In Praise of Perfect Pop
by Matt Paley
I recently had the profound pleasure of spending a quiet evening at the normally wild and crazy Acme studios in Brooklyn with my dearest friend Rachel Trachtenburg, her mother Tina, and Acme’s brigadier general, Shawn Patrick. After a dinner and a movie of nachos and Sidney Lumet’s Network (try this as soon as you can), I was tasked with sharing a few of my favorite music videos. Most, unsurprisingly, were received well — Rihanna’s Spike Lee/Keith Herring/Warhol/Basquiat send-up Rude Boy and Beyonce as bored/scorned housewife/Marilyn Monroe in Why Don’t You Love Me? are both incredibly fun and really smart cultural homage — but my very favorite video of the year, Robyn’s pitch-perfect (as far as I’m concerned) Call Your Girlfriend, was roundly rejected. (more…)
Music Videos of the ‘80s (Hip-Hop Edition)
by Matthew Pitkoff
For the past few weeks, I’ve been doing research for an upcoming music video project. The artist I’m working with has instrumentals reminiscent of audio production from the 1980s, so I’m looking to draw creatively from the visual techniques and narrative forms of that era. During my “research” I’ve come across some absolutely amazing stuff. For your viewing pleasure, I’ve placed a few gems below. Enjoy! (more…)