The Art of the Music Video: Part I, 1980s

When I was home over Thanksgiving, my awesome stepdad shared with me some of his favorite music videos from a different time…from when music videos actually played on Music Video Television…from where there was no Internet to virally spread them around…oh, the 1980s.

These videos really resonated with me, and I’ve been trying to figure out why.

Besides the great songs, it’s how they look.

Like Chevy Chase lip syncing to Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.” Knowing that the song’s about a man during a mid-life crisis, and the unbelievable bass solo is palindromic–the second half is the first half played backwards–conveys irony on so many levels. Tall and short, being funny about a serious emotional breakdown, Chevy stealing musical duties while Paul steals the comedy…it’s about opposites. I love it.

Next up is Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing”. Awarded the Music Video of the Year in 1986 for MTV’s 3rd Annual Video Music Awards, it was the second computer-generated video ever on the channel. It introduced a now classic riff, “I want my MTV.” There are men that look like Legos. There’s neon. There are videos within the video. It’s meta. It works.

Finally, a double header from Robert Palmer, whose identical pale-faced, red lipsticked-women in color blocked dresses could walk down the runways today in “Addicted to Love.”

And the ladies can sure shred in “Simply Irresistible.”

What are other favorite 1980s videos I should highlight in Part II? I have some personal favorites, but interested to see what people like…

Pray for me!

And my running shoes. The LA Marathon is just days away!

The New Dork

For all of us at APOC who think that social media is the coolest thing ever…this video is for us. What do you think? Check out Mashable’s page for comments.

State of the Internet

A cool new video with updated statistics about the Internet, social networking sites and usage, and how we’re still growing…

I’m Buzzed

I’m sure this is what Google hoped its users would say about it’s new social networking service. According to Google, more than tens of millions of people had tried the service within the first 48 hours of its launch. Like Apple, whenever Google introduces a new product or application, the hype will draw serious and immediate attention. But Google is fallible too. A New York Times article discussed how, after intense criticism, Google altered an initial Buzz feature that automatically connected people based on email contacts on the grounds that it compromised privacy. Critics believed that users’ email addresses would be exposed and that Google was forcing its social networking tools on to users, since the company didn’t initially offer the choice to turn off Buzz. It has since added a tab in Gmail to eliminate Buzz and also turned off the auto follow feature. Now that Google has entered the social networking space, it will need to continually update and tweak its privacy settings like Facebook or Twitter or any other platform that involves sharing personal information. In my opinion, then, such brouhaha over Buzz isn’t surprising or far-fetched. Social networking is fluid and dynamic. Not every tool will appeal to everyone at every time. If people choose to use a tool, then they should familiarize themselves with the privacy settings and choose carefully what information to put online.

Although Buzz is limited to Gmail users (176 million versus Facebook’s 400 million+), and I don’t believe that it will replace Facebook and Twitter’s expansive networking capabilities, Buzz offers unique features that are detailed by Saad Fazil in VentureBeat. Here are some of the highlights (and a link to the full article):

• Since Buzz is immediately available to all Gmail subscribers, the platform already has an audience at its fingertips.
• Gmail users tend to keep an email tab open, which will likely encourage Buzz use.
• Buzz has the seamless capability to integrate standalone apps, such as Picasa and Google Latitude, which differentiates itself from Facebook.
• A potential downside is that Buzz is the “jack of all trades, master of none”: it can be Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare at the same time, and users may be turned off by it’s broad (versus niche) capabilities.

Here is a video that demonstrates how Google Buzz works:

And here is a great parody of that video:

And one more for good luck:

Parisian Oops

I love this interpretation of Google’s Super Bowl ad. Made by a UCB sketch group in New York, the ad is already circling the tech blogs. The embedding link is acting funky, so you can watch it directly here.

Super Bowl SearchStories

This is what I know about Super Bowl Sunday: it is the only time I will 1) proactively watch football and 2) proactively watch ads. I’m not anti-football. I’m just not that into it (unless, of course, the Bears are playing…then I’m moderately more interested). I knew that the Colts were playing the Saints, that Peyton Manning is the Colts QB and former Trojan Reggie Bush plays for the Saints (and dates Kim Kardashian).

After reading an article in the New York Times on Sunday morning, I was very excited about the possibility of seeing an ad for Google during the 3rd quarter. According to the article, Google makes more money from advertising than any other media company in the world, but has not traditionally promoted it’s own brand. I absolutely loved the “search story” that told, through search queries, how a boy goes to study abroad in Paris, falls in love, moves to Paris, gets married and has a baby. Beautiful, simple, and less than a minute. In addition to demonstrating Google’s search capabilities, the ad speaks directly to how we can tell life stories through information searches.

There are currently seven Google SearchStory ads on YouTube, each detailing a different emotionally-charged story while highlighting how Google allows the story to unfold. Here is an ad about planning a road trip that does an amazing job of showing Google Map features:

Examining the Super Bowl as an institutional apparatus that creates an intense escalation of media activities across industries, the various advertisements, sports commentator descriptions, pre-game and halftime show antics surrounding celebrities, and overall emphasis on American patriotism seem to convey distinct messages to the television and online audiences. As Scott Sles noted in his blog post that CBS denied running an ad by the gay dating site ManCrunch, much can be suggested about the interaction between television broadcasting, programming and cultural values. Google’s ad — along with ads for Vizio’s Internet Apps and the infamous GoDaddy.com domain site — show the prominence of brand marketing strategies for online services across other media. As the Super Bowl is the most watched television show each year, our cultural values are moving online. Google’s slogan says it all: “search on.” Use your tv to search the Internet. Use Google for planning your life. Use YouTube, Flickr and Twitter to share your stories (through Vizio’s service, of course). Just as the television served as information’s gateway, now TV is telling us to go online.

And just for fun, here was my other favorite Super Bowl ad. Leave it to the Simpsons (with Coke as a sponsor) to tackle the poor economy in a lighthearted, relevant way. (Yes, I used “tackle” on purpose.)

High Concept Hardware

With all the hullabaloo about the iPad and tablet/slate hardware hitting the market, it’s already time to think ahead to what the next big thing will be in hardware design. Given Apple’s clear domination in the hardware “hype” market, any new device will need to combine functionality, portability, application support and aesthetics in a new way. I was sent this video of a concept called the Rolltop, made by German designer Evgeny Orkin. At first I thought it was a yoga mat. It aims to work as a laptop, tablet and monitor, with it’s own power source and camera. Personally, I don’t think something like this would catch on like a tablet – it’s difficult to envision hordes of people carrying around a roll-up computer. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting thought experiment to brainstorm about the post-iPad world. And please forgive the cheesy elevator music – it comes with the video.