I have just run across an example of how enjoyment of a song can be ruined by seeing the video of the song.

I have been hearing a catchy song called "Complicated" on the radio and thought it sounded a lot like Alanis Morrissette. I'm not a huge Alanis fan, but I do like some of her songs.

Then I saw a clip of the "Complicated" singer, a newcomer named Avril Lavaigne (sp?) and now that I've seen what this is all about, a teenage mall girl on a skateboard, I know that I am not the target audience for this artist and I'm not interested in her music anymore.

That may seem unfair to her as an artist, but that video image of her running around in a mall playing suburban "riot grrl" and riding a skateboard made it hard for me to identify with her lyrics or what she was saying once I saw who and what she was.

Batdance said:

i feel the same way. i don't want to live a life like that and even meet ppl. who dress in a fashion that seems depressing to me. i like the song but the video does ruin the importance and meaning of the song.

after seeing a few interviews on this new girl, she said she wants to dress the same way she would off-stage. if i had songs, i would make videos of my fantasies and how i want to be which is royalty meets art and some backboard of some story. i think videos are meant to win awards for being the best and groundbreaking both visually and technically like some of mj and maddy's videos for example.
what would u do in a video if u had a decent budget for it and if u were a new comer? if i were a new comer, i see a video similar to ashanti's foolish.

Batdance said:

so once you seen she was like a total white "skater chick valley girl" type your all like Aww hell naw she aint like alanis at all!?"


lol thats ok i felt the same way when i seen the video for "my neck my back" my little cousin told me the girl who sings it was a stripper so i was thinking she'd at least look decent

instead i was watching sha nae nae from martin with a headwrap...i dunno whos licking that pu$$y...

Christopher said:

Yep! That was my reaction. After I saw who was singing the song, I thought, "nope, this ain't for me."




She's probably got plenty of offers to lick it now that she's got a hit song.

subyduby said:

You are right, Suby. It's a song that attracts the ear, but the meaning of the lyrics that attract the listeners is ruined by the video images of the singer as a kid running around a mall.

Avril's first video should have been a simple introductory one, a performance video showing her and a band. The decision to present her as some sort of Saturday afternoon live action cartoon figure is a turn-off to people who might have been interested in becoming fans.

If I were a young artist just starting out with a small budget for videos, I would keep things simple and focus on performing the song. No frantic running around. Let the listeners continue to enjoy the imagery of song and use their imaginations instead of force-feeding an image that might turn their attention away from the music.

batdance, ur description of the video is preety good.

i actually visioned my own first video with a decent budget to be:
1. start the camera coming in through the doorway of a bedroom which contains one pink or peach-colored bed, a big window with an area to sit by and a mirror.
2. the artist would look through the video while sitting down and her attitude would be disappointed. she would look down from her video to the outside world and see her desire be away.
3.the girl who is wearing a simple dress up to her knees, stands up and walks to the full-length mirror. she looks at herself and touchs her hair and face, deciding what is wrong with it or deciding what she has become.
4. the girl goes to the bed and lies down on her stomach and begins to cry while miming to the song.

OR
1. the girl has her hair like aishwariya rai from her the movie:Devdas. she wear a yellowish, or pink silk dress.
2. she is running through her mansion and runs toward a see-through sari-like curtain in which she just hangs on and mimes. she sits down while holding the curtain or she twirls around within the curtain until she reaches a window. she looks from her window and then quickly moves away like she doesn't care about reality and wants to move on.
3. she runs away to her friend,mother,bf,etc. and just collides her cheek with the person playfully and goes to the center of some hall and begins to dance( i would love to dance the Indian traditioal dance). she dances and then begins to spin around and around like crazy until she becomes dizzy and falls, lying on the ground or she falls to the gorund the same way mj does after he finishes spinning.

OR
1.the girl would be wearing a white shirt with sleeves. her sleeves would be a bit folded and would wear blue pants. she would have a belt that is clipped to her pants. her hair would be spiky.
2. she would walk slowly through this beaitufl hall which has a wooden, musuem like feel.
3. while singing the song, she looks down at the gorund and seems unhopeful.
4. she goes to the window and stands next to it while just staring outsiide like she excepts something.
5. then she hears something apporaching her, she turns around(the camera gets an angle of her face) and then starts walking slowly back. she shakes her head in disbelief while looking nervous and then starts to run very fast to the door or to the lover.
6.she begins to cry when she sees her desire and steps outside to the sunlight and looks up in the sky. she starts circling like she crazy because she finally is outside her sad, life. after circling, she just grabs herself and just looks up at the camera and smiles while a tear rolls down her cheek.

Video or film images really can make or break an album.

I've heard peeps say that when the Graffiti Bridge LP came out they really liked it, but seeing the movie changed the way they felt about the album. Dislike of the GB movie spilled over to the album, which did have some great songs on it.

Another example of how video imagery can make or break an album is MJ's Thriller. Sales of Thriller went into the multi millions after people watched MJ do "Billie Jean" on the Motown special.

I don't know anything about Avril, the new teen queen artist being discussed, but maybe she's being pushed as an alternative to Britney. Britney has a huge audience, but there are a lot of people who don't like her music or her image. The record company may be trying to create a pop star who's different from the other young female singers who are out there.

I'm with you on this too. This happens quite a bit, in fact, I had this happen with a Prince video once (the Gett Off vids), and with the Pearl Jam "Jeremy" video. I know that everybody feels that the Jeremy vid is top teir, which it might be in the perspective of the timeline of music video history, but I had an image in my head that wasn't exactly like the video and that threw everything off for me.

On the other hand, when I saw videos for Tool and Snoop Dogg/Dre, I was hyped.

Interesting.

Dauphin said:

Yes, Prince has made some bad videos. I think he could have had a hit song (perhaps on the club charts) with Come On from the Newpower Soul album, but the video was awful and killed the momentum of the song.

subyduby said:

You've come up with some interesting scenes for a video. One thing to remember, though: It might not be such a good idea to have too much crying in a video.

I don't think that having the singer cry in Complicated would work. For one thing, it's an up tempo song, which doesn't really fit in with a theme of sadness or crying.

Although crying can be very effective, such as Sinead O'Connor's video for Nothing Compares 2 U. I think it depends upon the artist and whether they have the right persona to pull off a highly emotional video. It doesn't always work. Prince's crying scenes in Purple Rain were not very realistic.

GoldNigga said:

It's interesting how artists these days have to have videos. Before MTV came along, the only time anybody would actually see the artist doing their songs was if they appeared as a guest on a TV or if you went to see them live.

MTV's video format completely changed the music industry. There are so many artists these days who make it not on talent but on marketing and "cuteness." That really couldn't happen too much before videos came along.

It's interesting how artists these days have to have videos. Before MTV came along, the only time anybody would actually see the artist doing their songs was if they appeared as a guest on a TV or if you went to see them live.

MTV's video format completely changed the music industry. There are so many artists these days who make it not on talent but on marketing and "cuteness." That really couldn't happen too much before videos came along.

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i agree with what u say. most ppl. like artists based on their "cuteness" and marketing some decent songs.

do u know what type of interviews the artists were asked back in the day?
now days, most ppl. like artists if they have a similar choices such as in color,dresses,bfs,etc.

POOK said:

"Don't You Know You Gonna Shock The Monkey"

Peter Gabriel, 1982

Batdance said:

Since I have a young daughter, I like the chick-rock-skater vibe a lot more than sexy-dancer teenage sex object of JLo and C Aguilera. At least, this Avril kid is out having honest fun instead of trying to be a concubine 2 months after puberty. Heck, she even strums a guitar!!

Yeah, I liked the song b4 I saw the video 2.

I still like the song...it's a good message 4 the little ones.

The song, 2 me, didn't seem like it came from a cute little teeny bopper "mall rat"... I thought the lyrics were very mature.

She's cute. I wish her squeaky clean luck.