Decode This

{ Thursday, January 22, 2009 @ 10:28 am } · { Mtv, Music Video of the Week }
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For the last couple of weeks I’ve been seeing the same videos at the tops of the charts, so I decided to look else where to find a popular video. I found a ‘most viewed’ video section at mtv.com and finally came across a chance in pace. This is the first I’ve seen a Paramore song in any kind of top ten video count down. Now they’re at the number one spot with their new song “Decode”.

I’ve heard the song before, but after seeing the music video I was surprised that I hadn’t seen it in my popular video searches before today. The fact that it has various clips from the new movie “Twilight” alone should make people continuously press the replay button, not to mention the fact that I think the song is pretty good. What teenage girl wouldn’t have a mild heart attack after laying their eyes on Edward Cullen…. okay well maybe a couple wouldn’t, but because he’s in this video there’s extra appeal.  

Even the way the video was set up was clever. The band is shown playing in a forest and it cuts back and forth between scenes in Twilight with Bella and Edward and the band members. It looks like the same forest thats in the movie. Paramore also does a cool thing with the coloring of the video. The lead singer, Hayley Williams’ hair is a fiery red color. It’s such a contrast to the rest of the dull colors in the background and the other band members, which I liked.

<3 <– to see the video

The Billboard ‘Hot’ 100

{ Thursday, January 15, 2009 @ 11:33 pm } · { Music Video of the Year }
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It’s no surprise that the Billboard Top 100song is the same song that is the most popular on iTunes this week. Lady Gaga’s new song “Just Dance” is taking over radio and ipods everywhere. It must mean something if so many people are willing to spend money on downloading her song and by constantly requesting it on the radio. The question is, what makes this song so popular?

First off, it’s like nothing I’ve ever heard before. I can’t even figure out what kind of genre it is… techno? dance? Right off the bat the beat of the song is really catchy. The lyrics come next, and the chorus just makes me want to sing along to the upbeat tune. The video though, that’s a whole other story…

… continue reading this entry.

Stealing the Spotlight: Music Video of 2008

{ Thursday, January 8, 2009 @ 5:57 pm } · { Music Video of the Year }
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I might as well turn this into a Britney Spears blog…just kidding. But this worn out pop-star seems to be showing up everywhere in the music industry. It’s impossible not talk about her when referring to top music videos. According to the MTV Music Video Awards of 2008 Britney’s video “Pieces of Me” won for the best female video of 2008.

Now, I took the time to watch this video, and I found nothing special or unique about it. It’s like another other video that’s she made, and on that note, it’s not even her best. It’s basically a video of her complaining out all the attention the paparazzi give her and how everyone wants to be like her. I think that ridiculous because she always gives people reasons to follow her around all the time.

There’s only one part in the whole video where she attempts to dance. The rest of the time she just swings her hair around like it’s so hard. It makes me so mad that out of all the videos that came out in 2008 Britney Spears wins just because everyone know who she is and what kind of reputation she has. … continue reading this entry.

Brit’s Comeback

{ Saturday, December 13, 2008 @ 2:01 pm } · { Music Video of the Week }
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This is the second post on this blog about Britney Spears, and I have to say she has earned her recognition. I recently watched a documentary on Britney’s life and when and interviewer asked her about her comeback she responded with, it isn’t a comeback because I was always here. I think that she is really trying to get her life back on track, and with two new singles on the radio I think she is headed in the right direction. Everyone is fascinated by her ability to pick herself out of the seemingly bottomless pit she was in. I think her new music video ”Circus” is definitely proof of this.

The video shows that she’s still doing exactly what she loves and isn’t afraid to take risks to do just that. In the video Britney is the ringleader of a circus and she plays around with lions and elephants. In my opinion it’s not her best video, yet it does manage to show off the fact that she’s still able to dance. Ten years ago she was dancing as a little innocent school girl, and now she’s grown up, but she’s still able to have a fun side. This video is more mature but it’s still the same old Britney whose tapes I listened to as a young kid.

So maybe it’s not a comeback, just a new and improved version.

Beyoncé Claims the Top Spot

{ Tuesday, December 2, 2008 @ 4:51 pm } · { Music Video of the Week }
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Anyone with eyes and ears would have a hard time trying to convince me that they have never heard of Beyoncé. Over the past couple years she has really made a name for herself, yet has still managed to say out of the negative spot light.

For the past two weeks Beyoncé’s music video, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) has remained the top selling video in the iTunes music store. It’s no wonder women envy her while men want to get with her. In the video she dances along side two Beyoncé look a-likes, with the same killer body and dance moves to match. Her message in the song is really empowering to women. It basically states that women shouldn’t have to wait around for their men to make a commit. When other guys start to show an interest in the girl then it’s their guys fault for making them wait for so long. I wouldn’t be surprised if this song hits home for many of the single ladies out there.

To me, Beyoncé has always been the prime example of a strong independent woman, that has her life in check. She has proven herself many times over, and to many she is seen as a triple threat…or a quintuple threat. Beyoncé has an extremely successful career, she has appeared in multiple movies, she has her own fashion line, she is happily married to rapper Jay-Z, and she has way to many awards to mention. Now who would be crazy enough to say they wouldn’t want the success that she has achieved for herself? Beyoncé’s sense of confidence and independence is clearly portrayed in her every day life and proves as a model for many women, young and old.

To all you single ladies out there, hear me when I say this song is a must have on your ipod!

Good Girl Gone Bad

{ Tuesday, November 25, 2008 @ 7:21 am } · { Music Video of the Year }
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“Good Girl Gone Bad” was the title of Rihanna’s album released in 2007. The music video ”Umbrella” is a obvious representation of that title. Who wouldn’t be wouldn’t be enticed by the scene where Rihanna has silver body paint all over, or when she dances in a leather outfit with point shoes? It’s no wonder this music video broke records throughout the world! It was Mtv’s music video of the year for 2007 and number three on Rolling Stones list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The song was made into many remixes, the most popular being Chris Brown’s Cinderella, where he changes the lyrics but keeps the same music and even Rihanna singing in the back round. It’s even been translated into several different languages.

To this date I still think it’s the best song Rihanna has ever made. It could be said that it was too over played and that people have gotten sick of it but it will forever remain Rihanna’s break out song. With the song “Umbrella” Rihanna was able to completely change her image and its clear from her album title what image she was trying to portray. I think Rihanna is one of the most versatile artists out there and she is able to switch from one style of music to the next. It’s like she’s never afraid to try something new, and she clearly made a statement with her new look in this video. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

TRLs last show

{ Monday, November 17, 2008 @ 12:20 am } · { Mtv }
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As you might already know, tonight was MTV’s finally taping of TRL. This show was a chance for viewers and fans to get involved with the top ten countdown every week, and now this privilege is gone. Total Request Live was created ten years ago and since then it has become a reflection of American culture. The show was seen as a pop culture icon and it was an honor for any young artist to be featured on the show. Not any more. MTV is supposed to be a channel about music… so where did all the music go? TRL was the last piece of MTV that made the channel live up to it’s name. It’s clear that the focus has shifted towards reality TV.

To see the peak years of TRL all you have to do is look at the most popular music videos on the show. The number one video on TRL’s last countdown was Britney Spears’s ”Baby One More Time”. If there was ever a music video that could be said to change pop culture forever, this would be it. It set the bar for the rest of artists and is still her highest debut to this day. This music video is the definition of how I perceive pop culture, and obviously Britney Spears was one of the most well known artists of the time. Compared to today Britney’s image has changed beyond measure, yet it’s easy to see how people became fans at the beginning. The BSpears in this video is an innocent Catholic school girl with killer dance moves. This image is typical good girl gone bad so it’s not hard to see why it’s one of the most possible music videos of the pop culture era.  

Overture

{ Wednesday, November 12, 2008 @ 10:27 am } · { Introduction }
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Have you ever watched a music video count down and become completely confused about why a certain video was in the top spot? My purpose here is to distinguish the deserving top videos from the ones that should be banned for their pointlessness. In this blog I will be commenting on the most popular music videos of the week. I will look at the videos people are buying on iTunes and the countdowns on VH1 and Mtv. It won’t be uncommon for me to start ranting about the ridiculousness of certain videos and the complete waste of money they are. I will judge whether they are well made or not based on how long they have been at the top and my own personal opinion on the quality.