Thought upon seeing this video for the first time: "Dammit, it's another one of those videos where they reverse the film and think it's cool."

Thought upon seeing this video for the second time: "Hey, wait a second... they're doing something else too, this is weird..."

Thought upon seeing this video for the third time: "Wooooo!!! Go R.E.M.! This rocks!"

Apparently, it took fifty hours of shooting to make this video, and god help them, because there's really only a good forty-five seconds of footage in the thing. But that forty-five seconds involves multiple time-reversals, detailed zooms, distortion effects... there's crazy shit happening in this video, and I'm not just talking about Michael Stipe's dancing (earns a star of its own) and Peter Buck's monkey (ditto). The amount of work that went into this thing is astonishing; choreography, casting of extras, digital effects... I shudder to think at how much labor this took, but it still manages to make it look effortless (cliched I know, but appropriate nonetheless). A fun, playful video for a damn fun R.E.M. song, and if this video/single isn't a hit, I'll cry myself to sleep at night.

reviewed by Chris Conroy
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.27.2001

Jennifer Lopez
"Love Don't Cost a Thing"

This is a typical pop song, unimaginative and uninspiring as most of them are. It's set along the coast, which gives the choreography dancers full reason to dance in step during segments of the video, when it isn't showing J.Lo crawling around amorously in the hot sand. The lyrics are shallow at best, utilizing the cliches that are brought along when making a pop song. Jennifer Lopez earns two stars for at least trying to convey a somewhat positive to impressionable teens by pointing out that, well, love doesn’t cost a thing. However, if it didn’t cost a thing, why’d she accept those heavy gold chains given by lovers in the first place anyway? Not to mention that sexy top-down convertible she cruises around the scene in. File this one under predictable and mediocre with only sex appeal as its redeeming value.

reviewed by Yard Sale
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Chemical Brothers
"Let Forever Be"

This is an old one, but they played it late at night (try 2 am) on MTV. This is without a doubt the trippiest four minutes of film ever made. Heck, this clip is better than rolling, your retinae assaulted with streaming images that meld and morph into each other, some obviously more ludicrous than others. The video revolves around a red-haired girl who wakes up (or not, might be still sleep) and enters some sort of lsd-inspired existence, complete with giant alarm clocks, huge cardboard effigies of her face, and a weird bearded drummer that pops up every few seconds. The camera contantly changes settings and angles; one moment, the girl is laying in her bed, the next, the bed transforms into six like a deck of cards, out of which emerge six red-haired doppelgangers, dancing to the retro vibe as if they were the Go-Go's. Another cool moment happens when the camera pans over the as she is running up an escalator; the stairs flowers into an overhead shot with the girls lying as if they were petals, and, again, more Go-go dancing. Delicious. The scene with the cutout heads (see inset), is especially trippy. Oh yes. Yea, it's basically a rip-off of all those trippy eighties videos, but I like it. The film quality is bad: it could have been shot on a camcorder, but who says videos have to be glossy to be good.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Eve
"Who's Dat Girl?"

This is a good song, I've got to admit. I've read reviews likening her new album to Lauryn Hill's, but I'll have to hear the rest of it before I go out and buy it. This has a nice singalong chorus, and though she tries to steer away from that whole misogynistic vibe that permeates most male rap videos, she stills falls prey to its grasp. Lots of boobage, lots of legs, and lots of ass. But if she wants to explot herself, its her bidding. It's a nice looking video, not terribly ambiitous as it's a platform for Eve to get busy, like Runaway Bride was for Julia Roberts. The special effects were obviously created by a group of high school students; that drop of "blood" that douses the room red after the scorpion stung her looks tacky. Yea, they had to stick the album title in there somewhere. I was half-expecting some of the guys to don shirts emblazoned with the words "Eve.com" or "Scorpion. Coming Soon. March 2001." Yea. It's all about selling them records, no? The clip consists of her performing the song in various rooms: a white room complete with her own tiger, a red room perfect for straddling a motorcycle and emoting like you just don't care, a hopping hip-hop club. I assume she had just bought a new fur coat, and they had to figure out a way to get that slice o' bling-bling in there somewhere, so they added in a snow storm, just for kicks. Talk about consistency. Yea, I know, fur doesn't "bling". That was a joke.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



David Gray
"Babylon"

After outrightly stealing that Grammy from Aimee Mann last year, Phil Collins moved to Ireland because he heard that she was looking for him. And by looking for him, I mean she was intent on kicking his drummers-can't-sing-for-hell ass. Ok, first I likened Nelly Furtado to Courtney Cox-Arquette, and now David Gray to Phil Collins. I'll stop with the parallelism. He doesn't really look like him, now that I think about it.

Well, onto David Gray. I really love this song; I always hear great songs on the radio and never learn who the musician is until months, sometimes years later. The video is gorgeous, especially the sepia-toned scenes with the girl (his girlfriend?) and the black and white concert footage. I'm guessing that it was shot in New York City, complete with the obligatory dark smoky club shots, some cavorting with a hot girl in the streets, etc. The director could be accussed of going overboard; he used so many different film stocks and techinques (i.e. sepia-toned, black and white, sped up, grainy, blurred, etc), but it just works. To perfection. David's performance scenes in front of that blue neon thingy are endearing; he has this cute little head nod/tick that he does while he's singing, and it makes me like him even more. One question, though. What is up with those freaky glasses the drummer is wearing? And another one. The toothbrush? Why? That sole scene took away one star. It just detracted to much from my head quirking enjoyment.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



U2
"Walk On"

Biased Reviewer Alert: U2 are, IMHO, the greatest band in the whole wide world. Just over 48 hours ago, I was basking in their glory in Miami as they kicked off the Elevation tour. So you should know that I love them to death.

However, that doesn't change the fact that this video ain't nothin' to write home about. It's just... there, like a sack of potatoes in blue-tinted sunglasses. "Walk On" is one of the greater tracks of the album (and the live set, for that matter), so it deserves a truly phenomenal video. Instead it gets... ummm... some people who are not interesting, who walk around (or perhaps, ahem, "on"?). And sometimes, when you're just barely not looking, they become other people, who are, in a shocking twist, not interesting either. In the meantime, the band plays in a room, and the camera loves up to Bono's sunglasses just a bit too much. The whole affair simply lacks for the epic sweep and panache that the song has. It needs... something. Battling spaceships, Madonna on a killing spree, a forty-foot lemon, I don't fucking know, but the song rocks and the video is painfully, disappointingly bland.

It is worth noting that this video, directed by Liz Friedlander and shot in London, is not the original clip lensed for the song -- Jonas Akerlund shot one with the band in Rio de Janeiro several months ago, and when this version turned up on the airwaves unannounced, U2 fandom scratched its collective head. I wonder what the Akerlund clip was like that they decided to go back for a last-minute reshoot; but honestly, it couldn't have been much blander than this.

Oh yes, and one final note: WHERE'S THE GUITAR SOLO, YOU CHOP-HAPPY EDITING FUCKERS? Somebody's getting the patented Conroy beatdown.

reviewed by Chris Conroy
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Fatboy Slim
"Weapon Of Choice"

I'm going to carefully state this video's premise for you. It is thus:

Christopher Walken dancing. Through the whole thing.

And if you do not instantly love it sight-unseen, then let me repeat that:

It's Christopher Walken. Dancing.

This fucking rocks. Walken sashays through some kind of hotel lobby -- he shimmies, he backflips, he table-dances -- and then, just to keep things interesting, he flies around for a while. And then he has himself a nice sit-down at the end. This is easily one of the most transparent gimmicks in the history of the music video (the irony drips off it in gobs; it is Spike Jonze, after all), but I'll be fucked if I didn't eat it right up. I mean, he dances! And he flies! That is hard-effing-core, right there. And hey, the song doesn't suck, in its own Fatboy-Slimmy kind of way.

But Christopher Walken's in it too. And he dances.

I don't think I'll ever recover.

reviewed by Chris Conroy
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.23.2001

Madonna
"What It Feels Like For A Girl"

This is like bad sex. The anticipation is incredible, but when it's all over, well, all you're left with is a bad case of blue balls and a hankering for some pizza. Well, that might just be me after bad sex. I was expecting so much more after all the censorship hullabaloo. Guy Ritchie (Madonna's husband and the director of this video) is known for his fast, action-packed camera pans and handheld style (see Snatch and Lock, Stock, and two Smoking Barrels for more info), and this video certainly fits the mold. It's humorous (who else has a grandma who lives at the Old Kuntz home?), darkly sarcastic (squirting cops with a water gun! muahahahh, not that i condone that), full of cool stunts (especially the kamikaze mission at the end. wow.) and it, hold on, don't gasp all at once: has a deep and thought provoking message! Madonna can be just as mean as Eminem! And she may be a bitch, but at least she has the decency to throw trash into its proper receptacle.

I am a bit disturbed by her intended message. If a guy can shoot guns and crash cars, why can't she, right? Well, at a time when the media has an orgasm everytime something like a school shooting occurs, we have to be careful how we portray violence. I don't believe in censorship, just in having good taste, and this video is in that grey area. The so called "violence" in this is tame, in my opinion; want to see a really violent video? Watch "Happiness in Slavery" by Nine Inch Nails. It's so masochistic that it has never been aired on MTV.

Frankly, I think that Madonna just needed some attention, and since she's already gone the virgin slut/cross burning/porn star route, she needed a new gimmick. "Can I pretend I'm one of them darn der Sopranos!!?? Or David Hasslehoff circa Night Rider?!" The remixed version of this song is atrocious. First of all, it shouldn't even be called a Madonna song in this incarnation. All I hear is Charlotte Gainesbourg's feminist chanting and a few disco blips which were probably programmed by Mirwais, and not a trace of her. The album version is far superior, with its scratchy guitar lick and the simple fact that it actually has the structure of a song. I like electronica, but this remix I don't. I like Madonna as a "pissed off bitch", especially when she flashes her stun gun as she's walking towards the camera, but the new version of the song ruined it for me. If you haven't seen it (as it was only aired once on VH1 and MTV), you can see it here. But be prepared to be let down.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.22.2001

Coldplay
"Don't Panic"

This new Coldplay single and video is great. I've heard the song when I've acquired the CD, and it has been my favourite. The video itself is very lovely, featuring the boy's heads on cartoon-esque bodies. A great sound added to another well done video, which makes it a pleasure to watch over and over again. The video starts with what seems to be a kid's work for the process of the evaporation, which is a very cute touch. It continues to see the band in some sort of a cardboard house, and the general theme of the video is such of the same. The ending features them again, this time in a boat, floating to the distance. My take on this video's point is the line 'We live in a beautiful world.' But each and every one will have a different opinion on such. This video gets my first five stars, because Coldplay are amazing, and this semi-new single and video is, too.

reviewed by May
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Shaggy
"It Wasn't Me"

If anybody's been looking for the epitome of male chauvinism, I think we've found him. This guy, dare he call himself 'Shaggy', decided to make a video. Thought and thought and thought, what could he make one about? "Yes!" jumped Shaggy. "I will make a video about a friend of mine cheating, and then I'll show how manly I am by convincing him to tell his girlfriend that it wasn't him! Yeah baby. Shagadelic." ... So that's pretty much the video, folks. Shaggy and his friend contemplating what to do, and Shaggy insisting on saying it wasn't him. "But she saw me!" whines the other one. "So? It wasn't you!" "But we were butt naked on the floor!" "It wasn't you." And so on, just telling us drooling viewers what exactly he did to the poor neighbor's girl. Finally, when this horrid show of naked women and ugly men ends, we can see the neighbor's girl helping the friend escape from his evil girlfriend and her friends. One star goes to the nice tune added to the song itself, but four are lost on the video and lyrics.

reviewed by May
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Nelly Furtado
"I'm Like A Bird"

When I saw Nelly Furtado on Jay Leno, I sat there the whole time saying 'It's just the whole live thing. Surely, it only sounds this way because it's all live, and stuff." When I saw the video for 'I'm Like a Bird," I was far more than disappointed. After all the hype my favorite bloggers *cough* had given Nelly, I was waiting for some serious greatness. The video follows Nelly through a beautiful forest scene, where she... well, floats. The 'special effects' reminded me of the 80's Beetlejuice. Her eyes glow a few times. I was almost disappointed when her fans saved her from killing herself at the end when she jumped off a tree. All that, and I still can't say I didn't fall in love with the song, and with Nelly, and can't wait to see more. Three stars.

reviewed by Damien Doyle
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.21.2001

Madonna
"What It Feels Like For A Girl"

They only aired this video on MTV one time, late at night, and as I sat in my room with the remote grasped in my hand I was amazed, shocked and inspired all at once. In the video Madonna destroys cars, shots police and robs a man. The entire time she has an old lady accompanying her. I can’t even describe what the video is like, however the cinematography is inspiring. Madonna does everything perfectly, with these lyrics humming in the background: Girls can wear jeans and cut their hair short, wear shirts and boots. Because it's ok to be a boy. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading. Because you think that being a girl is degrading. But secretly you'd love to know what it's like, wouldn’t you? What it feels like for a girl. I can’t justify the video because I am completely dumbfounded. So with my jaw open I’m giving it five stars and leaving it at that. Madonna rocks.

reviewed by Lindsay
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Tyrese
"I Like Dem Girls"

This video is put together well, with different scenes and a somewhat interesting story line. And hey, Tyrese is dancing! Most rappers just bounce around, so he gets brownie points. My favorite part of the video is when Tyrese is sitting on the stairs and all the girls are ignoring him. That's the first time I've seen a rapper do that! (what a twist!) What makes this move even better is Tyrese is the hottest rapper out there, so for once the girls really would be all over him. Although, someone should mention to Ty that riding a motorcycle without a shirt on is very dangerous! He still gets two stars though. (Ok, so you caught me, I like this video because Tyrese is donating 15% of his record sales to charity. There. I said it.)

reviewed by Lindsay
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Daft Punk
"One More Time"

Daft Punk's comeback (somewhat) video is great. In its basics, it's an anime video of a party. Very well done, as everything looks pretty great. Maybe the sync between the singer and the person singing was a tad lousy (word... lip move... and so on), but it was still one heck of a video. I am not even sure if anyone else remembers their older video, the dog on the street one? No? Didn't think so. Regardless. This video gets hit with four stars because there was much effort put into it, and Daft Punk deserve having such a great comeback video. Hopefully they'll continue this way, and not fade again.

reviewed by May
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.20.2001

Jill Scott
"A Long Walk"

This song has definitely grown on me. The video depicts, you guessed it, a long walk. Up until the last final seconds, you are looking through Jill's boyfriend's eyes, longing lazily as she walks through her neighborhood. It's a simple concept, and it doesn't detract from the song, which is amazing in its own right. The director tries to give the illusion that it was shot in one continuous take, but its obvious where the cuts were made, plainly obvious, and that's really the only bone I have with this. It's virtually perfect, though that purple garb that Jill is wearing is horrendous, and she smiles way too much, which is endearing, but it makes it noticeable that she's lipsyncing. The director shot the video with color stock and transferred most everything to black and white in post-production, though there are a few instances where a few objects and people are reverted to full color. The effect is amazing. The only other video that I can remember that has used this technique is Boyz II Men's "The End of the Road". When Jill's man first sweeps her off her stoop, literally, her pendant is a grayish hue, and it turns purple later, and I totally missed it. It's the ghetto version of Pleasantville, mind the rampant stereotyping. Great video and VH1 has it on heavy rotation, surprisingly.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Linkin Park
"Crawlin" (British Version)

Linkin Park is a great band. Footage videos aren't. The following video is basically footage from Linkin Park's shows. This is basically a pretty effortless video to make, and I don't want to give them credit where I shouldn't. I didn't even assume LP's next video would be Crawlin, I was selfishly expecting Papercut to rule that field. It is fun to see the boys in action, playing and jumping and sweating (mmm...) and singing, etc. But I'd expect something better than a footage video for their second. I'm assuming that this video went out because they were touring right now (I know they are having their Europe tour), so I'm giving them points out anyway. The song is awesome nonetheless.

reviewed by May
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.19.2001

Souldecision
"Ooh It's Kind Of Crazy"
0 Stars

When N*sync & Backstreet Boys make videos consisting of crazed teenage girls chasing them through the streets, it is incredibly lame/annoying/-insert other negative adjectives here-. However when Souldecision does this, (who we all know does NOT have a cult like following) it gets even lamer (I didn't think it was possible). Now not only do I know that Souldecision sucks, but they have huge egos for a group of guys with no talent what-so-ever. 0 STARS FOR YOU!

reviewed by Lindsay
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.18.2001

Jennifer Lopez
"Play"

I heard this song before I had seen the video and although it has a typical pop beat, it's a decent sing-along-in-the-car song. Then I saw the video. It begins with a cool airplane shot, but Jennifer loses points for sitting with her legs spread wide open. [editor's note: yuck.] As the video goes on the shots get cooler (maybe love doesn't cost a thing, but this sure did), but Jennifer ruins them. First of all, her hair does NOT look good puffy [editor's note: puffy!? muahaha] and curly. Also, Jennifer, I think Puffy was a bad influence on you because that cussing part is just lame. Lame part #2? When you try to look sexy and whisper, "I just want to dance.. is that a crime? Alright then..." Talking in songs is hard to pull off, and you blew it twice in one video. Plus you are no Marilyn Monroe- what were you thinking wearing that white dress while standing over the vent..? I give this video one star because some of the shots were awesome & all the different sets rocked too. Maybe if we could just replace J.Lo with.. um, I don't know.. ANYBODY else?

reviewed by Lindsay
/// link /// tell us about it ///



American Hi-Fi
"Flavor of the Weak"

First off I would like to thank American Hi Fi for reminding me that all of the 80’s wasn’t good. Grease, hair-spray, and both genders wearing skintight clothes, those were things I had conveniently blocked out of my head, and the video brought it back. Actually I don’t find this video despicable, it is kind of fun going back to the sex n rock n roll of the 80’s. The video does go with the song too, it pays attention to the main point of the song. As for the coloring in the video its too little contrast in parts and too much in others, which would normally bug me, but it helps in making the video seem like it really was from 1987. So I recommend this video to those who missed the rock scene of the 80's because it has the basics of all the rock bands of that era, sex (in a car no less! Woo!), skin tight clothes (men and women! Woo!), bad hair (eep!), the cute blonde lead singer (:lick:), and it makes sense even if you are too stoned to play nintendo, which is about the only thing this video is lacking (Boo! :( Me likes Nintendo... or Atari would have been better! *sigh*).

reviewed by Hope Libby
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.17.2001

Marilyn Manson
"The Fight Song"

As someone with an at least decent fashion sense, I cannot condone the wearing of full length rubber gloves and black suspenders for ANYONE. Even if I do think they're wonderful. The video for "The Fight Song" is nifty, nonetheless, with Heaven and Hell in battle, represented by high school football players. I assume because high school football rallies so many of the kind of people Manson is against. Brilliant in my opinion. The occasional performance scene (well, regular ones, not occasional ones) are laced throughout, which are only there to scare you, because Manson looks quite disturbing, especially mixed with the rain. One star because I'm in love with Marilyn, and two for originality. Oh, and the song is groovie. Boo.

reviewed by Damien Doyle
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Robbie Williams
"Let Love Be Your Energy"

Robbie's ability of making an R rated video has once again succeeded. I am still a bit hazey on what exactly is this video's point... I saw it about 20 times already, and I'm beginning to think maybe our Robbie dearest is looking for his love? He runs around woods and plains and the likes, whilst even having sex once, that scene definitely being the R factor in 'rated'. He dances with some girls, smiles to them, looks at them and blinks. After trying so badly to find his perfect one, he suddenly sees a girl coming up to him. But then, BAM! A weird herd of something comes between them. Oh, the misery of love. Robbie lowers his head for a moment, and then all of his madness bursts, while he runs in a field of tiles, barely scratching his cheek. Finally, he goes up that mountain o' love, and reaches his truly. At that point they both commit suicide for the sake of love, their bodies falling, creating a heart shaped dust. What can be more romantic than that? Oh, yeah! Of course two birds fly on later. So this video gets a 4, because it's pretty much the essence of Robbie Williams. And the song is beautiful.

reviewed by May
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Shaggy
"Angel"

Hm. Let's see how many rap video clichés we can count here. #1: Shaggy has his own personal jet & I think it was, 5 expensive cars. Wow, Shag! How did they all end up together like that? I thought you could only drive one at a time?! #2: Why don't you walk around your airplane & cars singing with sunglasses and a unbuttoned shirt on?? Sounds good to me! #3: Lots of hot girls. I can maybe believe the cars, he is overpaid. But good looking he is not. I could continue with the list.. but it's just too easy & I had to change the channel. I couldn't take anymore. Orville Burrell, er, I mean Shaggy gets one star because I liked the cartoon devil/angel girls in the intro. I have a gut feeling that he wasn't the one to come up with that though.

reviewed by Lindsay
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Eden's Crush
"Get Over Yourself (Goodbye)"
0 stars

Personalities? You mean, those little slips of paper that the evil record industry execs gave them that tell them how to act? "Ok! You! Pink girl! Be perky! Be in charge! Yo! Blue-blouse girl! Be naughty! You in the back! You're the shy one, so never look directly into the camera! And shake those titties like you just don't care!" The fact that this "band" was manufactured from the onset, and not surreptitiously, like the Monkees, but broadcast on network television, for god's sakes, makes it all the more clear why these types of bands should be made illegal. Yea, it's fun. The colors are pretty. Yes, you can dance to it and sing along to it in the car, but where's the musicianship? Where's the art? I think I've made my point. No stars for you!

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Paul van Dyk
"We Are Alive"

That's a mighty big sofa, Paul van Dyk, my man, and, watch, it can do tricks too! This is your typical artsy fartsy electronica video that tries to hard to blow your ecstasy-riddled mind but really just screams, "Look at us! We're wasting money on weird and goofy props and acting weird and goofy and there's nothing that our record company can do about it because we're weird and goofy underground artists! Yeehaw!" So, umm, there's a big red sofa, Paul is sitting on it with a pair of headphones and looking hip and happy while staring at all the shiny happy people that come and join him in the orgy of happiness. They're alive, godammit! And it's a big sofa! Orgy of happiness! Let's all jump on the big red sofa of orgy love! Ok, never mind. Good song, and it only reinforced my wants, no, need for a giant red sofa that doubles as a subway bench. And a trampoline. And that I can drive around the block a few times.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Dido
"Thank You"

This was inevitable. I was wondering why this song wasn't released as a single earlier and milked for all it's worth. Heck, I didn't know who the hell Dido was until I heard Eminem's "Stan", and, granted, I would have never bought her album if that wasn't such an ingenious sample. The song is your typical sweet and sappy adult contempo track, the protagonist thanking her lover for making her late for work and not reheating her tea. He probably also forgot to mail the rent check, as she is being evicted out of her house during the video. Poor Dido. That's what you get for being so gracious. I feel bad for her. Really. You would think she might hit on the moving guys, but instead, she's rude to them. Imagine that. "Kitty! That's my pot pie! err, hair dryer!" They're just doing their job, Dido! And some of them are cute and built! She doesn't even shed a single tear for her little fluorescent pink country cottage in the middle of Manhattan. Isn't it funny that there are all these skyscrapers flanking her house? You would think the zoning commission would have something to say about that. Cute video, but I would have made it darker. A lesbian bondage kinda thing with Eminem as the pregnant girlfriend this time around.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.16.2001

Eden's Crush
"Get Over Yourself (Goodbye)"

I, for one LOVE Eden's Crush, and that perhaps may have swayed my opinion of this video. I've been with the whole Pop Stars family since day one, and like a good child I've given up each and every one of my friday nights since the season started in order to watch this young group of aspiring stars grow and progress. The video was cute, it was bright, and they danced. Hey, I'm an easy guy to please. The only thing bad about this video is the fact that it brought nothing new to the whole "teen queen pop" video. They showed their individual personalities, they showed that they could be sexy, and the showed that they could sing. *thumbs up*

reviewed by James G
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.15.2001

Destiny's Child
"Survivor"

Oooh look at the purty colors and the skinny women! Those are the only things worth watching this video for. They tried to make this a good video, or at least I hope they tried, because I can't really tell. I watched the "Making a Video" for it, which is a good thing or else I wouldn’t have realized that there was supposed to be a plot to it. The plot was the reason why they kept having costume changes in the jungle, showing that they are “survivors”. Maybe if they kept the actual changing in, people would want to watch this video. The director should have known better than to make this video, and the editors should have done something different. The only reason this gets two stars is the first thing I said, the use of colors is amazing in this video. The colors are bold and bright and bring some life to this zombie of a video, making this video not totally crap.

reviewed by Hope Libby
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Lauryn Hill
"Ex-Factor"

This is the third video I've reviewed that gets a perfect five stars, and I have yet to give out one of them cute puke smilies. Lauryn Hill is a true talent, a truly beautiful and gorgeous woman, and this video is all of those qualities and more. It's a godsend. I can't really say anything bad about this. The first minute or so is spent in a stark white room with a huge window flanking the side, overlooking a magnificent ocean vista. She walks around a bit, and exits into a darker room, slow dancing, incense probably lingering in the air. She emotes a bit, singing the painful stanzas into the camera and shot at profile. The trippy flying through the cosmos sequence that sets off the guitar solo is epic in a Kubrickian way, and Santana's tone is lifted right from Dark Side of the Moon. An amazing song, stupendous video, and a good reason to get her album if you don't own it already.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.14.2001

Britney Spears
"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know"

This was, truely, the dawn of the teeny bopper booty video. I could almost picture Dr. Dre pouring a bottle of champange on Britney as she rolled around in the trees. Yes, in the trees. Lets just start from the beginning, shall we? Naturally when I saw this video it was number two on TRL, and normally I can handle Ms. "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" Spears, but this time I wanted to hurl. Basically it's a summer video, and was made to ride high on the charts all summer long (which I can so see happening). The video is set on the beach and Britney, in her bathing suit and cut off shorts, flirts and plays joyously with her cut, 6'0" Abercrombie&Fitch boyfriend. Thats it. After reading that one sentence you've practically seen the video. There are some scenes where she lays around on the sand and in the trees and lip-syncs with too much tongue. The saving grace? That part in the video where the "boyfriend" is laying in the tide and you can almost see the crack of his ass.

reviewed by James G
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.13.2001

Madonna
"Drowned World (Substitute for Love)"

This is beautiful. It is without a doubt Madonna's best video and her most artistically ambitious. After listening to the entirety of Ray of Light, I did a complete 180 on my beliefs about her artistic merit, and this video only further raises my respect for her as an artist. This was released shortly after Princess Diana's fatal accident, and one scene in particular, when Madonna is sitting in the backseat of a car, motorcycles straddling both windows, the passengers in tow flashing their bulbs, bears a haunting resemblance to the circumstances that lead to her death, so much so that it was never played here in the states. The eerier thing is that this was shot before the accident. The paparrazi give chase once she leaves her limo. She enters a hotel, where even a seemingly respectful maid stalks her. That was the most heartbreaking scene, in my opinion; the smile that she gives the maid as she peers at her through the glass is reassuring, and turns to sadness when that camera is whipped out. Betrayal hurts. Granted, the "being a star isn't as glamorous as it seems" cliche is at the core of this, and I disdain music videos that express the lyrics in a visual form, but this video was executed so perfectly that it deserves all five stars. In the end, Madonna retreats from hell, from the stalkers grasp and the camera's eyes, into the arms of her daughter. It's a perfect ending.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Kenny Chesney
"Don't Happen Twice"

Umm, mommy, the man with the cowboy hat and tight jeans is scaring me. He seems to have a penchant for drinking wine from a Dixie cup, since that is about the only line he sings throughout. I didn't even know that they aired country music videos on College Television Network. This is a tour scrapbook of sorts, the type every artist seems to make at least once. Think about it; the footage takes no extra time to prepare, they're probably lipsyncing the song already, and all their friends and family get to be in it too! And they're also cheap to make. Drawback is that they're boring as hell, though this guy looks a bit like Nicholas Lea, better known as Krycek from the X-Files. He also looks good in a sleeveless shirt.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



U2
"Beautiful Day"

They may be old, but like the Stones, not even a weak hip will stop them. And with the advent of Viagra, Bono will continue to inflict as much groinage upon the world as possible. This is a great video, though Bono himself has even admitted that the song has "a weak chorus." It's set in an airport, similar to the one on the cover of the album, where Bono and the boys cavort, playing with the X-ray machine, making out with the revolving doors, baggage carousels and whatnot. The place looks extremely clean, almost medical, futuristic, due to the grayish hue of the film. The best part of the video is their impromptu concert on one of the runways as huge room-shattering jumbo jets take-off and land over their heads, Bono twisting into positions that I thought were only attainable by the fakirs of India. I like the rugs; nice touch. I didn't know that Bono was the type of guy that would steal a half-eaten apple from a beautiful girl, though. Awesome guitar solo by the Edge. I love that guy.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Nelly Furtado
"...On the Radio"

After CBS decided to pit Survivor against Friends, Courtney Cox has been freelancing as a Portugese singer songwriter just as backup in case Colbey puts her out of work. Ok, so it isn't really Courtney, but Nelly Furtado sure looks like her, especially in the close-ups in this video. The video consists of her lypsyncing the song whilst parading in various outfits in front of various sets; a huge box that looks like a dunk tank, wood paneling, a huge boulder, etc. The nice little broken chard effect that they use on a couple occasions is neat, but other than that, this video isn't too remarkeable. If this weren't such a good song, I'd give this a 1. I like that sexy yellow tank, though. Nelly has a strong presence and star appeal, but this video is just so, well, blah... Her label needs to shell out more money for a proper treatment.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Everclear
"When It All Goes Wrong Again"

This is frightening. Art Alexakis has started some sort of Aryan sect that worships huge giant effigies of his face, and they all have perpetual smiles on their faces. Omigod! This is going to give me nightmares, especially that image of Tim Robbins (this is a promotional video for "Antitrust", I surmise) during the fadeout, cackling like Weird Al Yankovic. So very scary. It has its obligatory "heavy grunge metal" section that seem to permeate every Everclear video. Art needs to get his hair dyed already. That blonde hair/black goatee thing is getting old. And find some other catchphrase besides, "Yeeaaahhh!"

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Aerosmith
"Jaded"

It's like Alice in Wonderland, but with a huge pair of lips instead of a cat. I really like the foggy mirror effect, as well as Steven Tyler's feathered cap. It's smooth. The video mainly consists of shots of a downtrodden girl trying to escape from the lush castle she's stuck in, full to the brim with freaks like acrobats, jesters, and, umm, Aerosmith. She eventually finds her way out, the freaks in full pursuit, and "finds the forest", which is beautifully shot. The tear motif is genius; the girl could only imagine crying while inside, and when she finds her way out from that most hellish of punishments, an Aerosmith concert, she cries in reality, no doubt happy because she'll never have to listen to an Aerosmith song ever again.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Incubus
"Drive"

Umm, isn't this like that A-ha! video from the 80's? Except the guy is drawing himself, and I believe that is some sort of masturbation innuendo. It's a cool idea and executed brilliantly, but it's obviously computer generated, just like that cheesy tool in Photoshop that makes your picture look like it was sketched with a pencil. [editor's note: so Brandon, the lead singer, did all the drawings himself. my bad] The performance scenes are the highlight; the loft that the band are playing in is truly beautiful; hardwood flooring, high ceilings, enormous windows. The lead singer sits on the ground, sketching himself in a sketchpad (god! he has the power to erase himself!), the band standing around playing the song, which is the highlight of their album "Make Yourself". I'm starting to gain more and more respect for this band ever time I see another of their videos.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



New Found Glory
"Hit or Miss"

I was wondering when these guys would start getting promoted like hell, and the day has arrived. Granted, I love this band, their eponymous album is one of my favorites from last year, but they try too hard to be Blink 182 in their video, and those aren't exactly lofty aspirations. Down to that oh-so-rebellious lip ring, these guys try to be punk, but they're really pop. Like Blink. Like Green Day. And the rest. Awesome song though. That warrants an extra star.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///



Tori Amos
"Spark"

I have a certain fondness for Tori's videos, especially this one, my favorite, and I was extremely surprised when they played this on CTN. Tori is blindfolded and her hands are tied at the beginning of the clip, lying on the ground in a superbly shot forest clearing. As the camera pans over her body, she mouths the lyrics, her body writhing, trying to escape from whatever mess she's gotten into. She eventually makes her escape, blindly running through the forest, a faceless pursuer following her every step. She reaches a river, manages to get the blidnfold off and the best scene in the video follows; during the piano solo, the camera pans to an extreme overhead shot of her running by the side of the river, followed by a car explosion, which throws off her kidnapper for a few minutes. Eventually, she finds her way to a road where she meets up with a car. I won't give away the ending, you'll have to see that yourself. As Alanis says, "Isn't it ironic?" This is one of the best videos made in MTV's short history.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///

3.12.2001

Lenny Kravitz
"Again"

Proto-typical Lenny song that harkens back to that 70's style, especially the slightly-distorted vocal track. Straightforward performance video for a great song that I really love, but it is not terribly exciting, though Lenny is naked for all of 6 tenths of a second. The camera follows Lenny and his girl around the apartment for a while, with Lenny-playing-at-a-concert clips interspersed without. We see him brush his teeth and do his little vertical mechanical guitar strum that I love. The performance scenes are shot very nicely, but where the heck is the innovation, like the shaky cameras in "Fly Away"!!?? And doesn't the girl in this video look just like Nelly Furtado? It's really a striking resemblance.

reviewed by Eddie Munoz
/// link /// tell us about it ///