Best of 2012

Over the past couple months different websites and blogs have been putting articles out about the best music videos of 2012. A lot of the lists consist of the same music videos, and somehow all of the lists end with Gangnam Style at number one. Although Gangnam Style was the most popular video of the past year, I personally don’t think it was the best music video of 2012. After reviewing the other videos on the multiple lists, I have determined my top four music videos of 2012.

 At number four I have HYFR by Drake and Lil Wayne:

This video made my top five, not because I’m a huge Drake fan, but because of the subject matter. The video portrays Drake re-enacting his bar mitzvah, but in a much more glamorous setting. Drake completely accepts his Jewish upbringing in the video and collaborates it with his rap career. I consider this one of the best videos of 2012 because it is unlike any other rap video ever. Plus Lil Wayne’s panda hat is pretty cool. 

Oblivion by Grimes steals my number three spot:

This video is completely hilarious. I’m not a huge fan of the song but it fits perfectly with the music video. This mousy pink haired girl with an electronic sounding song has staged her video at real world sporting events. Grimes creates this oxymoron within her entire video. It’s obvious she doesn’t fit in at any of these locations, which makes the video so amazing. The best part is the impromptu dance party in the men’s locker room.

At number two I chose The Shins, Simple Song:

This may be one of the greatest music videos I have ever seen. The whole time watching it I was thinking this is completely magical. The use of light to portray the past versus present made the whole video cohesive between every shot. It was humorous and completely depressing at the same time, with a small hint of romance. The Shins combine so many things to create a perfectly unified video for a great and “simple song.”

Grabbing the gold is MIA’s, Bad Girls:

Hold on Gangnam Style I'm gonna let you finish, but MIA had the best video of the year. This video is completely fabulous, and brings a weird glamour to the Middle East. At first I was confused with what was going on but as I listened to the lyrics, “Live Fast, Die Young. Bad Girls Do It Well.” It all made sense. MIA is touching on the social hierarchy issues that Middle Eastern women face, as well as women everywhere. Some people around the world may find this video offensive, which is why I love it so much. I find this video so exciting to watch because of the fast cars, the leaning cars, the fashion, the bombs going off, and the overall randomness of everything. Also I just can’t get the song out of my head.

Honorable Mentions include: Macklemore’s Thrift Shop (because the fashion is amazing), Icona Pop’s, I Love It (check out the use of text), Gotye’s, Somebody That I Used to Know, and Jack White’s, Sixteen Saltines (for the crazy imagery).  

The Grammy Winners and Their Music Videos

The 55^th annual Grammy awards were this past Sunday, and for those of you who did not watch, two artists stole the show. The artist’s I’m talking about Gotye and the group, Fun. At the Grammy’s each artist dominated in certain categories with a particular song from this past year. I wanted to make a blog post about the award winning songs and their music videos.

First up I want to talk about Gotye. Gotye was nominated for two categories this year for his song, Somebody that I Used to Know, and one for his album. Making Mirrors. Gotye ended up winning all three categories, including record of the year, the most coveted award of the night. If you were alive this year, there is no way you haven’t heard Gotye’s hit, Somebody that I Used to Know. Although I do love the song, I love this music video even more.

This music video is a perfect representation of Gotye’s song. Both the video and song are so simple, yet so powerful. The video uses simplistic modern art to portray the emotions of both Gotye and Kimbra as they become apart of the painting. What keeps this video simple is the use of paint color and stop-start filming. Gotye kept the paint colors neutral which emphasizes the artist’s emotion. If the colors were brighter or darker, Gotye’s true emotion as he sings the chorus may have been lost throughout the video. The stop-start video is the perfect editing technique for this video. The paint creeps up Gotye’s body as he is becoming apart of the painting. With these techniques, the video remains effortless and beautiful, which is a perfect match for the record of the year.

The second artist who stole the Grammy’s was the group, Fun. Fun was nominated for six categories including record of the year, song of the year, best new artist, and album of the year. Unlike Gotye, Fun did not sweep all of their categories, however they did win two Grammy’s, song of the year for their hit, We Are Young, and best new artist. The song We Are Young definitely destroyed charts this year.

The music video for We Are Young is not what I expected when I first watched it. The whole video is slow motion, which is an interesting technique. Shooting this video in slow motion was definitely a smart move because it works seamlessly with the powerful chorus. The slow motion helps create some very riveting and beautiful shots.  For example, when two guys destroy a teddy bear, the green beads go everywhere, which looks amazing in slow motion. The whole video consists of crazy shots of young people fighting, kissing, falling, and dancing, all while the band is remaining calm and performing on stage. The destruction in the video relates to Fun’s lyrics, “Tonight, we are young, so let’s set the world on fire.” Fun definitely took this video to the right place, and I can’t wait to see what they’ve got coming next.

Two Business Experts

In order to stay current in the entertainment industry, it is important to recognize trends and the people leading those trends. The experts in entertainment business are a great source to look at when developing a business plan. I have found two experts that have been extremely helpful for my business plan, and have some great insights into the entertainment industry.

The first business expert is David Lee. I chose David Lee as an important expert to note because he focuses on technology and how it works with entertainment. Lee graduated from John Hopkins with a B.A. and later graduated from Stanford University with an M.S. in electrical engineering. Lee then went on to work as a corporate attorney, and late became a founding member of Google’s New Business Development team. While at Google, Lee helped the business develop the popular website, StumbleUpon. Currently Lee acts as managing partner and co-founder at SV Angel, which funds ventures like Twitter, FourSquare, and Dropbox.

David Lee points out three important components that can be very beneficial in receiving initial investors. The first component is passion. As a business owner it is essential to present clear and justifiable information about your company, however having a passionate back-story helps engage investors on a deeper level. Passion allows investors to connect with you personally. The second component David Lee expresses is important is having clear business goals. As a business owner it is important to have a clear understanding of what you want your business to accomplish. Presenting clear goals to investors will allow them to understand exactly what your company is and what you hope to gain in the future. David Lee mentions a third component when developing a business plan, which is data collection. Investors want to see numbers and data acts a security blanket for their investment.  It is important to have substance to your business presentation otherwise the plan will not get funded.

The second business expert I chose is Oprah Winfrey, a recognizable figure in the industry with a great perspective on developing a business plan. Oprah Winfrey is considered one of the most respected and accomplished public figures in history. She was born in Mississippi and in 1971 attended Tennessee State University. After several years of television success, The Oprah Winfrey Show entered national syndication in 1986. Oprah spent the next 25 years climbing up the success ladder, with a successful talk show, magazine, awards and charities. She remains number 11 on Forbes most powerful women in the world, and is America’s only African-American billionaire.

Oprah’s stance on developing a business plan is smart and to the point, which has allowed her to succeed with a multi-platform business. A well-developed business plan allows you to see the potential problems that could arise. After acknowledging the potential problems and tiny costs, the business plan will help you to see the changes that need to be made within your company. Oprah views the business plan as a living thing that is constantly changing and needs to be constantly analyzed for success. As the economy shifts, new technology develops and the business industry changes, a business owner must be able to adapt its business plan to fit current trends. Adaptability will ensure success as your company moves into the future.