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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Ariana Grande goes glam in a gown "Right There"

Ariana Grande puts her well-established love of princess dresses to work in a new music video for her latest song "Right There," features rapper Big Sean and was released as the third single from Grande's chart-topping debut album, "Yours Truly." Grande scored a hit with Mac Miller and now she enlists another rapper close to her heart, Big Sean, for "Right There." If you liked "The Way," then you'll love this hip-hop-flavored tune, which features Grande's breezy vocals. And it's a modern day Romeo and Juliet-themed visual, except this time the story is loosely told to give the lovers a dose of modern-day truth rather than a vial of poison.
This mid-tempo love song finds the 20-year-old bubblegum-soul songstress trading verses with G.O.O.D. Music MC Big Sean about their feelings on relationships. Whilst Grande croons more traditionally romantic sentiments Sean bigs up his attraction to females. "My black book of numbers thicker than the dictionary," he boasts. The song's producer Harmony Samuels sampled the jazz funk loop from Lil' Kim's hip hop tune "Crush On You." The rapper's 1996 hit single interpolated The Jeff Lorber Fusion's "Rain Dance" from their 1979 album "Water Sign."
Just in time for Halloween, the video takes place at a Victorian style masquerade ball in a grand mansion, and shows tons of sexy costumes in it. The clip features Grande in the pink gown, fluttering her fan, surrounded by ball attendees. The men are in a red, black, and white color palette, while the ladies are dressed in metallic dresses. Everyone seems to be dancing by fanning themselves, so the party is both fun and environmentally-friendly. The video is seductive and smoldering and Grande is stunning in a Marie Antoinette like, rose-colored ballgown and looks more confident than ever, batting her eyelashes and waving a fan.
Directed by the Young Astronauts, the clip stars Grande plays the part of the innocent 'Juliet' as she filters 'Romeo and Juliet' through the campy lens of a late-90's teenage rom-com, attends a masquerade ball, and instead of grabbing her boyfriend Nathan Sykes to play her suave 'Romeo' love interest, she grabbed Arnold Schwarzenegger's 20-year-old model/actor son Patrick for the part. Meanwhile, Sean spits his bars from a priest chair in a sanctuary. As the video comes to a close, the lovers join in on the wet and wild fun as they continue to passionately stare at each other under the firework-filled sky.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Justin Timberlake gets a little banged up in 'TKO'

Justin Timberlake snuggles up with Riley Keough in the music video for his latest single "TKO," serves as the second single from the Memphis-born star's latest fourth studio album, "The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2)." "TKO" is largely a retread of Timberlake's past work with longtime collaborator Timbaland, opening with a tired hype-man routine that finds the producer idiotically chanting, "She kill me with that coo-coochie-coochie-coo," over a familiar mid-tempo shuffle circa 2006. The video is a knock-down, drag-out good time in a slickly produced and thematic seven-minute clip.
The song's lyrics add little to an already massive pantheon of pop songs built around a love-as-boxing metaphor, as we find Timberlake describing the flooring feeling of spotting his former girlfriend out with a new man. He addresses his former flame by telling her, "I'm out for the count/Yeah, girl, you knock me out/With a TKO." Other boxing metaphors that Timberlake utilizes on the club banger to describe his emotions at seeing the girl with another guy include, "you've been swinging after the bell," "hit the mat," and "below the belt." To cap it all, Timberlake also includes a beat-boxing breakdown.
The song works as a mid-tempo club track that doesn't have much of the old-school lover-man slickness that Timberlake brought to the last album, and the melody doesn't quite stick the way you'd hope a Timberlake melody would. "TKO" contains heavy drums and "scratchy" studio effects, which according to a staff writer of Consequence of Sound, is reminiscent of a "slightly more refined Justified." However, Timberlake isn't recycling old music material, but giving it a modernized update. There is something about how the heavy bass and snare blends with Timberlake's signature voice that taps into the soul of every pop music fan when Timbaland is in the mix that simply cannot be denied.
The 32-year-old entertainer tries to win the heart of his girlfriend, played by Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough, 24, as his love interest, in the cinematic visual directed by Ryan Reichenfeld. She didn't actually kill him with her "coo-coochie-coochie-coo", but she killed him anyway. After making out in the kitchen, Keough turns down Timberlake's further advances. She doesn't want to give him her "coo-coochie-coochie-coo" anymore. So Keough immediately develops a plan. First she knocks Timberlake out with a nasty hit on the head with a frying pan. She then drags hims through the desert on the back of a truck that she's driving, and ultimately.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Chvrches get galactic in "The Mother We Share"

Scottish synthpop trio Chvrches turn despair into epic pop gems with an encapsulating video for their newest single, "The Mother We Share,"  the opening track from indie trio's new debut album, "The Bones of What You Believe." Formed in 2011, the indie trio from Glasgow, consists of lead vocals Lauren Mayberry, synthesizers Iain Cook and Martin Doherty. The trio pounded through their set like Olympic sprinters in sight of the finishing line. Their beguiling mix of sweet melodies, brooding lyrics with judicious swearing from Mayberry and forbiddingly insistent synth lines was compelling enough to withstand the heat.
Back in May, Glasgow trio Chvrches caused a stir with their debut single "Lies," a rollicking electro-throb of a song, which features aspiring Mayberry being bashed about by a synth riff the size of a house. Mayberry possesses one of those rare voices that able to soar straight over electrobeat clutter and still sound delicate. Its delirious three and a half minutes left fans excited about what was coming next. Well, what's next is the slightly softer "The Mother We Share," which tempers the monster synth riffs in favor of twinkling keyboards, padded drum claps and a central lyric that lends the whole thing a slightly melancholic edge.
This none-too-cheery tale of sibling rivalry was written and recorded in two days. The song title isn't the only thing that it shares with the Knife. The intro's intimidating, gothic synth clangor is familiar, but it gives way to a bitter central lyric delivered with melodic concision and extroversion that goes beyond even that of recent adaptors like Purity Ring. Clearly, the raven-masked "Silent Shout" is a primary color for a lot of young acts today, but the petite Mayberry's neon sing-song vocals, with her wide eyes and girlishly high range, makes Chvrches stand out in a crowded field.
The video flickers and alters between the narrative of a lonely depressive-looking girl as she makes her way through New York City with a bleak cityscape and eventually finds herself in Chvrches' electro-brite world, as the flashy shots of synth-pop Chvrches performing their infectious and melancholic tune. Director Sing J Lee intertwines clips of the downtrodden girl with celestial backdrops for Chvrches performance until the girl finally vibes out to the powerful pop song and electrifies the whole city. Stay tuned all the way till the end for a pretty grand, unexpected finale.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Janelle Monáe finds "PrimeTime" with Miguel

Janelle Monáe find love in a robotic place in a stylized, high-concept video for her Miguel duet, "PrimeTime," the third single from the 27-year-old soul singer and dancer's latest sophomore album, "The Electric Lady." Just days after being named Billboard's Rising Star, Monáe took to the "Saturday Night Live" stage to showcase just why she's regarded as one of music's next big talents with a high-energy burst of retro soul-pop in the form of two tracks from her new album.
This sensual R&B ballad about two people finding themselves in the right place at the right time. The song's video, directed by Alan Ferguson, is a continuation of the epic sci-fi story Monáe tells on the album. "PrimeTime" is a love story based on the early adventures of a bar waitress called Cindi Mayweather (Monáe) and her first love Joey Vice (Miguel). Monáe explained: "The Emotion Picture gives a glimpse at Cindi's humble beginnings as a 'cyber-server' at the Electric Sheep nightclub, a syn bar serving high-class 'show droids' to the rich and lonely in a dangerous section of Metropolis known as Slop City."
She added: "Incidentally, the innovative cybersoul music played at the club directly impacted Cindi, and she began singing and performing her own innovative compositions a short time after quitting this assignment. In addition, Cindi became determined to change the public perception of what an electric lady could be, dream and aspire to after working in the dismal conditions at the club."
In the dark and stylized video for "PrimeTime," which is set in a Blade Runner-like world, the R&B stars play lovers in a futuristic search for love. The site, naturally, is a night club where dancer droids are programmed to entertain male clientele with Monáe playing a humble cocktail server. As Miguel arrives and catches sight of her, and like a lot of us, is unable to pay attention to anything else - not even the body-rolling dancers on pedestals. Conflict ensues, but Miguel's chivalrous nature wins in the end - they head back to his place for Chinese take-out.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Little Mix thrashing out stomping dance "Move"

Following their DNA Tour, British girl group Little Mix is back with a feisty video for their fantastic new single "Move," the lead single from Little Mix's upcoming sophomore studio album, "Salute," which due out overseas on November 11th. The foursome - Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jesy Nelson, and Perrie Edwards - will bring "Salute" to fans when the group joins Demi Lovato on her Neon Lights tour beginning in February 2014. Fifth Harmony and Cher Lloyd are also serving as support on the trek.
The energizing "Move," was co-written by the girls and is a taste of what's to come from their follow up to debut album "DNA." Lyrically, the song talks of boys who think they are too cool to dance and ultimately leads to Little Mix telling them to move. And sonically, the song moves away from Little Mix's previous melody-led ventures and features more quirky sounds with bass synth. The song explores a more mature tone with elements of R&B. If this ambitiously rhythmic bite of breathy flirtation is an indication of the U.K. "X Factor" winners' sonic evolution, consider us highly intrigued.
The upbeat number is a blend of bubblegum pop and cowbell-jangling funk. Little Mix admitted to Digital Spy that they took a risk with releasing this as Salute's lead single. Speaking about why they chose "Move" to kick off the second album, Nelson told PopSugar: "We just think it's fun. It's what Little Mix are about. The song's about not taking yourself too seriously. I still feel like it's got the same vibe that [debut single] 'Wings' had, but it's more mature and grown-up. Our music is just evolving, as we are."
Wearing crop tops, plaid pants and of course, their signature neon lipstick, Little Mix have gone old school in their dance-y new clip for "Move," which mixes an appreciation for throwback choreography with slow-motion sultriness, harkens back to the glorious days of early-00s bubblegum pop and definitely feeling an early '90s Madonna vibe with a side of major attitude. Fun times are generally had by all, and it certainly appears like a certain U.K. female pop four-piece group is in top shape and in charge as they boss their male dancers about in a studio.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Enrique Iglesias brings drama on "Heart Attack"

Enrique Iglesias has suicidal thoughts in the dramatic music video for his latest single "Heart Attack," the second English single and overall the third single from the Latin star's upcoming as-yet-untitled second bilingual album and tenth of his career, due in stores in early 2014 via Universal Republic. The new visual ties in perfectly with the meaning of the song. There's Iglesias, standing perilously overlooking a scary drop!
The latest offering from the 38-year-old singer is a thrilling pop number with piano-driven verses and dubstep breakdowns. "Heart Attack" will get your heart pumping. Iglesias describes the dubstep-infused track as a more serious song for him. And with lyrics like, "I thought I never want you back / But I don't wanna live in a world without you," we can't help but notice it's the typical cycle for both men and women when it comes to relationships. In the midst of the break-up drama and reports, could this be an anthem written for Iglesias' now ex-girlfriend, tennis star Anna Kournikova?
Speaking to Ryan Seacrest, the Grammy Award-winning singer explained the writing process, he said: "I don't know why we do that. I think both girls and guys, we do that to ourselves. But it's happened to all of us and it's a story we can all relate to and you think you've learned your lesson and it can happen over and over and over again. The way I look at music and write songs, it's like when you go to the movies, and some songs are more real and some songs are more fantasy."
The video treatment drives the melodrama home, in a slick Colin Tilley-directed clip that was shot in both Santa Barbara and El Lay, and sees 'When a Stranger Calls' actress Camilla Belle playing the leading female role as Iglesias' love interest in a very dramatic relationship storyline, which traces the highs and lows of a couple's relationship. As the Spain-born singer walking into a shameful bed scene of Belle and her lover. A furious Iglesias, who obviously doesn't like getting cheated on, hits the dude and throws him to the ground. A heart-broken Iglesias' emotions then go from anger to despair, as he heads to a bridge, stands on the edge and thinks suicide. There's a band, performing up there with him in front of an intense smoke machine. It's all just so emotional.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Kellie Pickler | "Someone Somewhere Tonight"

In between foxtrots, rumbas, sambas and waltzes, the country singer and former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler has found time to record and release new music. While enjoying her recent "Dancing With the Stars" victory, Pickler has released a new video for her pining ballad, "Someone Somewhere Tonight," the lead-off single from her upcoming fourth studio album, "The Woman I Am," which she promises will be "Kellie Country," due out November 12th. Hopefully, she'll still pull her dancing shoes on from time to time, since she's obviously gifted at both singing and dancing.
The track, finds Pickler singing about the power of love and redemption, was previously recorded by Kenny Rogers on his 2006 album "Water & Bridges" and Pam Tillis on her 2007 album, "RhineStoned," though neither version was a single. The song's lyrics contemplate what different things people in the world are experiencing at the same time, contrasting between good and bad scenarios (such as someone tasting their first kiss versus someone suffering with alcoholism). It is performed from the perspective of a narrator singing to their significant other, and requesting in the chorus that they just lie down together and be still.
The poetic lyrics are lovingly performed over a burning, emotive melody with Pickler showcasing why she's such an engaging vocalist, the kind of vocalist who was born to sing songs like "Someone Somewhere Tonight," a widescreen power ballad with the kind of lyrics. The 27-year-olf country music artist's performance is just short of the magical tear-jerking performance one feels coming from the first note, but still amongst the best and most genuine of her career. It's refreshing to hear her sing from a place of love as opposed to a place of pain as she did early in her career with ballads like "I Wonder."
The Roman White-directed video reunited Pickler with her Dancing With the Stars partner Derek Hough as we see the pair dancing a choreographed routine to the song around an empty house. It was incredibly intimate and overtly sensual, with lots of gorgeous natural light and suggestive dancing, but according to Pickler recalled to Rolling Stone, that the real reason the ballad's video seemed so personal actually had to do with another video playing in the background - her wedding video.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Travie McCoy & Jason Mraz debut "Rough Water"

Travie McCoy is probably best known as being the front man for rap rock group Gym Class Heroes (and being a Katy Perry ex-flame). But he has now decided to branch out on the solo tip. Having relocated to Miami, after recovering from his addiction to pain killers, The 32-year-old has started working on his solo project from a completely different aspect. He had initially wanted it to be an acoustic album discussing his drug addiction and break-up with Perry, but scrapped all the original material citing it as being too personal for his first solo effort.
On previous solo efforts he worked with Bruno Mars and Cee-Lo Green. This time around McCoy has paired his rhymes with Jason Mraz's sweet vocals. The new song is called "Rough Waters" and the Gym Class Heroes captain navigates "Rough Water" on his first solo effort since his 2010 debut album, "Lazarus," which spawned the platinum hit "Billionaire." Someone is bound to complain this isn't "Hip Hop," but oh well. McCoy shares some bars about surviving rough waters with Mraz on the hook on the guitar-driven number, produced by Benny Blanco (Katy Perry, Wiz Khalifa).
The mid-tempo, acoustic ballad, which will be the lead single taken from McCoy's upcoming sophomore solo album is expected in 2014, begins with 36-year-old Mraz cooing a sugary intro before McCoy's trademark sing-along ready rapping. There's nothing here that will shock longtime McCoy fans, but if there are shades in the rap-plus-sung-chorus subgenre, it's fair to say that "Rough Water" sounds slightly more like Fort Minor than classic Gym Class Heroes. McCoy's voice just seems slightly more like Mike Shinoda's voice.
As for the Ethan Lader-directed video for rap/pop song "Rough Water," it was filmed in early-October and features McCoy teams with Mraz to kick up the romance on the streets of an upside-down New York City. The world is upside down and right side up and the city hits the sky with mirrored reflections and more for McCoy and Mraz, as McCoy trying to catch the attention of a wandering girl (played by Crystal Kay), while Mraz sporting one of his most mainstream looks ever as he chants the hooks.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Lorde sings about fantasy of luxe life in "Royals"

Let's face it: It's easy to gorge ourselves on the glut of momentarily satisfying but ultimately nutrition-free singles by the mostly forgettable pop stars that are currently clogging the airwaves. But it's rare to discover an artist who actually makes us think or dare we say it  feel. And it's even rarer when she's only 16-year-old. Then again, Ella Yelich-O'Connor, who adopted the moniker of Lorde. She was discovered when her now manager, Scott Maclachlan, saw a video of her performing at a Belmont Intermediate School talent show when she was 12.
Some new artists arrive with a buzz so loud it knocks you down. Occasionally that clamor can be a substitute for true talent, but that's not the case with Lorde. The New Zealand teenage sensation is terrifically skilled and totally poised to make a big dent on the pop landscape. In her lyrics you hear a wisdom deeper than her years and a writing sensibility that blends both philosophy and politics. Her rich vocals enhance all the ideas she's trying to convey, and as her massive debut hit "Royals" reveals, she delivers them with a cool-headed passion.
Musically, "Royals" is a minimal song that incorporates elements from different genres. The song is influenced by art pop, pop, grime, and blues. Lyrically, it expresses the protagonist's disdain for celebrities' lavish lifestyles and contains a vow that she will not become one of them. She wrote the lyrics to "Royals" at her house in only a half hour, and takes the minimalist theme of the song and applies it to two painfully normal men who are driving Cadillacs in their dreams. It has an addictive hook that thrives on its simplicity. The track reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first New Zealand solo artist to have a No.1 song in the US, and the youngest artist to hold the US No.1 in more than 25 years.
Directed by Joel Kefali, the video for the eminently catchy "Royals," which, in line with the subject of the song, depicts the beauty in the monotony of everyday teen life as it mostly consists of scenes centered around four normal teenage boys doing unexceptional mundane things in slow motion. Lots of lulls also fill the video, and Lorde herself doesn't even appear that much beyond an opening and closing image and one scene during the bridge with the exception of one extended frame of her singing and her voice sounds golden over a bare bass-and-snap R&B beat.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Calvin Harris, Alesso & Hurts are 'Under Control'

The massive trifecta of Scottish deejay Calvin Harris, fellow Swedish DJ Alesso and British synthpop duo Hurts' frontman Theo Hutchcraft have teamed up and unveiled the official music video for their collaborative huge progressive anthem, "Under Control," which will be released on November 24. The video is colorful, vivid, and entertaining. The trio lark about as the apocalypse draws near, and it answers anyone wondering what these guys would do if the world was ending.
The track was originally premiered at Alesso's set in Ibiza at the beginning of August, which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 1. Alesso originally revealed the collaboration back in May, tweeting that the song is "sounding big." The track is a true Euro club banger, with a relentless 90s house beat and rave synths forming the foundation beneath Hutchcraft's trademark melodramatic vocals, while while Harris and Alesso deliver a masterpiece of musical production, with epic builds that climax into a burst of synergistic energy.
The banging EDM adventure "Under Control" has that perfect medium that isn't too chill, but still makes you bounce as you listen. As is normally the case with EDM anthems, they get even better when paired with a good video. You can find all three guys featured in the 'end of the world' style music video as they head into the big city for one last show before the meteor to destroy Earth hits. And of course, they pick up a couple ladies along the way to help them party the right way during their final hours on Earth.
Shot in Los Angeles, and featuring phenomenal vocals from Hutchcraft, the accompanying music video depicts a meteor coming to Earth and all three artists looking moody, pissing about and performing live in the face of the oncoming apocalypse as we see the trio brace themselves for a meteor strike by playing a gig in a limo with girls they picked up on the side of the road to mark the end of the world.  After a few tense seconds, we're treated to a happy twist ending perfect for the uplifting tune.

Monday, October 21, 2013

John Legend gets intimate with wife in 'All of Me'

John Legend is head over heels in love in the romantic video for "All of Me," the latest single lifted from his recent fourth studio album "Love in the Future." The newly 34-year-old married R&B crooner, who wed supermodel Chrissy Teigen on September 14 in Lake Como, Italy and sung this song to his bride during the nuptials, and gets intimate with his new wife in the beautiful black-and-white clip. "Very excited to share my new music video for 'All of Me'," Legend tweeted. "This video is very special to me and you'll see why.
The moving ballad finds Legend returning to his piano-driven roots. The heartwarming ode to loving someone else, like many of the other "Love in The Future" tracks, is addressed to the singer's real-life wife Teigen, 27, they met on set of Legend’s video for "Stereo" in 2006. "All of Me" typify Legend's current commercially friendly, sentimental sound: "All of me loves all of you / All your perfect imperfections / Love your curves and all your edges." Legend told BBC News about Teigen's influence on the album: "The overwhelming sensibility is one of optimism. She's definitely affected my songwriting."
Legend told Digital Spy that the first time he sang this song to Teigen, she cried. Producer Dave Tozer told SonicScoop about the song's production. "This is a very simple, stripped-down arrangement," he said. "It's just piano, vocals, some robots, a couple of synths, and some Moog bass. The weight is all on Legend's vocal. And then I harmonized a bunch of his vocals to sound like robots - an Eventide piece might have been used, and the TC Helicon VoiceLive. The VoiceLive sounded cool and gave some great results."
Directed by Nabil Elderkin, the pensive black-and-white uber-sexy clip is certainly personal enough, the newlyweds give a personal glimpse into their love life, what with all those intimate shots of him tickling the keys, their honeymoon in Italy, a series of steamy scenes get naked and makes love in the shower and underwater, while he serenades her with his sweet song. The video steps it up at the end by tacking on actual footage from their very recent actual wedding and their first kiss as a married couple.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Wanted debuts "Show Me Love (America)"

English-Irish Boyband sensation The Wanted definitely showed off another side to themselves in their dramatic music video for their new single "Show Me Love (America)," serves as the fifth single from their forthcoming long delayed third album, "Word Of Mouth," which were originally due to release in September last year but fan's won't hear it now until November 4th via Island Records.
Nathan Sykes said when the song was announced: "It started with me writing a simple piano ballad and has ended up incorporating a 14 piece string orchestra!" Sykes explained to MTV UK that the slow jam is about the struggles of having a relationship in the showbiz world. "And it's just saying to someone 'I could have shown you the world but obviously we're on different paths.' I think that's kind of how a lot of people in this industry kind of feel, but I think it's very relatable to a lot of the fans as well because sometimes in life that just happens and people end up on different paths and it just doesn't work out," Sykes added.
"I think some of it will be what you'd expect, which are party songs and club mixes," the group's Jay McGuiness told Billboard. "But there will be some that I think are more reflective of two years of some struggle. So you don't want hands in the air for a struggle song. You want an orchestra and want to emote a little and hopefully there's a mix of both." The Wanted boys are no strangers to fun, but the vocal group turns serious and smile-free in its new music video for "Show Me Love (America)," a black-and-white slice of melodrama that involves heavy rain and heavier hearts. It's full-blown, unabashed boy band material.
In the Frank Borin-directed video, The Wanted boys in suits standing on stage together and performing in an elegant theater backed by a string orchestra as they observe a couple in the throes of relationship turbulence, before becoming part of the story themselves. McGuiness poses as a homeless man, George catches a glance as a police officer, Sykes screams in the rain and Parker abides against a street lamp with an acoustic guitar clutched in his hands. The straight-faced clip turns into high drama in the final minute, as young Sykes gets the final, harrowing word in the boy band's latest single.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Bastille mash '90s dance classic in 'Of The Night'

One year after the song's appearance on the band's mixtape and a certain ITV ad campaign, British alternative rock band Bastille have unveiled the crime-filled music video for their new single "Of The Night," the lead single from "All This Bad Blood," an upcoming re-reissue of Bastille's debut album "Bad Blood," which is scheduled to be released on November 25. The video is typical of Bastille - it's artistic, and dark, which features a cop in his nightly routine of witnessing murder after murder aka just another day on Sons of Anarchy.
"Of the Night" is a mash-up of two 1990s dance classics: Italian band Corona's seminal '90s smash "Rhythm Of The Night" with German eurodance group Snap!'s iconic "Rhythm Is A Dancer" in sombre yet spectacular style, would be expected to be an uplifting party-starter. Right? Well, not in the hands of English band Bastille. Frontman/mastermind Dan Smith and the boys deconstruct the songs into an ominous late night lullaby and have filmed, quite possibly, the most depressing video of the year to underline the gloomy transformation.
It takes serious testicular fortitude to even contemplate a mash-up of two 90s' dance classics. Bastille have stamped their genius all over one of the most inspired covers ever made. "Of the Night" is a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end, evoking doe-eyed nostalgia for the purity of 90s' dance music. But this isn't the dancefloor-burning music you remember; it modulates between the sombre heartbreak and quiet intensity. It still makes you want to dance, but you'll be dancing under a rush of emotion rather than adrenaline. The inspired mash-up that makes you want to sneak into the depths of the night with Bastille. Let everything go and let the song take you over.
The "Pompeii" hitmakers are largely absent from the dark and gloomy clip, which was directed by Dave Ma (Foals, Ghostpoet, Delphic), and stars American actor James Russo (Once Upon a Time in America, Django Unchained). You catch a glimpse of them at a crime scene, but Russo as the main protagonist is a detective, who investigates a string of murders and visits crime scenes. On a slightly cheerier note the corpses do sing, so there's always that. "Of The Night" is a dark and brooding gem. Anyway, the video looks great, with some great cinematography and grading and a fantastically effect narrative,  is a quite possibly the most depressing video of the year.

Friday, October 18, 2013

The Pretty Reckless unveiled dark 'Going to Hell'

The Pretty Reckless is back after an extended leave of absence with a typically dark, gloomy and slightly demonic music video for "Going to Hell," the lead single and title track from the band's upcoming sophomore studio album, to be released in early 2014. As frontwoman of the hard-rocking outfit, Taylor Momsen has been making a name for herself outside her acting career. With the band's latest video, "Going to Hell," it's safe to say that she is firmly entrenched in the world of rock music.
"Rock & roll needs to make a resurgence," insists Momsen, speaking to her belief that the genre has slipped from the mainstream. "It needs to come back in a big way and take over again." The 20-year-old singer, whose band The Pretty Reckless broke out in 2010 with their alt-rock debut "Light Me Up," says she's fully prepared to hold up her end of the bargain. "We're really trying to come to something unique and different," she tells Rolling Stone of "Going to Hell," which references the devastation in a hard-charging, riff-heavy blitzkrieg. Momsen wrote it during the band's downtime as they struggled to regain their footing.
On the sinister inspiration behind the song, the metal band's frontwoman said, "I've done all these things, I've toured the world, I've seen all these sins and horrible things going around. And I have to tell you about it." So, naturally, the "Going to Hell" video is based on the seven deadly sins. "I worked closely with our director, Tim Mattia. It's based around the seven deadly sins and these kind of crazy vignettes and exaggerated versions of these sins, done artistically. Whether they'll look like sins to you or not, who knows, but there's definitely some interesting footage that I would check out," Momsen added.
The Tim Mattia-directed clip truly matches the intensity of the song. It opens with Momsen whispering in a preacher's ear, "Don't bless me father for I have sinned," setting the stage for a clip filled with Momsen's dance with the dark side. The song itself rocks with a hard-driving and infectious beat and Momsen's powerful vocal. Meanwhile the scantily clad frontwoman delivers the track while looking flawless in a black latex catsuit, corrupting a priest, having a feast with her slaves, and something that looks like an orgy in a cinema room, and posing with a snake, laying amongst a hedonistic pit of bodies and holding the forbidden apple, driving home the point of the song.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Avril Lavigne plonks tragic piano in "Let Me Go"

Avril Lavigne shows her dramatic side in a haunting new music video for her piano-tinged pop-rock ballad, "Let Me Go," the third single from her upcoming self-titled fifth studio album, which was pushed back from its original September release date, and will hits stores November 5th via Epic. It's no secret that "Let Me Go," Lavigne's duet with husband Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, is an emotional blackout waiting to happen. It's got weepy synths, haunting harmonies, poignant lyrics, and now, an equally sob-inducing music video!
After dropping "Here's To Never Growing Up" and "Rock N Roll," the 29-year-old newlywed Canadian singer-songwriter is giving fans another taste of her upcoming record. The sad love song is a a piano-driven power ballad with elements of pop rock and alternative rock. Its instrumentation features a piano, a string section, an acoustic drum kit, and electric guitars and bass. The punk princess premiered the new track on MYFM Monday morning, and although the duet is with her man, the track is surprisingly a breakup ballad.
Lavigne painfully reminiscing over a failed love, sings: "I'm breaking free from these memories / Gotta let it go, just let it go / I've said goodbye, set it all on fire / gotta let it go, just let it go." Kroeger is featured in the song's second verse, where he sings, "You came back to find I was gone / And that place is empty, like the hole that was left in me." The ironic heartbreak tune with a lush, high drama ballad is reminiscent of many of Lavigne's biggest power ballad hits, including "Losing Grip," "Nobody's Home" and "Keep Holding On."
The newlywed rockers show their softer sides in the dramatic, Chris Sims-directed clip, as Lavigne takes on an old Hollywood glam look with golden curls and a little black dress, as she roams the halls of an abandoned mansion, where she plays the piano and rests on a regal couch, with Kroeger who's playing an ex-lover she's trying to get over as his appearance being channeled through an elderly yardman, only to be seen as his true self through mirrored and tablet-assisted images, and both strum an acoustic guitar in apparent despair. Thy appear together during the song's final chorus.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Bruno Mars turns up the heat in "Gorilla"

Bruno Mars doubles as a seedy strip-club singer in his just-released visual via Facebook for his banging tune "Gorilla" the fourth single from the 14-time Grammy nominee's platinum sophomore studio album, "Unorthodox Jukebox," which reached No.1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in March. The 28-year-old Mars has been deemed family-friendly enough to headline the upcoming Super Bowl halftime extravaganza, but the pop crooner sports a more R-rated side in the music video for the 'making sex like animals'-themed "Gorilla."
"Gorilla" an absolutely arena-sized sex jam, is a mid-tempo rock, soft rock and quiet storm song, where Mars sings about making love like animals and that he's feeling like he is high off of cocaine and drunk off of liquor and he feels great. Mars said that it was "the first song we wrote for this album and it really set the tone for the entire project and it kind of became the mascot," stating that it was the reason why there's a gorilla on the cover of the album. Musically, the song received mixed to positive reviews from music critics who praised its early 80's arena rock tendencies fused with power pop hooks, though "Gorilla" has been bashed for its explicit lyrical content.
Co-directed by the Hawaiian crooner and his longtime collaborator Cameron Buddy, the visuals follow the boundary-pushing nature of the track's lyrics, offering a raunchy video, which opens with two women speaking in Spanish while applying lipstick backstage at a gentleman's club called La Jungla. Actor Luis Guzman cameos as the club's seriously sleazy owner, and Mars and his mates serve as the house band performing the epic "Unorthodox Jukebox" cut, and practically every frame of the video drips with both sweat and sex, which, again, is probably the point.
After an introduction by Guzmán, Mars kicks things into gear and "Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto, an exotic dancer, begins pulling off some gravity-defying spins on the stripper pole with her entire sexual being. As his band bangs out some mid-tempo steamy soft-rock piano stabs, Mars pushes practically everything to the max, mugs at her intensely, singing "You and me baby making love like gorillas," as she disrobes and sparks fall from the ceiling. Then it cuts to the two of them heating up with in the backseat of a steamy car. The video ends somewhat ambiguously, with the woman setting the guitar on fire and Mars merely singing as if nothing is happening.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Emblem3 longing to be back home in '3000 Miles'

Emblem3 reveals an emotional side of them in the reflective emotional video for their new song "3000 Miles," the second official single taken from their debut studio album "Nothing to Lose." The boy-band trio, Wesley Stromberg, Drew Chadwick and Keaton Stromberg have come a long way during last year's X Factor. After their very first single "Chloe (You're the One I Want)" topped the pop charts in April, their debut album quickly became one of the hottest records of the summer and took home the 2013 Teen Choice Award for "Choice Music: Breakout Group."
Now, the swoon-worthy crooners are about to embark on the U.S. leg of Selena Gomez's Stars Dance tour as the songstress' opening act, but that doesn't mean the reggae/pop rock band doesn't occasionally get sleepaway camp-style homesick after being on the road for so long! So it only makes sense for them to incorporate their cross-country adventures into the video for "3000 Miles," and it expertly taps into the loneliness of being on the road. As they embark on their biggest tour yet, the breakout boy band drops a track about feeling homesick.
This slow heartfelt ballad is about missing loved ones when you're far from home as the song's emotional lyrics describe the struggle of being away from home and loved ones. "For me, this song is about home, and back in Washington state, the town that I grew up in, friends, family that I miss that I don't get to see anymore," Chadwick explained to MTV News. "It's basically about missing them and reminiscing about all the good times you used to have." "3000 Miles" finds the trio longing to be back with their family and friends and will surely tug at your heart strings.
The video shows the boys traveling across the country in their tour bus as they doing some skillful emoting on a rooftop, strumming their guitars, cruising along the highway, staring pensively out the tour bus window, and longingly singing about home, being homesick, and thinking about a girl they've left behind. The footage is punctuated with real home movies by the boys from before they were even Emblem3! It also tells the heart wrenching story of a happy couple of high school sweethearts feeling all the sad after learning they'll be torn apart by attending different collages.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Florida Georgia Line show their angst in "Stay"

Florida Georgia Line released the music Video for the passion-fueled "Stay," the fourth single from the ACM award-winning duo's debut studio album, "Here's to the Good Times." Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard delves into more serious and somber topics in "Stay," which revolves around a breakup, where the woman has walked out and the guy is left pleading with her to come back. Appropriately, the clip takes things a few steps further by adding a new level of drama–and darkness–to the situation and showcases those feelings, and the duo shows their angst in this newest offering.
Shot outside of Nashville, the video features vivid imagery of a couple whose fiery emotions reach a boiling point, causing each to struggle with their next move in the relationship. Director Peter Zavadil reinforces the raw scenes with flashes of country rock duo performing the powerful song. It kicks off in a trailer park, with a woman looking sadly sitting desolate and dazed amidst charred remains of what was once burned-out trailer. Her dog paws through the rubble, eventually sniffs out a burnt cellphone and brings it to her mouth. Her shoulders drop, and she flashes back to right before the fire.
Apparently, her boyfriend lived in that trailer. And right before the fire, she decided to leave him, packing up in her car with her dog in the front seat, as her former love stood helplessly at the door. The band is interspersed throughout the footage, singing this dark, sad song as the story unfolds, but they aren't the main focus. The storyline is the star in this video. Throughout the "Stay" video, the girl's phone flashes with text messages from her boyfriend pleading, "I guess I know what it feels like to be alone... I need you just to carry on." But when those text messages aren't acknowledged with a response, the video takes a dark turn and it looks like the boyfriend is going nuts without her.
He has a crazed, desperate look in his eyes, and it's clear he's planning something - something bad. After throwing chairs, lamps, his television and other household items out onto the lawn, he texts her again: "I can't go another day without you." The girl, on the other hand, buys a ticket to go anywhere but there, and soon lands at a hotel, exhausted and emotional. She stares at her phone and in the meantime, he lights a match. But it's not for a simple front yard campfire. He intends to burn all of his items and succeeds, adding his phone and a photo of the happy couple to the flames. Although she returns to his home right as the fire trucks arrive, it's a little too late.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

London Grammar debut haunting ballad "Strong"

English art rock trio London Grammar have unveiled the video for "Strong," the latest cut lifted from the fast-rising youngsters' debut album, "If You Wait." One of the big success stories of 2013, the three piece Hannah Reid, Dot Major and Dan Rothman, have already experienced chart success with their pop anthem "Wasting My Young Years," and are set to eclipse that with "Strong." An epic, haunting ballad, the video is a cinematic experience, featuring a father caring for his child in adverse conditions, dressing up as a robot and covering himself in fireworks for her entertainment.
London Grammar hasn't been around long, but each of their singles has been better than the last, building on an expansive, wide-eyed brand of pop which evokes slow-moving images of young people falling in and out of love. The newest offering, "Strong" is such a dark and moody, down-tempo number. It continues on from their previous entry with its sonically powerful melodies and lyrics. London Grammar are like a cross between the xx's minimalism and Florence and the Machine's opera indebted style.
They can conjure emotions without hammering you over the head with them, on the autumnal "Strong", lead vocalist Reid showcase of her abilities with a timeless, tranquil quality that immediately silences everything around it, as she singing abstractly about some unspecified pain of being "wide-eyed and I'm so damn caught in the middle," plotting coordinates where romantic idealism and reality meet to disastrous results. The slowburn track has some shades of the xx especially in the guitar lines, but Reid's emotional vocal performance sounds more arresting than ever here, and it glides across the song's delicately layered canvas.
The emotionally stirring number is a moody, fairly downcast number with a powerful chorus, whilst the Sam Brown-directed video, equally as beautiful, featuring some absolutely amazing pyrotechnics and depict the endearing relationship between a father and his child putting on a unique fireworks show with a twist what looks like some kind of attack, is a strange affair that alternates between shots of the band wandering the streets of an apocalyptic-looking Los Angeles and a story with a rather bizarre ending. Watch a father's amazing act of love below.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Skylar Grey deals with one 'Back From The Dead'

Skylar Grey take viewers on a guided tour across her museum of bad memories, takes some self reflection to grasp a past love and comes alive in the music video for "Back From The Dead." The dark song, featuring Rapper Big Sean and Travis Barker, is the opening track out from Grey's Eminem-executive produced sophomore album, "Don't Look Down." Don't take the title too literally since it's a metaphor for the rekindling of past relationships. In this clip, art helps the singer come to terms with her heart reopening to a relationship she buried 6 feet under.
Produced by Grey's friend, Alex Da Kid, the song is about the return of a lover who was better gone. "'Back From the Dead' is a song about somebody coming back into your life that you thought you would never see again and it's like, what do we do now?" said Grey. She was joined on set by Barker and Sean, whom she met at LAX. "She's been my homie ever since," said the Hall of Fame rapper. "I'm so confused I don't know what to feel / Should I throw my arms around you or kill you for real? / Cause I worked so hard put the past to rest" she sings, frustrated in her lover's return. An on point verse from Sean and Barker's drumming, make a nice counterpoint to Grey's vocals.
The 27-year-old Wisconsin girl knows her new album flopped badly on the charts, yet she's still pushing singles out of it. Making a new music video costs a considerate amount of money so I hope either Interscope or Grey are getting their money back someway. It's a month before Halloween but that's not stopping Grey from spooky with it and her new video and its imagery are more reminiscent of what you'd associate with Mexican holiday the Day of the Dead, particularly the skulls and face paint you'll catch in some shots. Think of it as a hyper-visual take on skeletons in your closet.
Grey brings art to life in the artistic black-and-white visual for "Back From the Dead." Set in a museum, with dioramas depicting loves from her past, the songstress strolls through an abandoned museum, observing various dioramas and fake animals as she reflects on a past relationship coming back into her life. Barker and Sean then transform from eerie exhibit statues to real life figures as the Detroit rapper who appears to take on the role of the ex-lover that Grey's singing about throughout the song. He raps his somewhat-out-of-nowhere verse to his singing host, who isn't phased by his words over the chilling production. The dark visual for the dark song makes the perfect fit.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Panic! At The Disco get sexy in "Girls/Girls/Boys"

Panic! at the Disco get racy and sexy in their new clip in homage to D'Angelo for synth-poppy hit, "Girls/Girls/Boys," the third single from Las Vegas emo band's just-released new fourth studio album, "Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!." The D'Angelo's legendary "Untitled (How Does it Feel?)" video is one of the most iconic music visuals of a generation, a clip, premiered in 2000, where it received widespread attention for its risqué shots of D'Angelo's nude, muscular body that redefined and eventually derailed the career of a soul prodigy.
"Girls/Girls/Boys," is a bizarre song about Panic! at the Disco ectomorphic frontman Brendon Urie coming between a bisexual girl and her girlfriend, at one point spouting It Gets Better platitudes ("Love is not a choice") and others both luring the subject ("Push another girl aside and just give in") and acknowledging her struggle ("You gotta save your reputation / They're close to finding out about your girlfriend"). Urie's electro-punk tune is diametrically opposed to D'Angelo's slow-jam croon and he certainly makes a committed go of re-creating it.
There is a surface-level display here of understanding the often complicated nature of queer relationships, but in a statement about the "Girls/Girls/Boys" video Urie comes off more like a fetishist than anything. Describing the video's very real homage to D'Angelo's "Untitled," Urie unveiled the inspiration behind "Girls/Girls/Boys" to Alternative Press: "'Girls/Girls/Boys' is such a racy song that it immediately made me think of one of the sexiest videos of all time, which also happens to be one of my favorites. Doing an homage to D'Angelo's classic 'Untitled (How Does It Feel)' video seemed like a perfect fit."
Directed by DJay Brawner, Panic! at the Disco's version is nearly an exact replica and stayed true to the classic D'Angelo video shot-for-shot as Urie kicks things off with a Miley Cyrus-in-"Wrecking Ball" close-up, standing on a pedestal in an all-black room, wearing just his birthday suit, the camera lingering down his ripped torso until the exact point when it must go back up - minus the undeniable frisson that made the original D'Angelo video so monumental. Urie smirks and gazes suggestively into the camera while softly singing the guitar-heavy pop song.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Eminem return marches on in "Survival" video

Eminem has unveiled a new dark video for his new track "Survival" from the "Call of Duty: Ghosts" video game. The Slim Shady goes back to the Detroit neighborhood where he grew up for the visuals of his new song, and it finds the Detroit rapper shows up spray-painting a ghostlike face onto the side of a building as he raps about what sounds like his journey through the music world, which he characterizes as a fight between fame and artistic expression. The track was also the second single from his upcoming eighth studio album, "The Marshall Mathers LP 2," hits stores on November 5.
Produced by DJ Khalil, "Survival" marks Eminem's return to recording, a much-anticipated comeback since his last album "Recovery," which carried the hits "Not Afraid" and "Love the Way You Lie" was released in 2010. Soon after dropping "Survival," Eminem quickly followed it up with the single "Berzerk," the Rick Rubin-produced old school hip-hop track that sampled Billy Squier's "The Stroke." The hard-hitting joint finds Eminem celebrating his return in typically grand fashion over breakneck, arena-rock guitars and trashy drums.
"Survival" shows the man born Marshall Mathers at an aggressive peak, delivering cuss-filled lines about his return as Eminem raps about what sounds like his journey through the music world, which he characterizes as a fight between fame and artistic expression: "I'm... back again with another anthem/Why stop when it doesn't have to end?" He continues, answering his own question while the bombast of distorted electric guitar and a jumbo beat offer foundation. Eminem said: "The song's about fighting back and it seems like it fits 'Ghost' perfectly."
The gloomy visuals takes viewers back to the 40-year-old rapper's neighborhood in Detroit, chosen as the appropriate location for the storyline where Eminem is the leader of a stencil skull graffiti-making crew of masked artists that spray paint the streets. Images from the video game also play in the background in those scenes where the Grammy winner raps the verses to the DJ Khalil-produced tune featuring Liz Rodrigues. The clip ends with Eminem checking out a house with the number 19946, representing the Dresden Street home where he spent his formative years in Detroit. Watch Eminem's dark video for the meaningful song below.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Paris Hilton parties with Lil Wayne in 'Good time'

Summer's not quite over yet, because Paris Hilton has just invited you to her EDM-heavy pool party. The 32-year-old hotel heiress, queen of the nightclub circuit and recent Cash Money signee, makes her return to the music world with the release of her new single "Good Time," featuring her Cash Money label-mate Lil Wayne and produced by DJ Afrojack. The song's an EDM-pulsing rave riot, with the video finding Hilton donning a sequenced bathing suit, partying with super soakers and posing with male models in speedos. And she's quite unapologetic about it all.
"Good Time" is expected to serve as the lead single to appear on Hilton's upcoming, untitled sophomore studio album, due in early 2014 and marks Hilton's return to music after a seven-year hiatus. The new set, Hilton described as "very eclectic" and also heavily produced by Afrojack, features collaborations with RedOne, Snoop Dogg and Flo Rida. "I'm working with so many talented and awesome people for my album and can't wait to share more of the music," Hilton tells Rolling Stone. "For me this song is so catchy and fun the way it moves from pop to a true dance number."
As Hilton's Cash Money debut, the track has the hotel heiress celebrating a night out, is entirely electronic, with amped-up synths, hand claps and plenty of Auto Tune, and abides by party rocking, flipping off the haters and, of course, having a good time. "I came here just to party/Don't you hate on me," Hilton sings in the sugary hook. "I might be a bit tipsy/It's OK cause you're with me." Wayne, bare chested and donning oversized red sunglasses, makes a grand Weezy-like entrance, with a long guest verse that boasts: "YMCMB, bitch/Paris doesn't speak French."
The smoldering video for song was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, and shot in Los Angeles back in July 23. It features Hilton flaunting her figure and gyrating poolside, fist-pumps some glowsticks and poses luxuriously, in a barely-there bikini and cooing suggestively over a juiced-up dance and turnt-up beats as she throws an epic pool-party bash, complete with glow sticks, bottles and a 10-foot-tall robot, otherwise known as Kryoman. "The video is so sexy and so much fun, I really wanted it to be colorful and full of life and my friend Kryoman flew out to be in it and he just makes the video so much fun like spraying all the CO2 canisters," Hilton recently told MTV News.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

OneRepublic sings "Something I Need" for living

OneRepublic have premiered a music video for their newest single, "Something I Need," the fourth single from alternative rock band's latest third studio album, "Native," which is refreshing and catchy, finds frontman Ryan Tedder and his bandmates bringing all of their considerable musical prowess to bear in the service of these massive, melodic, state-of-the-art pop songs. Consequently, "Native" is a major player in a growing revolution for musical accountability in pop music and a release that should have people excited for the future of pop once again.
OneRepublic are always incredibly light, catchy, and get stuck in my head for days. "Something I Need," is no exception. Co-written by Tedder and Benny Blanco, "Something I Need" celebrates the fact that even if a couple loses everything, they still have each other ("Honey, you don't need to be afraid/If we got nothing, we got us"). "Something I Need" says, "Woke me up right after 2:00/Stayed awake and stared at you/So I wouldn't lose my mind." That song also includes a line about getting drunk to cope with life's stresses: "Last night I drank too much/Call it our temporary crutch."
Beginning with a revelation about only living once, "Something I Need" ends with the line: “If we only die once, I wanna die with/ if we only live once, I wanna live with you." finally stating the answer to the question of with whom exactly he wants to live and, by extension, die. It's absolutely predictable, but that's beside the point. "Something I Need" is cheesy, emotionally barren, and clichéd. It is one of my favorites songs on the album, although it had to grow on me, I knew "Something I Need" would be picked as official single at some point.
"The video for 'Something I Need' will hands down be the craziest video we've done," Tedder and his bandmates said of the music video last month. "And funniest. And hopefully best. Time for a risk." The group take an interesting and comical approach for the video. Directed by Cameron Buddy, the four-minute clip sees an awkward and ordinary man dealing with his bad luck man after finding himself attracted to a gorgeous woman. The man eventually gets close to the woman after being attacked several times by a vicious hound infected with rabies and a gospel choir. It's cute and entertaining.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Fall Out Boy punk out on "Love, Sex, Death"

Fall Out Boy get back to business with their super energetic music video on Rolling Stone for their new punk song "Love, Sex, Death," the first digital single, has been described as a fiery slab of early-80s punk and early '90s hardcore, from the Chicago pop-punk quartet's upcoming new album "Pax Am Days," to be released on October 15th via Island and will become the band's second release in 2013 after the comeback album "Save Rock and Roll," and marks a return to their hardcore musical roots with aggressive guitar work.
Before becoming A-list pop stars due to factors musical and non-musical, Fall Out Boy was ostensibly a punk band. But since crossing over with 2005's "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" and maybe even before that, they've never released a song that so wholly embraces the canonical ideal of punk rock as much as "Love, Sex, Death," the one minute and 24 seconds of knuckle-dragging hardcore bombast they kicked out today. And which producer coaxed all this aggression out of them? None other than noted punk/metal enthusiast Ryan Adams, who's been indulging his own punk proclivities lately.
"Love, Sex, Death" is a rollicking bit of hardcore fury and showcases Chicago rockers' two-day studio session at Adams' Pax Am Studios in Los Angeles. As band's bassist Pete Wentz told earlier last month, the track showcases influences from Misfits, Black Flag and other late '70s and early '80s punk bands. Wentz called it the "antithesis" of Save Rock and Roll, and based on the aggressive guitar work on "Love, Sex, Death," that's exactly what we can look forward to. If "Love, Sex, Death" is indicative of the rest of the set, "Pax Am Days" will be quite the contrast to Save Rock And Roll's hyper-glossy emo jock jams.
The clip for "Love, Sex, Death" is as raw as you can get: a fast-paced supercut of footage shot by the band members themselves on tour over the summer. The raw video shows the rockers at their most punk, their stripped-down instrumentation and curt lyrics adding up to an Eighties-style screed that reflects the overall tone of the record. "These are cave paintings, scrawled to just let the world know we were here. This video is made up of footage we shot ourselves on our worldwide tour in the summer of 2013," Wentz tells Rolling Stone.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Charli XCX dance with robots with "SuperLove"

Charlotte Emma Aitchison, better known by her stage name Charli XCX is wasting no time keeping the momentum flowing since the release of her eclectic debut "True Romance" earlier this year, she's already getting ready to follow it up with another one. There aren't many details out there for the next record, but she's shared a flirty colorful video as she spends a night out with the girls in Tokyo for the fizzy, club-happy new track, "SuperLove," the first single from Charli's upcoming sophomore major label album, that’s planned for release in March 2014.
Follow-up to the song she wrote for Icona Pop and worldwide hit single "I Love It," the shiny pop tune "SuperLove" has more of a big-room nightclub feel than anything on her debut "True Romance." "'SuperLove' is a song about running away and falling in love with someone," the 21-year-olf London alt-pop goddess explained, "and it being really dangerous and bad for you but still amazing, romantic and wonderful. 'SuperLove' is the best drug and this song is about overdosing on it and falling in real deep." Charli added that the song was influenced by artists like Bow Wow Wow, The Waitresses and The Flying Lizards as well as "those Lolita-esque bratty French girls and other girl power heroines."
"SuperLove" is pure, unadulterated pop at its finest and doubles down on the luxurious alt-pop and drug metaphors of "True Romance" highlights. Charli has nailed everything that's great about modern pop music with this uptempo electro ditty, putting her contemporaries to shame. "Super Love" has a touch of the 90s to it, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Charli's affinity for the decade. Shiny and playful, Charli's kicked another goal with "SuperLove." And this one is all jangly and peppy, guitars intermingling with her glo-fi sonics and her rapid-fire singing style.
The vivid, disco-infused crazy-fun video was shot in Tokyo's Robot Restaurant by Charli's boyfriend Ryan Andrews. It features Charli and friends strut through Tokyo, hanging out and get into some mischievous activity that includes dancing with robots in a neon club/funhouse, all while dressed like the world's most stylish candystriper and even corralling motorcycle gangs at the end. It's an entertaining video with Charli's words describing a relationship that could get her into some trouble. "I Wanna fall into your superlove/Yeah my heart never wants it to stop, please save me/'Cause I never seem to get enough/you're the bullet and you're making me drop, please save me," she spits lines.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Drake released "Hold On, We're Going Home"

Drake is back with a Miami Vice/Scarface-inspired theatrical video for his '80s-flavored track, "Hold On, We're Going Home," served as the second single from his newly-released third studio album, "Nothing Was the Same." While this short musical film does not feature the 26-year-old Jewish Canadian rapper undergoing a religious rite of passage, it does take place in the very Jewy locale of Miami, where a gun-toting Drake rescues his kidnapped girlfriend. Not exactly shul, but we'll take it.
Drake often blurs the line that separates rap and R&B, but his new single "Hold on We're Going Home" is something else entirely: a plunge into foggy synth-pop. And it finds Drake in full croon, pushing past the boundary established by previous hits "Find Your Love" or "Marvin's Room." Featuring the previously unknown duo Majid Jordan, the song cuts sharply against the aggressive myth-making of "Started From the Bottom," leaving recent tracks "The Motion" and "All Me" to bridge the gap. The synthpop ballad closer to early '80s Lionel Richie than it is to Jay Z, and finds Drake hoping to lock down a little love.
Just like Thicke, Drake addresses his song to a good girl whom he attempts to seduce. His meaning, however, is ambiguous: "You're a good girl and you know it," he sings to a woman in a club, "you act so different around me/I know exactly who you could be." It's possible that Drake, like Thicke, is trying to prise the pants off a demure woman who wouldn't otherwise be inclined to get wild with him. But given Drake's other verses and the mournful tone of the music, it's more likely that "Hold On, We're Going Home" is addressed to a woman acting the familiar part of a bad girl to get attention. You don't need to do that, Drake is saying; hold on to yourself and I'll take you to a place of safety.
The 7-minute-long, obviously gangster-inspired short film, takes place in 1985 Miami and was directed by Bill Pope, shows Drake playing a criminal kingpin who living the life of an '80s throwback baller, celebrating shady business deals with his partners A$AP Rocky, but their fun stops there because Drake learns that his lady has been kidnapped by a rival gang Steven Bauer (of "Scarface" fame), and it transforms Drake does everything in his power to bring her home, as he and his crew into a balaclava-wearing, machine gun shooting SWAT team to infiltrate a warehouse where the thugs are hiding out. "Basically it's a video full of acting because I'm dying to get back into acting," Drake told MTV News.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Rihanna brags about her wealth in "Pour It Up"

Rihanna throws up dollar bills and swings around scantily clad in her most provocative video yet for her stripper club anthem, "Pour It Up," the second US single and third overall single from 25-year-old Barbadian recording artist's latest seventh studio album, "Unapologetic," hit shelves last November. And now it's clear to see why as Rihanna was so unimpressed as she has seriously raised the bar when it comes to being raunchy in her new video for "Pour It Up."
"Pour It Up," is a bass rumping club song with a minimal hip hop beat. It is a characteristically chilly and an irresistible, Mike WiLL-produced standout banger for the ladies. As Rihanna sings about "Strip clubs and dollar bills" on this feminine spin of the cash-and-strippers lyrical content that is so popular with male rappers. Lyrically, Rihanna brags about her wealth on the song, which finds Rihanna turning a strip-club anthem into a declaration of independence, pulling out her dollar bills at the strip club, getting drunk, and bragging loudly.
We're usually used to hearing Rihanna use those powerful vocals of hers belting out some of the biggest dance hits. But with "Pour It Up," we're given another mirror of Rihanna's talents. Rhyming with some swag, the song is a bass rumping club song that'll more than have the rumping shaking at the club. Starting off slowly, the track goes into full grind on twenty seconds into the jam. Rihanna goes through mere scornful contempt and terrifies with her blank, relentless focus. she's at her best when she's flaunting.
In characteristically provocative fashion, Rihanna appears to be going for a glamorous strip club vibe under water in her new raunchy video, co-directed by the singer herself. The "Unapologetic" star is seen wearing a jeweled bra and denim thong "shorts" with a blond wig and diamond-studded bra, twerking aggressively and tossing around wads of cash while seated on her throne, a gold-adorned chair, surrounded by water and vapors, singing about "strip clubs and dollar bills." Later in the video, Rihanna gets up and makes a splash by having her pole dancers slap their butts to water on beat. While not necessarily high art, the video certainly matches the lavish strip-club exploits referenced in the song.