Amy Winehouse. Her talent is missed more with each day that passes.
This beautifully shot video takes place at a funeral. What’s being buried? Amy’ heart, after another failed love affair. Originally, the video made this clear by featuring a close-up of the tombstone, announcing that Amy had just buried her heart. After Amy died in 2011, that shot was cut from the video. That’s an understandable decision and I think it actually adds an extra hint of mystery to the video. That said, I’ve always wondered if that’s the same decision that Amy would have made if she had some sort of say in the matter.
Today’s music video of the day comes to us from Miley Cyrus. It pretty much looks and sounds like almost every other music video that’s come out over the past few months but the familiarity is the point. We’re not living in an age of risk takers, especially when it comes to music.
The next time someone tells you that music was generic and predictable in the early aughts …. well, don’t try to refute their case with Atomic Kitten.
This video was shot in front of a greenscreen. There’s no plot but there is a lot of dancing and personally, I think that’s a good thing. Back in 2003, there was really no need to pretend that the song and the video were meant to do anything other than sell the group and score a spot on the soundtrack of the next Lizzie McGuire movie.
Personally, I like Atomic Kitten because of their name.
Today’s music video of the day is both wholesome and rebellious. It’s wholesome because it’s a Jessica Simpson video. It’s rebellious because it’s Jessica finally calling the shots over her own life.
Take that, Nick Lachey!
Seriously, this feels like a nice revenge video. It came out two years after Jessica and Nick divorced and it finds Jessica back on the ranch and waiting for a better lover and, even more importantly, doing it all on her own terms. This is the type of video that Jessica’s management never would have allowed to happen in the days before she married Nick. As such, this is not just a video about inviting over your lover. This is a video growing up, maturing, and embracing what makes you happy.
I’m actually a bit surprised to discover that I haven’t already shared this music video of the day.
We can drive it home with one headlight….
Some songs just get stuck in your head and I think this is definitely one of them. This is also a song that always used to play in the background at one of my favorite used bookstores. I associate One Headlight with searching through old books and learning about history.
The lead singer of The Wallflowers is, of course, Jakob Dylan. Jakob is know for being Bob Dylan’s son and certainly, this song has a Bob Dylanesque feel to it. That said, Jakob made it his own. The music video certainly makes good use of Jakob’s perfect bone structure.
Today’s music video of the day is another break-up anthem. In this case, it’s Michelle Branch singing Goodbye To You while going through all of her break-up rituals. These rituals include going to a pawnshop and exchanging her ring for a guitar and taking a goldfish to the beach. Along the way to the beach, she witnesses a forest fire. The fire actually looks pretty serious and undoubtedly, many lives were lost as a result. However, this video reminds us that nothing is more important than going to the beach and singing away your troubles.
(To be honest, I’m surprised the roads weren’t closed because that forest fire looked really dangerous. I know that California gets a new wildfire every week but still, I found myself wondering if Michelle’s going to have a home to which to return once she gets finished singing on the beach.)
This video was directed by Francis Lawrence, who also did The Hunger Games sequels. If Jennifer Lawrence had been driving that car, she would have gotten out and helped to put out that fire. I mean, I like the beach too and there’s even a little downtown pawnshop that I love but even I know that there are things that are more important.
Way back in 2004, both this music video and this song were favorites of mine. That said, even back then, I found myself wondering if I would still be attracted to a guy if he couldn’t stand up to his father. Lindsay and her boyfriend (Drew Fuller) have a lot of chemistry but, whenever his father shows up, the guy meekly leaves. Whenever I watch this video, I want the guy to punch out his father or, at the very least, for Lindsay to kick the old man in the groin. That’s probably not a very realistic expectation on my part, though. I mean, assault and battery? It really would be over!
Reportedly, this video was inspired by one of the worst films to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture, American Beauty. I’m holding on to hope that someday, Linsday will finally get her Oscar. Don’t scoff. Bigger comebacks have happened and, even in this somewhat overwrought video, Lindsay delivered a pretty good performance. Of course, someone’s going to have to take a chance and write a decent role for her. You’re not going to win an Oscar appearing in Netflix Christmas movies. Just ask Kurt Russell. He totally deserved the award for his performance as Santa Claus but he was snubbed not once but twice. Stupid Academy.
When this video came out, some of my friends thought Lindsay and her boyfriend were crazy for fooling around in a deserted trailer but I’m a country girl at heart so I thought it was sweet. Seriously, though, a deserted trailer can be the most romantic place on the planet under the right circumstances. I would caution everyone to just watch out for snakes because this one time, in Arkansas….
For today’s music video of the day, Hilary Duff says that you’re so yesterday!
Personally, I’ve always liked Hilary Duff and I think she’s underrated as both a singer and an actress. For instance, The Haunting of Sharon Tate was a problematic film on several levels but Hilary Duff’s performance in the title role made the film several times better than it probably had any right to be. Add to that, Hilary Duff is a Texas girl, just like me! Texas girls support each other.
Texas plays a role in this video. Hilary breaks up with her boyfriend, who appears to be a Galveston surfer. When he leaves his Don’t Mess With Texas t-shirt on the beach, Hilary steals it and then takes it around the town and basically gets everyone to pose while wearing it. Good for her! This is a fun, revenge-filled video. Hilary Duff lets her ex know that he is “so yesterday,” and his t-shirt looks better on a random skater dude than it does on him. Take that!
I’ve been asked if Don’t Mess With Texas is something that is really said down here and the answer is that it is. Don’t Mess With Texas started out as an anti-littering slogan but it has since been transformed into a catch-all phrase that can be used for almost any situation. For instance, whenever we talk about all of the Yankees that have been moving down here, we always agree that they better live by the slogan. Remember why you left your old state and don’t mess with Texas.
Through the Shattered Lens 