I'm all about the "X"

It's obviously well-known that I love music videos. Heck, I have a series here on this very blog called "Music Monday," in which I highlight music videos I think are cool or innovative. That being said, I don't want the series--or the fact that I feature so much music here--to be cheesy.

So I'm a huge fan of Kylie Minogue. I think she's a great performer, I enjoy the fact that she experiments with her sound on each record, and she just seems like a genuine person. A couple of weeks I bought her "X" album, which hasn't really received much press here in the United States. In fact, I had to actually purchase the CD as an import at a not-nearby music store. But I don't mind telling you it's a fantastic pop album. Yes, it is pop, but it's probably one of the slickest pop albums in the recent past. And off of that album comes two--yes, two--new releases, "In My Arms" and "WoW." "WoW" is supposed to be released in the US (although it probably won't get much airplay), and the former is the European and "rest of the world" release. So to promote, two distinct videos have been shot. That's a pretty cool concept, and both videos are really pretty sweet.

So if you're a Kylie fan I'm sure you'll enjoy these. If you're not, hopefully you can at least appreciate them for their artistic merit.

"WoW":

Kylie Minogue WOW
Uploaded by Kyliefan2008

"In My Arms:"

Kylie Minogue - In My Arms [clip]
Uploaded by divertissonsnous

P.S. My MySpace profile currently features "In My Arms" as its song.

Music Monday

As I mentioned in a previous post not too terribly long ago, it's been quite some time since I've blogged. I think much of this has to do with my job, and the nature of our industry. To be honest, it's bothered me for a while because I started this blog, think I have something to say, and I don't like the fact that I've allowed for it to be dormant as long as it has.

The thing is, I don't want to "write just for the sake of writing." I'd like to produce content my [very few] readers enjoy and find relevance in. Of course, this is ultimately the goal of every blogger, I think. Or at least I hope. Anyway, I started thinking about the things that are important to me, and decided if I stick with that I'll always have some interesting content. At least for me....

So I've decided to interject some theming with my blog. Music is extremely important to me; I think I was a musician in a past life. Even more, I love the artistry of music videos. Quality music videos -- not the crap they show on MTV these days. Now I'm sure many people would argue about what I find "artistic" and whay they find "artistic," but that's the fantastic thing about this being my blog -- I can say what I want! So every Monday I'm going to start posting a video I think is interesting, and has a certain artistic integrity to it. Hopefully you'll enjoy the videos I post...or at least be exposed to something new.

That being said, it's only appropo that I launch Music Video Monday with Madonna. If you have any awareness of music or pop culture then I need not say more.

VIDEO : HOLLYWOOD

While certainly not one of the best Madonna songs, I feel both the video and the album it on which it appeared were severely overlooked. Perhaps that was due to the political controversy surrounding the title track and its accompanying video (I'm sure that will show up here at a future date). Regardless, this video shows Madonna at her best...in the sense that she is a chameleon and always looks good no matter what. (Of course, there are also pop culture implications that come along with the song.)

Bonus:

A few years ago "Hollywood" was segment of the high-grossing "Re-Invention Tour." The backdrop to the scene was incredibly cool so I thought I'd include it here. I hope you enjoy it.

Take On Me

This is undeniably one of the most original music videos, particularly since it was released in the infancy years of MTV. Unarguably a groundbreaking video:

Video Killed the Radio Star? (Part 2)

Last week I wrote a post about my infatuation with music videos. Now, mind you...I don't really watch American music video channels like MTV or VH1 because they play nothing but crap, that is essentially bought by powerhouse music companies to get promotion for their artists. (Bitter, party of one, please!) That's OK...I can live with that. (Thank you, YouTube.com.) Anyway....

I always find it interesting to see the visual interpretation of a song, so in paying homage to the artistry of music videos I'd like to kick off "Music Video Week" here on Nifty Nation. That being said, it's only right to begin with one of the most visionary music video artists of our time: Madonna. Now, "How in the world can he choose a video from such a robost catalogue of work?" Well, it's certainly not easy, and there's a possibility another one of her videos may appear in the coming week. But for the sake of recognizing a video for the "creativity" aspect, I'm going with "Nothing Really Matters" from the groundbreaking 1998 release "Ray of Light". An exceptional song lyrically, to the naked eye the video makes no sense, and is really a mish-mosh of weirdness; however, there is a story behind the video, and it was inspired by the story Memoirs of a Geisha. If you'd like to learn more about the backstory click here.

Here is the video for "Nothing Really Matters":

Video Killed the Radio Star?

Did radio kill the video star? Ummm, I don't think so. If anything it made them bigger stars! Madonna, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Prince? These are a few of the pop icons that come to mind when I think about videos. As I talked about in a previous post, I love watching people creative. And there is unarguably lots of creativity saturated in music videos. Of course, the level of that creativity is certainly debatable.

There's a fun discussion going on over at BlogCatalog.com where users are posting links to some old-school music videos! What a great idea! Here's the link to the discussion:

http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/old-school-video-party-come-on-in

This discussion inspired me to leave one of my favorite "old-school" videos, and one of my earliest memories of MTV (back when they actually played music). It is from the aforementioned "Queen of Pop", Madonna:

Madonna - Borderline
Uploaded by jpdc11

Sorry...say what you want, but Madonna is da bomb. For now...and forever.

Tori the Video Queen

We can probably all agree we live in an age where music just wouldn't be the same without music videos. They draw us into the lives of the artist, help tell the story of the song (OK, well more often than not this isn't true), and simply entertain. Like Tori Amos's music, her accompanying videos--which are all available on Tori Amos - Video Collection: Fade to Red--can often be disturbingly interesting. Sometimes they have a unique story, often they are beautifully shot, and quite frequently they make no sense at all and are quirky.

So I thought I'd devote today's "Tori post" to her videos. Honestly, I have a two-way tie for my favorite:

Caught a Lite Sneeze:


Spark:

Tori Amos Spark
Uploaded by skinandbones

What's your favorite Tori Amos video? (This is for a produced video, not a concert or live performance.)