Better Than Ice Cream
Last week was better than the one before it. Some highlights include:
- watching a surprise sneak preview of Stardust last Tuesday
- running into Mark Sablan and his girlfriend right after
- eating a free clubhouse sandwich (two huge slices of bread, egg, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and other stuff, held together by a barbecue stick each and served with French fries) after an assignment at a classy hotel
- posing and taking pictures of my action figures (check out the JLA-Avengers album in my Multiply site!)
- talking to John and laughing about stuff
- starting art for Dicky’s short story
- discovering, and hearing from, ahem, a fan of my old comic book
Also, I’m not punching walls, so that’s a plus.
Video Love Parade
Here are some of my all-time favorite music videos. I’ve been rediscovering old ones on YouTube. I can’t find some of my faves, the ones I actually taped a bunch from way back, when the old VHS player still recorded properly. It’s a mix of fun, cheesy, or artsy videos, which don’t always jive with the lyrics of the songs, but in the span of each, stories or collections of images keep me glued, anyway. I can only remember a handful from the hundreds I’ve seen. In no particular order:
I’ll Be There- Escape Club
Love the underwater photography in this one. It’s a song about life after a loved one’s demise, and the video captured the idea perfectly.
Wonderful- Everclear
It’s a song about a kid’s unhappy childhood, lamenting the breakup of his parents. It’s a little literal, visually, but still emotionally binding.
Mr. Jones- Counting Crows
Remember when Adam Duritz was younger and bouncing around? This made me wanna dance and jump around too, every time I saw it.
Galileo- Indigo Girls
Clever and literate, it has a few thought-provoking quotes about individuality.
Bad Day- Daniel Powter
This is cute. Kindred underappreciated twentysomethings find their silver lining during a rainy day.
Me- Paula Cole
Love the rainbow color scheme, where scenes and props are unified by one color at a time.
Stolen- Dashboard Confessional
DC’s always so watchable, but this one stands out for me. It sounds and looks sweet and optimistic.
Rain- Madonna
The creative use of lighting and a blue palette makes this easy to look at. Madonna looks elegant in this one. I can never tire of listening to and looking at this.
Closing Time- Semisonic
Ooh, splitscreen. Nice “real time” technique, where both screens show a bigger view of people in close proximity that wanted to meet, but didn’t.
Nothing Compares 2 U- Sinead O’ Connor
The camera is static on a closeup of the singer’s face, which conveys anguish and heartbreak all throughout the song. Simple but pretty.
Torn- Natalie Imbruglia
Also with an unmoving camera, the singer “looks” at the viewer, while jumping around and emoting in an almost empty apartment. Separate scenes without gaps work effectively here.
Akap- Imago
Christmas lanterns and drama. ‘Nuff said.
Get Down- Groove Armada
This is weird, but the cartoon rabbits can dance!
Come To My Window- Melissa Etheridge
Juliette Lewis is all crazy in it. It gives the song a different but strangely affecting, perspective.
Jumper- Third Eye Blind
I like the way this has effects that involve the camera. Zoom ins and zoom outs on artificial but pretty scenery still illustrate the moving essence of the song.
Even Better Than The Real Thing- U2
Speaking of camera effects, I like how the view spins over Bono. Coolness, really.
Rush Rush- Paula Abdul
Oh, wow. Pre-Matrix Keanu and pre-Idol Paula. Still good to look at after all these years. And nice to see Paula dancing in this, even if it’s a ballad. Sexy, early ‘90s film-esque video.
We Are The World-
It’s always amusing to see all those artists in one place and singing one song. Which brings us to…
Do They Know It’s Christmas- Live Aid
The ‘80s was a great era for those artists… again, it’s great to see ‘em together, and for a good cause. Hmm… I remember the Voices That Care gathering back in the ‘90s… what was that for, again?
Everybody Hurts- REM
Go telepathic while watching and you’ll understand that, yeah, everybody hurts sometimes.
In
Vocalist Sharleen Spiteri goes dramatic with Professor Snape. Lovely, and easily conveys sadness every time.
Stay- Shakespeare’s Sister
Deliberately campy and kinda spooky, the lyrical content, astounding vocals, and the visuals merge exceptionally well.
The End Of The Innocence- Don Henley
Sad and bittersweet, but still hopeful, and ultimately, timeless.
So Pure- Alanis Morissette
Dancing with Alanis and Dash Mihok. They look like they’re having fun. They “freestyle in trance.”
Voices Carry- ‘Til Tuesday
Aimee Mann with punk-ish hair. Love how she had revenge on the controlling boyfriend by the video’s climax. “Hush, hush!”
All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You- Heart
A woman sleeps with the first hunky stranger she sees on the road. Very risky, yeah, she could’ve ended up dead or ill. But the desperation in the song and the aftermath of the one night stand were artistically rendered.
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