Favorite Songs off the album: Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, Hurts Like Heaven, Paradise. For Fans of: Radiohead, The Killers, Keane

6. Ceremonials Florence + The Machine:  Why I love it: I happen to love Florence’s crazy ass vocals in general. What I love about Ceremonials is Florence could have had an album which was similar and in a way repeated Lungs. However instead, Flo + the machine gave us something completely different. Yes, her lilting voice remains powerful and full, but the depth of the songs is far greater on Ceremonials. Favorite songs off the album: Shake it Out, Breaking Down, Never Let Me Go. For Fans of: Imogen Heap, Regina Spektor, Marina and the Diamonds

5. El Camino The Black Keys: Why I love it: Omfg where have the black keys been all my life. To me, the Black Keys are one of the great bluegrass/rock bands of our time. Why they didn’t become famous until last year is beyond me honestly. This album is chock full of great songs. The one negative a person could say about this album, as opposed to lets say their previous album Brothers, is that many of the songs use repetitive chords and instruments. But that being said a hit is a hit and this album is full of them. Favorite songs off the album: Gold On Ceiling, Lonely Boy, Run Right Back. For Fans of : The White Stripes, Mumford and Sons, Wolfmother   

4. Born This Way Lady Gaga: Why I love it: I know many of you may be surprised that Gaga’s album is only at #4 and not higher, but honestly, born this way is just not as good as the ultimate album Fame Monster. It did have some great songs, and some good ones, but also ones I just didn’t LOVE and that’s why its here. That being said, Gaga can produce a hit. Just check out all the singles she has released off of this album (5 and counting! Take that Katy Perry!). Many haters will say that instead of sounding new and fresh her songs sound like they belong in the 80’s. To them I say, 80’s music kicks ass! Favorite Songs off the album: You and I, Fashion of His Love, Born This Way. For Fans of: Madonna, Ke$ha, Gwen Stefani  

3. Wasting Light Foo Fighters: Why I love it: Just when I thought Foo Fighters couldn’t get better they came out of the woodwork with Wasting Light. If you ever find yourself questioning what rock music is/can be today then just listen to this album. All of the tracks have intense hard rock edge and amazing guitar and drum work. Dave Grohl, as lead, never ceases to amaze me and makes me wonder, how if Kurt Cobain had still been alive, if he would have ever have broken out of the background and into the spotlight. Favorite Songs off the album: Walk, These Days, Rope. For Fans of: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, Muse 

2. Watch The Throne Jay Z & Kanye West: Why I love It:  Who would have ever guessed that putting two amazing rappers in one album would create epic awesomeness? I would! Why wasn’t this done before? Seriously! Ye’ and Jay make an amazing pair and continue to play off of one another in every song/rap. This album should remind rappers everywhere that all you need is a little collaborative effort and all of your haters will turn into admirers. Favorite songs off the album: Otis, Made In America, That’s My Bitch. For Fans of: Eminem, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco  

1. 21 Adele: Why I love it: Yes, I know Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You are crazy over played, but, remember when they weren’t? Remember getting your hands on Adele’s new album and the feeling of OMG I have totally been through the exact same thing with my ex? Because if you did not feel that way, then you are either not a girl, or do not have a heart. This album was groundbreaking. Adele’s voice reinvented what it means to HAVE a good voice in this day in age (what with all the auto tuning going on). Yes, many of you know that I have a serious girl crush on her, but that aside, Adele can belt it out!  Favorite songs off the album:  I’ll Be Waiting, Set Fire to the Rain, Don’t You Remember. For Fans of: Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Fiona Apple

Singers Who Can Act (AKA Justin Timberlake Please make music again)

Last night my husband and I had a discussion about the “triple threat.” You know the type: Can sing, Can Dance, Can Act and this got me thinking about some of the greatest singers(stage or recording)-turned actors.

1)  Hugh Jackman: Many people might not be aware but after a short 1 season Aussie TV show stint, Hugh was primarily a stage star. It was only after his adorable success as an amazing singer/dancer with incredibly stage presence that he was offered the role of Wolverine in X-Men. Hugh will actually be playing Jean Valjean in the upcoming Les Miserables musical movie so we will get to see all of his talents in one place. Classic hit: Oh What a Beautiful Morning from the musical Oklahoma!

2) Justin Timberlake: Many of you know I am a devoted Timberlake follower. I will pretty much watch whatever he does, listen to whatever he produces or even recommends. His talent is undeniable. Granted I don’t think I’m in the minority when I say that he should be singing instead of acting. I think he’s hilarious and do watch both his films (even the ugly ones like cough The Love Guru cough) but if he doesn’t make another CD soon or appear in a musical soon someone (probably Joey Fatone) will get a beating. Classic hit: What Goes Around Comes Around

3) Will Smith: I know you might disagree with me on the “dancer” segment of this one, but we should not forget the incredibly awkward yet cool dancing talents of the fresh prince. I did try to “Get Jiggy With It” but the closest I ever got to it was a jig. Will is another one of those actors who I would follow to the moon and back. He’s funny and interesting and also an awesome rapper. I genuinely can’t decide which beats I prefer more, the Fresh Prince/DJ Jazzy Jeff era or the Will Smith late 90’s boom. Thoughts? Classic Hit: Parents Just Don’t Understand

4) Beyonce Knowles: Beyonce is clearly one of our generation’s most incredible talents. She is a kick-ass dancer, makes amazing tracks that in my opinion will withstand the test of time (that’s right my future kids will be listening to beyonce!) and she is a good actress to boot. I am specifically not going to mention her turn in a certain British spy spoof because it was pretty unremarkable, but her roles in Dream Girls and Obsessed were pretty awesome. Classic Hit: Single Ladies  

5)  Queen Latifah: Queen is a great example of why America needs more female rappers. This amazing beat-tress started out as a rapper (beat boxing actually) for a little group called “Ladies Fresh” which then ballooned into her own rap career and eventual singing career and acting career. I will admit freely and without shame that I love many of the movies that Queen is in. She proved she could multi task (sing act and dance) when she was in Chicago and followed up that musical with Hairspray (again amazing choice) but she is understated and awesome in a few roles like Last Holiday (a personal favorite). Classic hit: U.N.I.T.Y  

6)  Neal Patrick Harris: Ok, Ok, technically NPH didn’t start out as a singer, but rather a child actor, after which he moved to Broadway. NPH is one of those rare talents who can pretty much do anything he wants. He dances extremely well, can sing, and even rap (see this year’s tony awards)! My personal favorite NPH venture has to be Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. It’s rare that you route for the bad guy but under the direction of Joss Whedon NPH’s Dr. Horrible is one of the most lovable villains ever. Classic hit: Freeze Ray 

7)  Bebe Neuwirth: Bebe, who was called a “Fosse Girl” for all of her work in bob fosse musicals, is more than just an excellent dancer and singer. She is a great actress. She will forever be known to me and my family as “Lilith” the cold ex-wife of Dr. Frasier Crane on both Cheers and Frasier. She has also been in a ton of movies, and various TV shows. Classic Hit: All That Jazz  

8) Gene Kelly: Technically Gene was a dancer-turned singer- and then turned actor, but who really cares? Gene, obviously an enormous talent for his time was one of, in my humble opinion, the best tap dancers ever. I am a HUGE fan of singing in the rain, but Gene also shined and showed his chops in movies like On the Town and An American in Paris. Classic hit: Singing in the Rain 

9) Sutton Foster: Ok yes, Sutton isn’t really a “screen star” yet, but Sutton is one of the greatest talents on broadway right now. She has an incredible vocal range and an amazing dancing ability. This leads me to believe that she can basically do whatever she wants (see Matthew Morrison’s career.) Classic Hit: Gimme Gimme 

10)(Marky) Mark Walhberg: Le sigh. I love Marky Mark so much. Did you guys realize that he was one of the original members of New Kids on the block but quit to make his own group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch? Granted my husband thinks my opinion of his acting ability is clouded by my vision of his abs, but I think he is both adorable and a good actor. He can play it serious as evidenced by his role in (one of my least favorite films ever) Boogie Nights. He can play it funny in films like Date Night and The Good Guys. And I personally like him best in his action-y roles. Classic hit: Good Vibrations

Notably Bad Singer turned Actors:

1) Jennifer Lopez: Jenny from the block can sing, and dance, but I personally dislike every acting role she’s had and find her to be pretty one note as an actress. Terrible roles include Maid in Manhattan and Gigli.

2) Puff daddy/P.Diddy/Diddy/ Diddy Dirty Money: No monikers can help Diddy be a good actor. Don’t get me wrong, as a rapper- awesome, as a producer-awesome, as random hip-hop style dancer- awesome. But acting (as seen from his Hawaii 5-0 guest stint)- not so awesome.

3) Jessica Simpson: Employee of the Month. Need I say more?

Coldplay's new single

There is only one album set to release this year that I am more excited for than Lady Gaga's Born This Way and Kanye West and Jay Z's Watch the Throne. That album is Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto. Not only did i love EVERYTHING about their first single Every Teardrop is a Waterfall including the awesome stop motion video, but this new single called Paradise is just as good. Take a listen for yourself. 

Muppet's Post Addendum

Yesterday  I blogged about the Muppet's Green Album which features celebrity covers of some of their hits. Today Id like to post an addendum since OKGO just released their video for the Muppet Show theme song, and boy is it amazing. Not only do they combine classic muppet characters and elements, but they also use some of their best music videos as a backdrop for the video. 

Let me know your thoughts after you watch the video below!

Muppets the Green Album

When I opened up Aol Music today I found that the entire "Muppets Green Album" (a nod to the Beatles "White Album") was up for free listening. What I did not expect was that the entire album of Muppet's Classics (The Rainbow Connection, Manah Manah) are sung by contemporary artists the likes of OKGO and Weezer. You can check out the entire album yourself by clicking here, and leave your comments in the section below! I for one am loving it, but then again I am a huge muppets freak.