Official Video: Adele's 'Someone Like You'

This was released within the last hour.  Thought I would share.

Video: "I Will Follow You Into The Dark"

Few people have seen the music video for Death Cab For Cutie's single 'I Will Follow You Into the Dark'.  Even fewer have seen the original, alternate video for the track.  It is one of my personal favorites, and I thought I would share.

The video, using a storybook, tells a tale of companionship, love and loss, using two rabbits as primary characters.  It's very touching, and adds a level of emotion to the song that most music videos cannot match these days.  I hope you enjoy it.

Video: Jay-Z & Kanye West 'Otis'

It sounds like artists have finally gotten wise to the mashup sound.  'Otis' takes a sample of Otis Redding's 'Try A Little Tenderness', and flips it on it's head.  It's an example of brilliant sampling, pieced together with an amazing set of rhymes from Jay-Z and Kanye West.

The video, directed by Spike Jonze, is pretty damn good too.



Mr. Redding would be proud.

Video: Rise Against - 'Make It Stop' (September's Children)

September 2010 was a horrific month for LGBT youth.  It seemed like every day, there was a report of another gay teen that had committed suicide to escape the bullying from other kids at school.  A year later, the names of some of these young men still are fresh in are memory - Seth Walsh, Tyler Clementi, Billy Lucas and Asher Brown.

With the advent of It Gets Better, hopefully some lives have been saved.  I would like to think the large number of pop songs on the market has helped to bring a positive message to those feeling desperate and at their lowest point.  P!nk released 'Fuckin' Perfect'.  Katy Perry came out with 'Firework'.  And, of course, you can't forget Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'.

Support also came from the rock industry.  Rise Against, who are activists in their own right, recently released 'Make It Stop'.  In my opinion, it has much more substance than any of the other songs that have come out referencing the issue.  Take a look.

Video: Very Early Adele Performance Released

Earlier this week, Billboard Magazine released a video of Adele singing 'Chasing Pavements' early on in her career.  The performance was recorded on June 16, 2008.  It shows a ragamuffin-esque Adele, as a natural curly haired brunette without make-up.  She's not even recognizable until her voice starts to fill the room.



She has come a long way in three short years.  Even in regards to her abilities, you can see noticeable improvement.  If you have been paying attention to my site in recent months, it's no secret that I am head over heels in love with Adele.  And, it looks like I'm not the only one.  So far in 2011, she has the top two selling albums of the year, with '21', and her debut effort, '19'.  She also has the number one single of the year with 'Someone Like You'.  It's refreshing to see someone from humble beginnings and legitimate talent atop the music charts.  If this video proves anything, it's that Adele is the real deal.

Today In "Things You Can't Unsee" News

Rebecca Black released a new single this week.  The follow up to 'Friday', which many critics called "the worst song ever written", is called 'My Moment'.  It's bland, but much better than 'Friday'.  It certainly has a Kelly Clarkson/'A Moment Like This' feel to it.  But there is a HUGE difference between Rebecca Black and 'American Idol's' first winner.  Black didn't win a contest.  She hasn't paid any "dues" to have a "music career" (if you want to call it that).  Her mom and dad, who make cameos in the video, paid someone $4,000 to let her sing and make a CD.  And it shows...



Doesn't she realize that the world has been making fun of her?  She's the William Hung of this decade.  As of this moment (pun intended), the video has over 2.8 million views, and nearly 200,000 "dislikes" on Youtube.

My Favorite Mother's Day Song

Well, OK.  Maybe it's not a Mother's Day song per se.  But, it is the only song that I've thought of on Mother's Day since 1988.

Soundtrack Of My Life - 05/02/2011 'Everyday'

Last night, with the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed, it was near impossible for many of us not to think of September 2001.  If anything positive was gleamed from the events that tragic day, it was that people became more neighborly.  For a short time following 9/11, though the vast majority of people were severely depressed, they were friendlier than what they were on September 10, 2001.

I found that people would say hi more often, when passing them on the street.  Someone would hold the door for you, or would hold an elevator, when before they wouldn't take the time to.  The nation, for lack of a better term, was polite.  In time, the civility went away, and everything went back to normal.

It was an atmosphere that I hoped to see return last night.  Instead, the scene outside the White House looked more like a Grateful Dead concert.  People were throwing beach balls and climbing light poles at two in the morning, chanting "Na na na na.  Hey hey hey. Good bye."  To the rest of the world, especially the Middle East, the citizens of the United States looked like jagoffs.

On September 11, 2001, the Dave Matthews Band was coincidentally scheduled to release the song 'When the World Ends' as their third single, off of their album 'Everyday'.  Based on what happened that morning, the single was pulled, and the video was scrapped.  The band and studio decided to release the album's title track, 'Everyday', instead.

The video featured (then unknown) '30 Rock's' Judah Friedlander, walking through the streets of New York's Greenwich Village asking random people for a hug.  It was filmed shortly after 9/11, and features a few cameos from some New York celebrities, such as Conan O'Brien, Blue Man Group, and Tiki Barber.  At the time, it was very touching and heartwarming to watch.  Even with his relative television fame, I don't think Judah Friedlander would be able to get enough hugs to fill three minutes of video in 2011.  It's sad how people have grown colder in the last 10 years.

Watch Moby's Video For 'The Day'

Last Thursday, Moby released the video for 'The Day', the first single from his upcoming album, 'Destroyed'.  It stars Heather Graham as a hospital nurse/demon slaying angel.  In a word, it is remarkable.  It uses an artistic style that is unrivaled in music videos today.  It is simply glorious.  Heavy on religious imagery, the song is surprisingly not about life and death.  Rather, according to Moby himself, it's about dealing with addiction.  The video will stick with you, guaranteed.

Without a doubt, 'The Day' is the best track Moby has released since his 1999 album, 'Play'.  See for yourself.

Bruno Mars Spanks His Monkey

You have to admit...This is probably the most original music video you've seen today.

Lady Gaga Releases 'Born This Way' Music Video

Clocking in at a full seven minutes and twenty seconds, the video for Gaga's 'Born This Way' can only be described as "epic".  The opening graphic starts off with a pink triangle and a unicorn (I'm assuming to symbolize the gay community).  Then, there is a two minute introduction/narrative explaining the origins of good and evil.  It really doesn't make any sense, and could have honestly been left out of the video.

The rest of the video is the standard Lady Gaga type of video.  It's pretty good.  It features that really tatted up male model from the Thierry Mugler 'Scheiße' video that Gaga did about a month back.  The guy is tattooed like a skeleton from head to toe.  He's really freaky looking, but hot at the same time.

The only thing I didn't get, or didn't want to get, was the "egg" thing.  The "good" half of Gaga is laying eggs throughout the video.  It reminded me of the Alien Queen in the Alien movies.  I didn't have to see that.  On the lighter side, there are some videos where Lady Gaga is dressed up in elaborate costumes, like 'Telephone', or 'Alejandro', the video looks more "artistic" than "sexy".  Then there are videos like 'Bad Romance", where she comes across as sexy as hell.  Well, 'Born This Way' is a sexy video.

Have a look:

Fun With Bonnie Tyler

When you look back on all of the one hit wonders of the 80s, one stands out in particular as particularly easy to mock 25 years later. 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' was a train wreck the likes of which could never be duplicated. The haunting piano intro.   The unknown male singer that kept saying "turn around".  The Meatloaf-esque lyrics.  The gong.  It was the female Bohemian Rhapsody, only horrid.

And then there was the video.....  Oh my God, the video.  Ninjas, Fonzies, football players, angels, fencers, gymnasts, schoolboys...all in the same night, at the same school.  The plot of Lost actually made more sense in comparison.

Check out this amusing graph that was on Jezebel.com earlier yesterday.  Then, below, is a hilarious take on the original video.  I've seen it a dozen times, and still laugh my ass off.  Honestly, with as much shit as I give this song, I still love it.

Literal Video - Total Eclipse of the Heart - watch more funny videos