Sometimes the music is only half the story. Would Michael Jackson’s immortal pop ballad “Thriller” have been the runaway success it was at the dawn of MTV if not for the extended video filled with zombies, werewolves, and Vincent Price? Probably not. Though MTV’s clout has diminished significantly in subsequent decades, artists are still releasing videos at a stunning clip, sharing them on Youtube, Vevo, and pretty much every streaming service out there.
Videos not only offer another side of the person making the music, but also of the music itself, adding in context clues and visual cues that enrich the sonic material. They can also be fun, funny, weird, and shocking. Collected below are some of the most interesting and compelling videos released over the last week.
Guns ‘N’ Roses — “It’s So Easy”
Guns ‘N’ Roses are currently in the midst of rolling out a huge new box set centered around their seminal debut album Appetite For Destruction. To help with the promotional push, they shared a video originally deemed too hot for MTV, decades after the fact, for their song “It’s So Easy.” With all the scantily-clad women and S&M motifs, you could see why the censors might have a couple bones to pick with Axl Rose and company.
John Mayer — “New Light”
The John Mayer reclamation project has been one of the more impressive and fun things to behold in the world of music over the last couple of years. The rubber-faced guitarists has really let it all hang out lately, touring with members of the Grateful Dead, while also producing tongue-in-cheek efforts like the video to “New Light” where he engages in some lo-fi shenanigans in front of a green screen. It’s the best possible look.
Jennifer Lopez — “Dinero” (Featuring Cardi B and DJ Khaled)
Jenny from the block still. F*cking. Has. It. For her latest visual creation, J-Lo dialed up the black and white image filter, hit an opulent mansion, took a fortune from some dudes in a classy game of strip poker, and dusted off a full Jersey Mike’s sub. Oh, she also got cameos from two of the biggest stars in the world, Cardi B and DJ Khaled. Not bad for a day’s work.
Father John Misty — “Please Don’t Die”
You’ve got to give Father John Misty this: The dude knows how to get you thinking about some deep shit on a pretty regular basis. Love, death, loneliness, damnation. All of it can be found on his latest album God’s Favorite Customer. It can also be found in the video for one of the best songs from that record, “Please Don’t Die,” which finds dear old Father John slipping into the bowels of hell on a boat piloted by the Grim Reaper, before he’s ultimately saved by his beloved. The whole thing is rendered in stop-motion animation, so yeah, it’s pretty amazing.
Christina Aguilera — “Fall In Line” (Featuring Demi Lovato)
The Christina Aguilera album rollout continues with yet another visual. For “Fall In Line,” X-tina called in a guest contribution from her pop music progeny Demi Lovato who shows up in the video, not only to sing, but to help bust out of a very well-lit prison, that I think is supposed to be an allegory for The Voice, or the music industry at large… or something.
