Category Archives: Music

Music Video Of The Day: Sad Song by Blake Lewis (2009, dir by Ana Veselic)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I can still remember the night when it was announced that Blake Lewis has lost the sixth season of American Idol to Jordin Sparks.  That was when the world stopped making sense to me.  Nothing against Jordin but how, I wondered, could she have won while Blake was so cute and adorkable!?  It just didn’t make sense to me!

Of course, the judges were never on Blake’s side.  During the final weeks, when it became obvious that the finale would be Blake vs. Jordin, the judges went out of their way to nitpick every performance that Blake gave.  It upset me.  I spent a lot of time that March calling and voting for Blake.  When he lost, American Idol lost me as well.  I’ve never voted since and, of course, I’m now actually an adult so it would hard for me to justify still caring about the show at this point.

(My cousin-in-law Ronny used to say that he would only watch American Idol to see the judges be mean.  Once they stopped being mean, he lost interest.  He had the right idea.  Reality competition shows are so positive now that I have a difficult time watching them.  For instance, last year, I nearly threw my shoes at the TV while trying to watch an episode of America’s Got Talent.  The whole thing where the judges are all crying and going, “YOU!  You are what this competition is about!” is just so creepy and weird.)

Anyway, Blake continued to make music even after losing American Idol.  This is his video for Sad Song, which came off of his second studio album, Heartbreak on Vinyl.  The video is meant to recall both 40s film noir and 80s video glitz and I think it succeeds fairly well.  Blake’s co-star in the video is Casey Carlson, who was featured during the 8th season of American Idol.

Enjoy!

(Speaking of sad songs, my vacation’s nearly over!  Boo hoo, says I.)

Music Video of the Day: In Front Of The Alamo by Hal Ketchum (2007, dir by Glenn Sweitzer)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is Alamo Day.  It was 184 years ago, today, that 600 men gave their lives in the name of Texas.

That’s one of the many things that I think sets us native Texans apart from the rest of the United States.  Texans believe in freedom.  We always have and we always will.  Some of us may be conservative and some of us may be liberal but what we have in common is a desire to do it our own way.

I don’t think I’ve ever been as moved as I was during the days immediately after Hurricane Harvey.  A lot of people outside of the state seemed to think that Harvey was a disaster of such immense proportions that it would lead to the end of both the state’s reputation for independence and our way of life.   So, what did we do?  We did what Texans always do.  We came together and we helped each other.  We did what we could and, when someone came along who could do the job better, we supported them.  We appreciated everyone who came down to lend a helping hand and we checked on our neighbors to make sure that they were okay.  See, that’s the thing about Texas.  We don’t surrender.  We fight and we help those who need it and, for that reason, we’re the greatest state in the union.

(In fact, if we had never joined the United States, the Republic Texas would probably be a world superpower right now.  Oh well.  In the end, it all worked out.)

Anyway. this music video is about the Alamo so it seems appropriate for today!

Enjoy!

Music Video Of The Day: (This is Not a) Love Song by Public Image Ltd. (1983, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Once upon a time, a record company exec made the mistake of asking Johnny Lydon if he could write and record a nice and commercial love song for Public Image Ltd.’s next album.  This is how Lydon responded:

This Is Not A Love Song is repeated a total of 44 times in this song.  The other lyrics are all meant to satirize the corporate mindset as Johnny announces that he is going to sell out:

I’m adaptable and I like my new role
I’m getting better and better
And I have a new goal
I’m changing my ways where money applies

This video was shot in Century City, which was the center of the Los Angeles business community in the 80s.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Sabotage by the Beastie Boys (1994, directed by Spike Jonze)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day is my personal pick for the greatest music video of all time, Sabotage by the Beastie Boys!

This song was actually inspired by the band’s frustration with a sound engineer who the band felt was trying to rush them through their recording sessions.  The feeling was that he was deliberately “sabotaging” them and the band expressed their frustrations in an instrumental track.  It wasn’t until two weeks before the track was actually to be recorded that the Beastie Boys came up with the lyrics for the song.

The video, famously, features the Beastie Boys as three cops on a 70s cop show, pursuing and apparently murdering Sir Stewart Wallace.  This video is usually held up as an example of director Spike Jonze’s love of kitsch but the 70s cop show theme was actually first suggested by Adam Horowitz.

Believe it or not, this video was controversial when it was first released because it was considered by some to be too violent.  MTV actually demanded three cuts before they would accept it.  They demanded that the knife fight be shortened and that shots of bodies being tossed out of a car and over a bridge be taken out of the video.  Of course, in both shots, the body was obviously a dummy so I’m not sure what MTV was freaking out about.

Sabotage received five nominations at the MTV Music Video Awards and, amazingly, it lost every one of them.  Even best direction was won by Jake Scott, who did the video for R.E.M’s Everybody Hurts.  While Michael Stipe was accepting the best direction award, Adam Yauch rushed the stage (while dressed as Nathaniel Hornblower) and protested the snubbing of Sabotage.  

This was actually the first time in the history of the VMAs that someone rushed the stage to protest a win.  Kanye West, of course, later made this a famous move but Adam Yauch did it first.  (My favorite thing about the picture above is the look on Michael Stipe’s face.)

The MTV Music Video Awards may not have appreciated Sabotage but the rest of the world certainly did.  It not only remains one of the signature tunes of the 90s but, if you believe Star Trek, it’s also the song that inspired Jim Kirk to grow up, join Starfleet, and put the safety of everyone under his command at risk at least once a week.

Enjoy!

Music Video Of The Day: Doom and Gloom by The Rolling Stones (2012, directed by Jonas Akerlund)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“The song sounds a lot different than the title. The theme is that Mick is talking to a girl saying, ‘All I hear from you is doom and gloom – let’s go party, let’s go dance.’ It’s an uptempo tune.”

— Organist Chuck Leavell on Doom and Gloom

“At first I said, Hey Mick, ‘Doom and Gloom’ is a kind of weird title for a 50-year celebration, you know? But you know what the Stones are like, it’s always against the grain. But he came up with it and it’s a great track and a really quite ‘funny’ song, actually – there are some great lyrics.”

— Keith Richards on Doom and Gloom

Also according to Keith, Doom and Gloom was one of the quickest recordings that the Rolling Stones ever did.  It only took three takes to lay down the track.  Richards credits that to the chemistry that the Stones have when they’re playing together.  As Keith puts it, the only problem when it comes to recording a new Rolling Stones song is finding a time when everyone can actually get together.

As for the video, it was filmed in a warehouse in Paris and it was directed by Jonas Akerlund, a prolific video director who is best-known for his work with Madonna.  The video stars Noomi Rapace, the Swedish actress who starred in the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy and who later appeared in Prometheus.

One thing about the Stones: they don’t quit.  The band has existed for nearly six decades and they’re still making music that demands to be played loud.

Enjoy!

Music Video Of The Day: It Must Be Love by Madness (1981, directed by Chris Gabrin)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“In the pool, I had these lead weights on. I thought I was gonna die. The hire guitar got bent so we got a hairdryer and sent it back. They said, ‘The neck’s like a banana.’ So we had to buy it.”

— Guitarist Chris Gabrin on performing under water in the video for Madness’s It Must Be Love

In America, this song and video was released as Madness’s follow-up to their first (and, to date, only) hit in the United States, Our House.  Unfortunately, for the band’s U.S. popularity, the video was heavily influenced by the very British Ealing comedies and it was not immediately appreciated by audiences across the Atlantic.  I think if the video were released today, at a time when more people are aware of international cinema and appreciation of British comedy is now a mainstream phenomena as opposed to just the kids in the computer lab talking about Monty Python, it would be better received in the States.

In the U.S., It Must Be Love peaked at #33.  As with most of Madness’s song, It Must Be Love was far more successful in the UK, where it has twice reached the UK Top 10, once when it was originally released and then when it was re-released in 1992.

Obviously, the British have always been better about appreciating a bit of madness than the Americans.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Fine Time by New Order (1988, directed by Richard Heslop)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“My car had been towed away and I had to remind myself to go and pay the fine. I just wrote “Fine Time” on this piece of paper to remind myself to go get it and thought, that’s a good title.”

— New Order’s Steve Morris on Fine Time

That’s a good story but what does Steve’s car getting towed have to do with a kid having a weird Christmas dream?  Probably nothing.  It is a New Order song, after all.  One of the great things about New Order is that everything about them, from their name to their songs to the videos, is open to several hundred interpretations.  It’s hard to know what the future may hold but one thing can be said for certain.  People will still be arguing about what Blue Monday is about.  And when they get tired to arguing about Blue Monday, they can talk about this video.

I guess the kid is dreaming.  But what’s going on with the dog?  Is the dog barking at his master’s dream?  Is it actually safe to allow that dog to sleep in a bed with a child?  Is it a good idea to tie a dog to a bed?  I don’t know.

Richard Heslop also directed videos for Ace of Base but we won’t hold it against him.

Enjoy!