My Video Montage

C & C Music Factory, Things That Make You Go Hmm, the video shows the band dancing in front of a white background with black cogs and figures turning and dancing in the foreground. It's an interesting visual, so simple, so creative. The words are equally simple yet creative. THe singer goes through different situations that are a little shady. He was just "sitting by the fireplace, drinking cocoa on a bearskin rug" When his girlfriend's best friend comes in and tries to seduce him. Hmm. Then his best friend comes to stay with him and his wife, "months went by and she got big, we were having a child and I got another gig." "The time had come (for the baby down to the scene)It looked like Jay and I couldn't believe before my eyes in the delivery room." Hmm. The song continues in much the same way... making listeners go hmm. The song always reminds me about the first cassette tape I heard. It didn't have a case to it, my sister was always losing the cases. It looked like a normal cassette tape small, black, thick, tape on the inside and two holes to crank the tape through. It was lettered with white letters. I wasn't allowed to go into my sister's room for anything. I snuck in and swiped her cassettes, the song intriqued me and I decided to listen to this song first. It caused me to go hmm at almost everything. I know it sounds corny, but then again so is the song.



One Week by the Barenaked Ladies, a song about a couple fighting. It will take them a week before they end up reconciling their differences. "Three days since the living room we realized were both to blame, but what could we do? Yesterday you just smiled at me, cause itll still be two days till we say were sorry." The video shows the band running around in a Marie Antoinette like world; which really reminds me of "A Tale of Two Cities." It makes almost no sense when compared to the lyrics. The song has appeared in many films the actors always try to say the rapping part that starts "Chickety china the chinese chicken, have a drum stick and your brain stops ticking, watching X-Files with no lights on" that's the part they all make it to, after that they just sort of trail off. It seems the characters are usually driving around in a car with a group of friends. It reminds me of when my sister and I would go to the pool. She drove a '90 Sunbird which I later inherited. The air conditioner barely worked. She had a stuffed Garfield window cling in the back window that always slipped off. We would take my best friend Whitney along and when that part would come up in the song we would try and sing along. We'd get to that same place and trail off like those in the movies. Eventually we learned other parts and would join in when we could understand the words.

When Shaggy came out with "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel" it was played all over the radio. "It Wasn't Me" was kind of an up beat song, a little dirty which is why I chose "Angel" over it. The video shows Shaggy torn between an angel and a devil so to speak. The angel is his girlfriend and the devil is his temptation. The lyrics are talking about how his girlfriend is an angel and is "closer than his peeps". Shaggy realizes how good he has it with his girlfriend and in the end it was all a dream. The chorus is sung by Rayvon. His voice has a smooth sound and is contrasted by Shaggy's deep raspy voice buring the rapped verses. This all has nothing to do with my memory of the song. When I was in 6th grade our basketball team would listen to this and "It Wasn't Me" in our lockerroom. The room was large with concrete walls. Was carpeted with a drain in the middle of the room. Despite the carpet the floor was surprisingly hard. The song echoed all around the room. Thng would almost seep into our bodies and pump us up. An odd choice for a bunch of twelve year olds. It wasn't about the lyrics or what it stood for, it was about the beat.

Semi-charmed Kind of Life by Third Eye Blind. "I want something else to get me through this semi-charmed kind of life." The video takes the viewer on a sort of home movie road trip. The band looks like they really enjoy hanging out and are genuine friends. The lyrics show a kind of frustration with where their life is at the moment. Life was better before everything got so complicated. They're on a search to get back to where life was easier and familiar. "How do I get myself back to, the place where you said, I want something else to get me through this, semi-charmed kind of life. I want something else, I'm not listening when you say, good-bye." Unfortunately it's not that easy. They refuse to take no for an answer and continue to try to make their life like it was. This takes me back to my freshman year of high school. My friends and I driving in my old Sunbird jamming out to 107.3. The smell of heat and pine tree air fresheners filled the interior. The sun had faded her cherry red paint job to a Campbell's tomato soup-like color. We would pack all the girls in my class into that tiny car. We would ramp it over dips in the streets around our small town without a care in the world. Life was easier when we were younger but there's no way we could get back to those times.

New Radicals, "Someday We'll Know." I had a bit of a New Radicals phase early in high school. Their music had a newer feel that I had never heard before. Their lyrics pose questions about life and society. The name of the album I had was "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too". "Someday We'll Know" gave me a lot of comfort that even though life is complicated someday it will all be clear. The lyrics pose questions that we don't know, may never know. Like "Did the captain of the Titanic cry?" "Whatever happened to Amelia Earhart? Who holds the stars up in the sky? and Is true love once in a lifetime?" The questions start off really broad and abstract but eventually narrow to "Why aren't you here with me?". He finds comfort in the fact that someday we'll have the answers to all the questions we've ever had, including the impossible ones. The song always brings me back to nights sitting on my roof with the stars shining little pinpricks of light. I would sit out there at the tail end of summer and listen to the CD over and over. It really made me put things into perspective. I no longer felt that all the high school drama was the end of my life.

California, Phantom Planet. A simple song by a group of kids from California, about California, jump started Phantom Planet's career and became the theme song for one of the most popular television shows of all time. The OC used the group's song and made it their trademark. The show caught fire and OC hysteria began. It was extremely short lived, only four seasons, but put the characters on the map and Phantom Planet on the airwaves. The video almost mimicks the lives of the characters in the show. They eat at fast food restaurants, laugh and goof off with each other, there's not the drama of the show but there's the friendship and comradery. Every time I hear the song I think of Wednesday (then Thursday after it got moved) nights sitting in front of the TV awaiting the jaw dropping drama to unfold. It was a prime time soap opera but I was fascinated and never missed an episode. I own the box set on DVD and watch it frequently. California is played before each episode and I always go back to the original air date and how much I loved the show. Phantom Planet is rarely heard on the radio anymore but it will be forever linked to The OC and that snapshot in television history.

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen has never really made much sense to me. I don't know why it's called Bohemian Rhapsody and I'm not even completely sure what it's supposed to be about. In the beginning Freddie Mercury is talking about him killing a man, an how he killed him. Later the song gets much more upbeat and opera like. ink part of the lyrics are even in German. It's almost as if he goes a bit crazy and is struggling with what his fate will be after he is convicted. The song then slows again and "Nothing really matters". The video is easier to understand. Queen is shown on a stage through most of the video. The lights in the background of all different colors glaring on the band like they were performing a concert but no one is in the audience. The lights remind me of the homecoming and prom dances when the DJ would play this song. Somehow it became like "the" song of our high school. Every year we would all stand and sway in a circle to the music and at the part where the beat picks up the seniors would get into the middle and head bang. It was just understood that it was only for the seniors and the underclassmen would get to when they were seniors. No dance was the same without it.

T-Pain - Bartender (feat. Akon)
Uploaded by yardie4life

Bartender by T-Pain featuring Akon is a slower song with a nice steady beat that is associated with dance clubs. It's about a guy who falls in love with the female bartender. The video takes place in a bar with blue and red lighting. The bar is packed with people dancing. Even though he's not a drinker or a smoker he goes up to the bartender and has her pour some drinks for them. Obviously I'm not twenty-one so I've never been in a bar like this. But, whenever I hear this song I think of this summer and the parties I went to at my friend's house. He built a bar in his basement and has rope lights hung around the ceiling. The rope is maybe an inch in diameter with red, white and blue lights. It gives the basement the same soft, dimly lit look that the bar in the video has. The rope lights are the only lights down there so it's kind of hard to see where you're going. There are always people packed in and dancing. The song still gets played on the radio a lot and always makes me think of those parties.

Chop Suey

Chop Suey - Click here for this week’s top video clips
The first music video I've ever seen is Chop Suey by System of a Down. I remember I was at my friend's house for the weekend and on Saturday morning we woke up and turned on MTV. This was before all the reality shows. We were maybe 7 or 8. We went about our business, she hated watching TV and I didn't have cable. All I wanted to do was watch cable. Anyway, I don't remember exactly what we were doing, probably playing The Sims, or Rollercoaster Tycoon. We got hungry and walked by the living room to get to the kitchen. Well this music video came on and we were intrigued. We stood there and watched the entire video. I remember thinking it was the weirdest and freakiest thing I'd ever seen. I had never seen anyone with that many tatoos before. Plus how they all morph in and out of each other, that freaked me out. I knew I had heard the song before but I had no idea that's what they looked like.

For years, whenever I heard that song, or anything else by System of a Down for that matter, I would picture them morphing in and out of each other. It left quite an impact on me I guess. After looking at it again I remember exactly how I felt that day. In fact, it still kind of weirds me out. I don't really know why they chose to make the video quite like that. Oh well, to each his or her own.

I have a different friend who is absolutly obsessed with System of a Down. I've come to really like there music through her and now am not quite as weirded out by the band itself. Still, creepy videos.

One of the worst videos, in my opinion, is Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. First of all, not that great of a rapper. Second of all, lose the sweatshit buddy you're in a video you need to upgrade your wardrobe. I don't really get the point of the video, what's he trying to tell us? He likes dancing in abandoned warehouses? Great, good to know, I'm sure America's youth will be flocking to them to hold dance parties there. Was that their post prom party? And were those five guys the only ones invited? What was with the tuxes?

I'm not the only one who dislikes this video. It was awarded a spot on Boston.com's worst videos ever. Not an easy feat. Mr. Ice is among the ranks of Shaquille O'Neil, David Hasselhoff, and Eddie Murphy. I was even contemplating putting Armi and Danny's "I Wanna Love You Tender" on this blog but I thought that'd be a little too much torture for one day.

What's even more awful than Vanilla's horrible video is that the song is still played at virtually every wedding, homecoming, or prom. Whenever I hear it I go back to my high school gym where we danced at arms length and had chaperones eyeing out every mood. Good times, good times.... in the famous words of Wayne Campbell, "Cha Right".

Ok Go

I had a hard time coming up with my favorite music video. I don't watch many. So I typed "music videos" in to You Tube and the first one on the list was "Here it goes again" by Ok Go. This is an awesome video not to mention an awesome song. It's so peppy and up-beat it just makes you want to jump on a treadmill yourself. This video made national news and the country was in awe of their skill. Lots of people have tried to copy it on You Tube. None were as good as the original, however.

That had to have taken a long time to choreograph. First of all the treadmills had to be going at the same speed, then they all had to coordinate with each other and the treadmills. I wonder how long it took to master and if anyone fell off at any time. There have been many treadmill accidents and those guys looked like they were asking for one.

One time two of my friends and I were messing around on my mom's treadmill. We were rolling pillows down it and then riding it into the pillows. All was going smoothly until I went down and lost my balance on the landing. I leaned back and the treadmill scraped my back for a few seconds until I could get away from it. For a few weeks I had a wicked burn on my back. It healed into three small scars but it hurt really badly. I never messed around on the treadmill again.

Hundreds of teens dressed in their best emo attire crowd into a dimly lit Sioux Falls exhibit hall. A room much too large for this function. The stage is set with lights of every color, amps, guitars, pianos, drums, microphones, and a variety of instruments that look like they don’t belong at an indie rock concert. The house lights go off and the stage lights burn brighter causing the crowd to hush. Finally he and his band emerge from the partition meant to act as a backstage. The crowd screams and yells as Conor Oberst, the lead singer and song writer for Bright Eyes, steps toward the microphone.


This Omaha native has racked up a number of fans across the nation with his cryptic lyrics and shaky voice. These trademarks have awarded him the title of the next Bob Dylan. He has spoken out about politics, religion, love, heartbreak, drug use, and depression; taking a radical stance on almost everything. Oberst presents his arguments in a poetic, metaphorical way forcing his audience to really think about the lyrics. Though Oberst has many thought provoking songs and videos, one music video in particular grabbed my interest, Four Winds.

In the video, Oberst is shown with his band performing a concert. The video is in black and white giving it an old, simple feel. The concert is held in a tent for what appears to be a patriotic celebration based on the decoration. The band is dressed in suits. They’re trying to make a good impression on the audience. The crowd is made up of many different types of people; cowboys are standing next to skin heads. This is the general population, those causing civilization to fall. Partway through the song, the crowd gets upset. They don’t want to hear about the fall of civilization; more importantly, they don’t want to hear they are a part of the downfall. Oberst appears to be nervous but he continues, he wants to make his point heard. The crowd begins to throw garbage, and popcorn. As the music swells during the repeated line “she breaks”, the amount of trash being thrown increases until the violin solo. The lights go down when Oberst talks about himself and what he did to make peace with it all. Everything begins to slow down during this reflection, almost as if it’s a dream. Again, at the end of the song when the music swells and “she breaks, she caves” is being sung the garbage increases until the song finishes and the band rushes off stage.

The song is basically about the fall of civilization as we know it. The first stanza is saying many have died trying to protect our social class system. The second, talks about a Mexican girl painted with fifteen cans of spray paint. This symbolizes our nation reaching maturity as fifteen is the age where a Mexican girl reaches womanhood. “She’s standing in the ashes at the end of the world/ Four winds blowing through her hair”, four winds is a reference to Ezekiel 37 where God blows the four winds into dead bones and they come to life. Meaning the four winds are bringing about a rejuvenation. The chorus is saying that when our country is gone (great Satan or whore of Babylon, which are what some countries call us) civilization won’t be able to continue and we’ll fall.

The third stanza says that major religious writings (Bible, Torah, Qu‘ran) have their handicaps and if we forget about them we’ll be better off. Yet, Ivy League schools continue to study them. The fourth stanza is saying that as our civilization unravels countries don’t matter, it will cross “property lines”. The fifth stanza is referencing a Yeats poem called The Second Coming which states, “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”. Oberst is saying that when mankind falls a new age will come. Also, our hearts have been filled with the “empty space” our morality, or lack there of, has created and we break.


The sixth stanza shows Oberst’s search for meaning. He travels to Cassadaga, Florida (a city of psychics and mediums) to speak to a medium who says he better be ready for the end. In the seventh, Oberst heads to South Dakota where the Lakota Indians were massacred on their way to Omaha. Also, some Native Americans believe that the Black Hills are the spiritual center of the world. He stands his ground and makes his peace and is ready for the end of civilization. “Four winds leveling the pines” means changes are already occurring. Oberst finishes out the song with the chorus, stressing the lines “she breaks, she caves” to really drive his point home.

Oberst is making a strong argument for his case. The song’s lyrics portray the world to be a completely messed up place and that it’s been that way for years. He references the Bible and the Yeats poem to give his argument support and credibility. He uses black and white which is thought of as being old, genuine, authentic. The band itself and the Saddle Creek recording label give the video and song credibility. He even likens himself to the prophet Ezekiel, he’s bringing a message to the world.

Most of this text is using logos to sway the audience. He makes a point to say how people have died to protect what we have; yet it doesn’t make a difference because civilization has basically been crumbling upon itself since it started. The video also rationalizes that even though the downfall is imminent, we don’t want to hear it; therefore, nothing will be done about it and civilization will continue to whither away. He also alludes to the Bible’s predictions of the end of the world and of civilization.

Oberst also uses pathos. When he uses words like, “great Satan”, and, “whore of Babylon”, to describe our country, he gets his listeners to feel upset or possibly the immorality he is trying to convey. When he uses lines like, “she breaks”, we feel bad for the little Mexican girl (civilization) and want to ease her burden. The line “it’s knocking over fences crossing property lines/ four winds cry until it comes” makes the audience feel scared and intimidated by the fast approaching disaster Oberst says will occur.

Pathos is definitely the strongest appeal used in the entire text. It jumps out quickly whereas the audience has to interpret the core meaning of the song to even be aware of the logos and ethos. He gets the audience to feel sorry for him while the crowd throws garbage at him and shows us his emotions to what is happening. Through the passion in Oberst’s voice, people feel what he feels whether they think the same way or not.

A major flaw in Oberst’s argument is that he uses so many metaphors that the audience has a hard time deciphering what he’s trying to say. At first listen, the song sounds like a bunch of double talk. To get at the argument one has to listen to it over and over again. That’s a bit ineffective especially if the audience only has the opportunity to hear it once.

Ultimately the argument is ineffective because of the difficulty of understanding it. Maybe that’s why he’s not big on the pop charts or rather not on them at all. However, once the meaning is spelled out Oberst’s argument becomes much stronger.