Maybe the golden age of music videos has come and gone. There will probably never be something as huge and industry-shaping as Michael Jackson’s Thriller. But some artists are still trying.
And I don’t mean more chains, more cars and more women, like the way of so many rap videos of the last few years. No, I mean, engaging and creative, and maybe even with a touch of animation. (Of course, getting your track on a popular movie trailer like Transformers 2 works also.)
To start, Wale and Kid Cudi, arguably the two names at the top of 2009’s list of ‘Most Likely to Blow Up Next,’ have shown they are unafraid to challenge some norms.
Wale’s 2008 hit W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E. is not only a song about a fake acronym, but also one accompanied by a unique and different music video. Shots are either taken from the neck down as people walk through the streets with dancing images flashing across their shirts, or in some sort of pseudo-reality where Wale raps in a Matrix-like plainscape that a six-year old doodled all over.
Creative, yes, but somewhat distracting, too, and detached from what’s being rapped about—fun to watch, but not a strong complement to the song itself. Which is what music videos are supposed to be, right?
Cudder’s is different in this way. (See him singing his new song live here.) The smash hit Day N Night is about a lonely stoner roaming his city’s streets, and his music video speaks directly to that.
“He’s all alone, some things will never change. / The lonely loner seems to free his mind at night.”
In the clip, Kid Cudi wanders aimlessly through a convenience store, a grocer, a pizza joint, a tuxedo rental, a bar and a casino. Hallucinations, both friendly and not so, follow and confuse him as he makes his way through the video. Favorite highlight: a rack of pool balls, when hit, suddenly becomes a solar system of colored planets orbiting the cue ball (2:16 mark).
Finally, there’s Kanye.
(Wow, how stand-alone is that sentence in today’s hip-hop scene! You could be talking about anything, fashion, beatmaking, genre-breaking music or obnoxiousness, and Kanye could easily be your final, decisive example of the industry’s finest. But I digress.)
On his critically polarizing album 808’s and Heartbreak, Kanye elevates Wale’s and Cudi’s playful attempt at animation to near-obsession. Although, we have seen him go there before:
The music video for the single Heartless is also completely animated, but this one seems much more to do with style than storyline. The clip is fun to watch and, like so many of Kanye’s videos, actually has a semblance of a plot.
(The clip could not be embedded for copyright restrictions, but here is the link. And speaking of the Louis Vuitton Don’s plot-based music videos, if you haven’t seen Flashing Lights yet, do yourself a favor. Watch it.)
But what does all this mean? Can music videos really make a comeback, and if so, to what extent? Perhaps more importantly, to musicians especially, do you grow to like a song more if it has a quality music video? Or is it just a frivolous waste of money for these record labels? Chime in and let us hear your thoughts.
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