The Song and Video Review

[RPS]

I can understand not liking Mika, whatever. But all of the critiscm that ROC labelled at him doesn't make sense. Mika voice sounds NOTHING like any indie band I know. Maybe you could say he sounds like Freddy Mercury, because... well, he sounds EXACTELY like Freddy Mercury. But INDIE bands? What? Maybe we are listening to completely different indie bands.

[TMM]

I can understand not liking Mika, whatever. But all of the critiscm that ROC labelled at him doesn't make sense. Mika voice sounds NOTHING like any indie band I know. Maybe you could say he sounds like Freddy Mercury, because... well, he sounds EXACTELY like Freddy Mercury. But INDIE bands? What? Maybe we are listening to completely different indie bands.

Exactly? Try nothing like. There are HINTS of Queen in his stuff, but that doesn't mean he sounds like Freddie, because my god does he not at all.

[John Stones' Paint Trophy]

There's a definite similarity between him and Freddie, especially during the verses but to say he's a sound-a-like is wrong.

And on the album note, is it available yet? Through illegal or non-illegal means.

[YI]

There's a definite similarity between him and Freddie, especially during the verses but to say he's a sound-a-like is wrong.

And on the album note, is it available yet? Through illegal or non-illegal means.

[Steeb]

I'm 99% sure it's available. I seem to remember seing it on...a shelf...the other day

[YI]

Oh, and Mika has leaked. And is awesome. Though "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" is lame as fuck...no trying to rip off "Fat Bottomed Girls". BOOO!!!!!

[Gene Kiniski]

BALLIN'~! ^_^

No offense, ROC, but if you're reviewing the MUSIC VIDEO (as the thread is named) you should probably review the video more than your personal opinion towards the music.

[ROC]

I can understand not liking Mika, whatever. But all of the critiscm that ROC labelled at him doesn't make sense. Mika voice sounds NOTHING like any indie band I know. Maybe you could say he sounds like Freddy Mercury, because... well, he sounds EXACTELY like Freddy Mercury. But INDIE bands? What? Maybe we are listening to completely different indie bands.

[Guest mAXi]

Fergie - "Fergalicious"

The Music: Dude, it's Fergie. It's pretty much the closest thing this year (though, not as bad as London Bridge's horrendous beat) you'll hear that is comparible to "nails on a chalkboard" and yet can sneak into your head. Hell, just hearing the title and lyrics from the song and realizing that it pretty much rips off "Bootylicious" (which didn't exactly make a brilliant song on its own) sums it up best.

The Video: Fergie's running around in a lot of weird fantasy outfits, some of which seem to make no sense (The Girl Scouts outfit, which seems completely pedophilic, might apply here). But I suppose if you put it on mute and fast-forward through Will.i.am's ghey intro, it's probably enjoyable softcore.

The Moral: Do you think Fergie needs to give you a blowjob if you were suckered in enough to actually buy The Dutchess?

Rating: 2/10 (mainly because though all else fails, I can still masturbate to it. >_>)

[ROC]

Fergie - "Fergalicious"

The Music: Dude, it's Fergie. It's pretty much the closest thing this year (though, not as bad as London Bridge's horrendous beat) you'll hear that is comparible to "nails on a chalkboard" and yet can sneak into your head. Hell, just hearing the title and lyrics from the song and realizing that it pretty much rips off "Bootylicious" (which didn't exactly make a brilliant song on its own) sums it up best.

The Video: Fergie's running around in a lot of weird fantasy outfits, some of which seem to make no sense (The Girl Scouts outfit, which seems completely pedophilic, might apply here). But I suppose if you put it on mute and fast-forward through Will.i.am's ghey intro, it's probably enjoyable softcore.

The Moral: Do you think Fergie needs to give you a blowjob if you were suckered in enough to actually buy The Dutchess?

Rating: 2/10 (mainly because though all else fails, I can still masturbate to it. >_>)

Fergalicious is fun, i can't believe im saying this but i actually love this song. It's pop and i wouldn't expect a lot of music snobs (INDIE INDIE INIDE OH EM EFF GHEE!!) to like it.

*Checks "Grace Kelly" review*

Oh now you just plain suck >_>

[tristy]

Review "Happiness In Slavery" by Nine Inch Nails.

[Guest Titocoolace]

well, unless we're talking Tool videos, in which case I could be all "What the fuck is this?" all video. >_>

[YI]

If Tristy can make a request I say I can too. Review either/or both ();

(I find the video a little gay like...mostly because of Jason's gloves)

(Definately one of the most improved bands of last year)

For the record I love reading these. And Norah Jones is awesome. And really hot.

Edited February 5, 2007 by Steve Mandela

[Gene Kiniski]

I can understand not liking Mika, whatever. But all of the critiscm that ROC labelled at him doesn't make sense. Mika voice sounds NOTHING like any indie band I know. Maybe you could say he sounds like Freddy Mercury, because... well, he sounds EXACTELY like Freddy Mercury. But INDIE bands? What? Maybe we are listening to completely different indie bands.

Meh, well maybe he just sounds derivative to me. There's just something I don't like about the song.\

And Toffee, I will work on doing more reviewing of the actual video part of it more often and more like the first reviews, which actually addressed the video moreso than the song.

[ROC]

I can understand not liking Mika, whatever. But all of the critiscm that ROC labelled at him doesn't make sense. Mika voice sounds NOTHING like any indie band I know. Maybe you could say he sounds like Freddy Mercury, because... well, he sounds EXACTELY like Freddy Mercury. But INDIE bands? What? Maybe we are listening to completely different indie bands.

Meh, well maybe he just sounds derivative to me. There's just something I don't like about the song.\

And Toffee, I will work on doing more reviewing of the actual video part of it more often and more like the first reviews, which actually addressed the video moreso than the song.

[ROC]

At the age of 34, K-Os has had two albums under his belt (and reportedly loads of material that has not seen the light of day before then), with the latest Atlantis: Hymns for Disco already being released in Canada and seeing a slightly talked about US release on February 6th (i.e. tomorrow). Add to that the fact that the album opener and lead single "Electrick Heat" happens to be tugging at the strings of those who marginally embraced Lupe Fiasco, with its skater-friendly video. Oh, and add to the fact that if there is a Lupe for '07, K-Os would probably be that person to fill that space.

The Music: Simply brilliant. K-Os is a master of illiteration and a dynamo in his flow. The song whizzes by at a good clip, and it's hard not to enjoy the man's cryptic rap style. The production on the track is also extremely well done, providing a fresh beat to the often annoyingly overproduced tracks of mainstream hip-hop. Ultimately, while it's not the best song in his catalog, it is a fantastic introduction to Canada's brightest young rapper. (Yes, I realize Canada doesn't have many famous rappers, so whatever. >_>) (8.5/10)

The Video: Very Lupe Fiasco-esque. As mentioned in the first part, this video is quite the skater friendly clip, showing K-Os on his board. And as silly as it sounds knowing that Lupe didn't bring mega record sales, piggybacking on that fanbase will end up causing a decent sales return in America for Atlantis. And while the video isn't monumentally awesome, it certainly isn't a distraction, including one cool shot of K-Os in his sunglasses in the dark. (7/10

The Moral: Don't underestimate Canada.

Rating: 8/10

Oh, and I swear I'll get to the requested ones at some point. In fact, there's a massive amount of videos I'm ready to review...

Edited February 7, 2007 by Anus's Biggest Fan!

[ROC]

Gnarls Barkley - "Smiley Faces"

Gnarls Barkley went from mere side-project fun to amazing surprise success in nearly no time flat in 2006. The group's emphasis on Dangermouse's fun production and Cee-Lo's breezy vocals are just a part of their charm. This particular video from the St. Elsewhere album, the third video released to music channels from Gnarls though the video was on their MySpace since July of last year.

The Music: Catchy and well done. Once again, Cee-Lo brings a silky vocal styling to the group and Dangermouse brings on his typically solid production to eleven here, producing one of the best pop songs of the last year. It's hard to not be charmed by the effort, and the song delivers, vocally, lyrically, and production-wise. (9/10)

The Video: Pretty damn awesome. First off, any video that begins with an appearance from the great Dennis Hopper is hard to make bad. Then, an ingeniously awesome premise of putting Dangermouse and Cee-Lo into footage from various musical stylings of the century brings some good laughs and yet some pretty solid reminders of where great music started (the Bowie bit was definitely a mark out moment). The only problem is that the intro, while awesome, goes on without music for a little over a minute, which tends to be annoying, especially with a group like Gnarls where you want an immediate feeling with the music. Still, for what it's worth, a pretty cool video. (8/10)

The Moral: Smiling is cool.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Game's second album is an effort that underwhelmed both in the musical and in the financial sense (the album quickly dropped out of the top ten the week after its debut and hasn't seen much chart success since). However, Game does seem to have a good idea about what songs from the album were actually good and what to dig out of the Dre fellating fest that was Doctor's Advocate.

The Music: Good, if a bit assholeish. Game puts on his best "mack" impression here, naming off more video models than can come to any one person's head in his savage attack of the video model world. However, he makes no solutions. While he accuses the models of the industry of being gold digging archetypes, he practically shows off with them. However, Kanye West is on fire in both the production sense and as a rapper, with his lines mainly saving the song from being just another Game track. (6.5/10)

The Video: Annoying, just like the show the video was inspired by. The clip was inspired from the late-90s VH1 staple Pop-Up Video, which featured annoying bubble-like facts "popping up" during several music videos of the past. And while it was cool the first time finding out that Britney's feet smelled during the shooting of "Oops, I Did It Again", the show slowly got annoying, with the bubble sound destroying any enjoyment of the songs. Anyway, back to the Game, "Wouldn't Get Far" boasts a mostly unfunny bit to begin where Game dresses in Kanye West-like clothing and the reverse is done by West. In fact, the only part of the "pop up" bits that do work is the bit in the song where the model Game mentions in the song is actually in the video. So again, like Pop-Up Video, the premise is ultimately annoying. (4/10)

The Moral: Don't fuck the Game, or else he'll laugh and then write a song about how you're a golddigger. >_>

Rating: 5/10

[Ananas]

I'm certain K-Os hasn't been 20 for a LOOONG time. He had singles out in the early to mid 90's.

[ROC]

I'm certain K-Os hasn't been 20 for a LOOONG time. He had singles out in the early to mid 90's.

[ROC]

30 Seconds to Mars - "From Yesterday"

Director: Bartholomew Cubbins (AKA Jared Leto)

Track from: A Beautiful Lie

2006 was the year when 30 Seconds to Mars grew out of being "that actor from Requiem for a Dream's band" to a much bigger deal in the world of rock music...for better or for worse. Unfortunately, while the band is still crisp and solid in their delivery of their actual music, the acting man himself, lead singer Jared Leto, has thought it wise to subject the world with overlong and pretentious music videos for those songs.

The Music: Alright. "From Yesterday" is arguably one of the most forgettable songs on the new album. And it's unfortunate that it appears the band is winding down its single production, since "Battle of One" or the album's title track (which if the video's end is any implication, the new single would probably be that one). But "From Yesterday" just yields a mostly boring sound, as 30STM always sounds worse when having to slow down their manic style. However, just because it leans to boredom, doesn't make it completely unlistenable. (5.5/10)

The Video: Oh boy. First, the positives. Well, everything looks nice. The opening sequence has a nifty compromise of whites and blacks and really looks great on film. But everything is so damn pretentious. Sure, everything looks nice, but there's not really much of a point or theme in the words that puts swordfighting in China as use in the song. It also (again) takes goddamn forever to get to the song. Seriously, if this is how much Leto blows it up for a second tier song, just imagine how over-produced their "performance" video will be. (4/10)

The Moral: Swordfighting in China sounds like a great vacation spot...

Rating: 5/10

Edited February 15, 2007 by Anus's Biggest Fan!