I Want My MTV

New Video from The Game

2005-08-18T02:02:00.000-04:00

The_Game_-_artist_image.6774126
Originally uploaded by li1183.

So something that I just realized - it’s kinda difficult to write about The Game. He’s got this name where it’s like, if I had titled this “New Game Video”, you might get confused and think it was a video game. And you’re never quite sure whether to call him The Game, or just plain old Game (or game?). Anyway, our dear friend the Game is coming out with a new video. I’m not sure if the song is on the radio yet as I’m a little bit outta the loop due to the fact that I can’t really bear to bring myself to listen to the radio. The song is called, Put You On the Game, and I predict it’ll be a pretty massive hit. It’s incredibly catchy. Anddd here’s the exciting part - you might catch a glimpse of little old me in the background. Yes folks, I was an extra. My first time, but I felt like I had done it before, because somehow I knew to expect that it would be a massively boring day. My roommate and I started out just going to visit the set with a casting director friend, just to watch and be merry, and then got asked to be in the video (ok, so we asked also, but then they agreed...so they kinda asked us in the end. haha). So, we’re just extras. We sat around alll day long just waiting to be called, and finally around 7:30pm they got all of us out there and put us on this wooden platform. It was shot at Lacy Studios in L.A.. The scene was basically three cars sitting in this lot and Game rapping to the camera, with the lead girls grinding with some boys near the cars and then the extras dancing and whooping it up in the back behind the cars on some platforms that were in front of basically a brick wall. I like to call it rustic.
As far as the rest of the video, I know that they were shooting a car scene in the street. Not sure about the details, but for some reason I thought at the time that Game was driving the car. There’s also a scene in the end where they beat up a guy dressed as a....beaver? I can’t quite remember now. Anyway, I’m sure it’s a reference to 50 Cent in some way. If anyone can enlighten me on that one, please feel free.
So according to one of the production guys though, it should be a pretty hot video. Keep an eye out for it in about a month due to some extra concert footage they want to edit in.
Oh, and no I did not get to meet Game. I did walk past him though at the end of the shoot, and he has very pretty eyes. Haha. I’m sure he’d love the word pretty and his name being used in the same sentence. But they were. Lo siento.
‘Till next time...

Back from the dead

2005-08-13T00:19:00.000-04:00

Hey there all my loyal readers..haha. right. Anyway, I've been m.i.a. for awhile because I actually just made a cross country move from Delaware (yes, that's a state), to Los Angeles. So glad I did it, but we drove and it's taken awhile to get settled, so i'm finally back online and ready to give my oh-so-whitty comments on videos and the such.

On an exciting note, I met my first famous person in this beautiful, crazy city, and he so happened to be a music video director. He also does commercials and stuff, but videos seem to be his primary thing. Very cool guy, and very sweet - it was Jake Nava by the way. You can get a view of his resume here. Amazing stuff he's done, and I, shamefully, had barely a clue. lol. oh well. Did I mention he was a really cool guy? Ok, just gotta give him a good plug here. In case anyone happens to care. haha. Aight, well, hopefully some more frequent updates to come. I've gotta get back to my job search...

Update on Kanye West Video

2005-05-18T18:12:00.000-04:00

MTV has a new article that talks about Kanye's new video for "Diamonds." Sounds like it should be pretty interesting. It's directed by Hype Williams, so chances are it'll be great.

La Tortura

2005-05-11T18:52:00.000-04:00

La Tortura Video
Originally uploaded by li1183.

Ok, so how fierce is Shakira? I had to make a post about her new song and video, "La Tortura," which you can see here. If you like music at all, I don't think you can help but shimmy just a little to this song. The video is amazing. It's kinda funny, has a good storyline, and I'm sorry, but how in the world does she move her body like that?! Someone put it perfectly, saying she was like Gumby.
In case you didn't know, the title means "The Torture," which I take to mean that she's "torturing" this guy in the video. Check out the video if you haven't and see if you agree with me.
She's been missing in action since 2001's Laundry Service, but her new album Fijacion Oral 1, will be released June 7, 2005. Then, in November she'll follow up with an english album, Oral Fixation 2. Can't wait!

New Kanye!

2005-05-11T13:32:00.000-04:00

So I'm a pretty big Kanye West fan, and I'm soo excited about his new song "Diamonds". Just heard it on the radio for the first time yesterday. It's the first single from his new, up and coming second cd, Late Registration. He really likes that whole school, college dropout theme. Keep an ear out for that one, and an eye out - although there's no word on the video just yet.

Also, I can't help it...you know how I can't get enough of the Pussycat Dolls' song "Don't Cha". The video was just released and should hopefully be playing a lot on MTV in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for that one as well. Otherwise, you can go here to check it out, if you have a yahoo account.

Just Breathe

2005-05-09T14:39:00.000-04:00

Anna Nalick,
originally uploaded by li1183.

I think Anna Nalick is fabulous. You might've heard her new song, Breathe(2am) lately. It's something you would hear on like, 93.7 - for my delaware people. Anyway, it's really pretty, and the video has this...chill out and wander around vibe to it. haha. Some of it also has a kind of home video feel to it, which I think is cool when done right. Her website is really good, featuring clips of all her songs from her debut cd, Wreck of the Day, her video for Breathe, and a journal. Good stuff.

Keep an eye out for Gavin DeGraw's new video for Chariot. Here's a post from VideoStatic, a really good, up to date blog on new videos. You can read some more details about the Gavin video there. Love this song!

Innnn-com-pleeeeete

2005-05-04T17:57:00.000-04:00

Backstreet Boys Video
Originally uploaded by li1183.

Sooo, cough it up - do we like the Backstreet Boys' new song and video or not? I have to admit, the song (called Incomplete)...I like it. Typical Backstreet ballad - extremely catchy and just really "pretty" sounding. I don't know how many of you saw American Idol last night, but Anthony did that song, and it really made me appreciate the Backstreet Boys' talent. I'm not a fan, by any means, but they can harmonize and sing pretty dang well. Now the video...well, I think they look a bit shaggy and old. And it really makes no sense. I mean, Howie's in the middle of a desert driving and ends up at a gas station with Nick, and all the other guys too...but then it cuts to Brian in the ocean, Kevin in a field playing the piano (very uninspiredly, btw), and Howie..well, Howie's no where to be found as usual. Nick does his normal convulsive singing and then a car blows up...I'm just a little confused. haha. Whatever. I guess it's their normal formula of drama, rain, and heartfelt singing, and as they say, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.

Maybe I Want My VH1 Instead

2005-05-02T22:11:00.000-04:00

Michael Buble
Originally uploaded by li1183.

Lately, I've switched to watching VH1 in the mornings to see some different videos. I'm sure everyone knows that they play more of the mellow stuff on that channel. A little variety is good! One video that caught my attention this morning was Michael Buble, Feeling Good. I've never heard of this guy until now, and at first I was just kind of ignoring the video, but then I got sucked in pretty quickly. The video has this cool, spy/James Bond kind of theme going on and the song was really good and different. Check out his website for a look at his recent performance of "Feeling Good" on David Letterman, and lots of other cool info (and some not so bad pictures).

Who the heck is Mike Jones?

2005-04-27T01:45:00.000-04:00

Have you all seen those weird little clips after MTV shows showing the elusive Mike Jones? Apparantly, he's a new artist, and his whole advertising campaign centers around the theme of "Who is Mike Jones?". Every commercial says that, and they play a clip of his video. Well, they succeeded in peaking my interest, so I did a little research.
First off - explanation for the repeated "Who is Mike Jones" theme: That's the name of his debut album. Cleverrrr. The first single and video is "Still Tippin," which you can view here. It features Slim Thug and Paul Wall. Frankly, you can't even really tell who Mike Jones is from the video, because they all have a lot of airtime. This is actually his second album, but I guarantee you if it happens to be good enough and gets nominated for a grammy, he'll be nominated for Best New Artist! The Grammy's are good at nominating old artists for that award.
Soo, if you're still interested, you can visit his website to read a little more about his story. It seems like it's still in the works, but check it out anyway. I think this one might be an artist to watch out for.

Update on MTV Overdrive

2005-04-25T17:36:00.000-04:00

Well folks, MTV Overdrive has officially launched to the public. Click here to check it out!

Taking it back - TRL!

2005-04-21T18:32:00.000-04:00

TRL actually showed 20 videos today on the countdown instead of 10, which was refreshing. I don’t know what prompted them to do it, but I definitely thinks it’s a good idea to do that every once in awhile. Adds some variety. I haven’t seen videos in the AM on mtv in weeks, so who knows what’s going on there.
New song they showed on the countdown at #13 was Weezer "Beverly Hills." I really like this song, and have always liked Weezer. This song’s pretty true to their sound too. Remember “Buddy Holly?” I used to absolutely love that one and the video was classic too. That one takes me back to the summers when I was little and my brother and I used to play video games all day. Haha. Weezer’s actually been around since 1992. Their new album, Make Believe, is coming out on May 10, so go grab that one(if you still buy cds – haha). There’s also an article on them in Rolling Stone right now (thanks, Katie for the idea!). They’re on the cover for the first time, so if you really like them, there’s some good reading for you.

MTV Overdrive

2005-04-20T13:19:00.000-04:00

mtvoverdrive
Originally uploaded by li1183.

So, I recently got an email from mtv.com inviting me to try out mtv's new software/broadband video channel, MTV Overdrive. I think it's just another way for me to spend too much time watching MTV related things, but I checked it out anyway, and it was pretty cool. Bascilaly, the program launches a window and lets you watch videos, news and MTV shows anytime you want, and you can pick and choose what you want to watch. I didn't get to try everything because my computer is having memory and speed issues, but the videos were really high quality - much better than Launch, Yahoo's video and music service. There's of course the trade-off though of it slowing down your computer more than Launch does, and there was actaully a warning in the email saying that the program has "demanding system requirements." As far as I know, Overdrive hasn't officially launched yet, but be sure to check it out once it does.

In the meantime, check out Black Eyed Peas' new video and song "Don't Phunk With My Heart." It doesn't really sound like Fergie in there, but I like this song a lot - very catchy.

Update on "Don't Cha" Song

2005-04-11T21:53:00.000-04:00

I heard the real version of "Don't Cha" on the radio today, so apparantly, it's out by the original artist, Tori Alamaze, as we speak, and as far as The Pussycat Dolls website is concerned, their version is supposed to officially hit radio tomorrow. Who knows. Tori's version has less "umph" to it. No extra sax in the chorus and less clapping and drums too I think.
On to other news...what is up with Ciara?! I like her new song "Oh", but I really don't like the video, or her really, for that matter. The way she portrays herself is just sleazy to me. The dance routines are not flattering (refer back to her previous two videos). I think she's a decent dancer, but the scene where she's on top of the car? It makes me kind of cringe. There's a way to be sexy without coming off as nasty. Let me know if you agree about Miss Ciara.
On the other hand, I absolutely love Gwen Stefani's new song and video, "Hollaback Girl." Her stuff now is soo different from No Doubt's (who I love), so it's been interesting to see her pull off pop music really well. The video for Hollaback is very down home, streets of Cali to me. You can definitely pick up the Neptune's production in this song, and Pharrell makes an appearance in case you had any doubts. Check out the song and video on her website if you haven't already. Watch out though - you'll be singing it for the rest of the day.

Who knew Direct Effect was still a show?

2005-04-06T22:44:00.000-04:00

Honestly, I had no idea that Direct Effect, MTV's hip hop/rap countdown show, was still on, until today. It's interesting that it's not one of mtv's more popular shows, or doesn't seem to be anyway, and yet hip hop, I'm pretty sure, is the most popular form of music out there today. Correct me on that one if I'm wrong, but I remember hearing that at one point and time. So, on to the videos.

I finally saw all of Will Smith's new video, "Switch", which was definitely different than most of his videos. The first time I saw it, I had no clue he was coming out with a new cd in the first place, and also didn't even think that it was him b/c of the fact that there were a bunch of girls in the video shaking and dancing, and one shot they kept going back to was only Will and another girl, basically dancing for him. Nothing wrong with it, but I always considered him pretty conservative. I think the song is good, solid Will Smith though. Catchy, clean, good party song, that will probably get decent airplay. Don't think that it will be the spring/almost summer hit that I'm predicting "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls will be. Love, love, love this song. It's got such a catchy beat, and is definitely a "warm weather" song. No video yet, but you can check out this website, that I believe was specifically made just to promote the song. Apparantly it's also a remake, originally done by Tori Alamaze...the strange thing is, VH1 says that the album was realeased 3/1/05, and I've never heard of Ms. Tori. Somehow the Pussycat Dolls must've worked that one out? I'll keep trying to uncover this mystery. This song sounded like a girl version of a Prince song actually, the first time I heard it.

Lastly, I have to comment on Mariah. Remember the old days?

"Always Be My Baby" is officially my favorite song of all time, and none of Mariah's new stuff seems to compare. Now, her semi-new one,"It's Like That", was another song that I had no clue was Mariah. I distinctly remember hearing it and saying, "That part sounds a lot like Mariah Carey. Who is this?" and no one knew. Well, "It's Like That" seems to be a pretty big hit now, but I really don't like the video. Her dress is ridiculous, but typical "2000s" Mariah - short and low cut. The story is supposed to be that she's escaping her fiance, and moving on, but i'm not quite sure how that fits the song. Watch the video, and let me know your insight!

Keep 'em coming MTV.

True Life: I'm an Ashlee Simpson Fan

2005-03-16T23:55:00.000-05:00

That's right - you read it correctly. I love Ashlee Simpson, and I know I'm not the only one! Half the people that I talk to sit there and say, "I can't believe you like her," but I know they're secretly playing her album at home. You know who you are...
The Ashlee Simpson show was just on MTV, and showed her visiting London, Germany, and a bunch of other places in Europe to do press. What a life. I think the show is really well done though. Papa Simpson knows how to edit shows to make his daughters look...well maybe not good exactly, considering how they've managed to portray Jessica as the biggest idiot, but the shows are pretty entertaining. Check it out on Wednesday nights at 10:30pm (if you already secretly don't that is).

As far as music goes, MTV has cut out their morning videos this week and has felt it necessary to show old episodes of True Life instead, so I'm feeling a little lost. I've actually resorted to watching VH1 at some points. Hopefully they'll start playing the videos again soon.

In the meantime, my picks of the week are one old school and one new school.
First up: Mental As Anything. Love them love them love them. They're a popular Australian band (Aussie Aussie Aussie! Ay Ay Ay!) and they've got about nine million albums (or 14, but that's still a lot). Check out their website and click on Releases, Greatest Hits Volume One Album, and the song Live It Up. It's super 80's, and it's only a short clip, but it's a great song.

For the new school, we've got Amerie - 1 Thing. Her website must be in the rebuilding stages right now (a.k.a. it stinks), but it'll play you a clip of the song if you haven't heard it.

Oook, one more. I was pleasantly surprised with J Lo's new album. I think her voice is...well, not good, but she's got some great production on there. My favorite new one, and prediction for the 3rd single is Cherry Pie(Hold You Down is the second single and has a video already, which the most I've seen of is a clip on MTV as they rolled the credits on one of there Golden Globes worthy shows). Check out J Lo's website, which is linked in the previous post for a clip of that one.

That's all folks. Keep on listening to that music on your I-Pods. I think they need to come out with an I-Pod that plays videos, that way we can all walk to class and bump into each other even more than we already do. Till next time...

More of the same

2005-02-28T18:18:00.000-05:00

So, one thing that I keep noticing as I watch mtv every morning is the fact that all the videos are the same. And I'm not just talking about the same videos every week, I'm talking about every single morning. You can always count on a few songs to be played...
#1 The Killers - Mr. Brightside - I absolutely love this song, and the video, even though it screams Moulin Rouge replica. Still, it's a great video, but mtv's about to play it out. I might actually be playing it out myself.

#2 50 Cent - Candy Shop - If I hear this song one more time, I think I might just give up listening to the radio and watching tv forever. First of all, can anyone else just not stand 50 Cent?? Please, admit it with me. I mean, of course I liked In Da Club (love that creative title too, ugh), just because it was played so many times that I didn't have a choice but to like it, but Candy Shop is just too much. The video to me is just more of the same junk. The girls that are in their, uh, interesting outfits, 50 in some hot sports car, and a club or something. We need some variety here, people!

#3 J-Lo - Get Right (the awful remix) - I love my J-Lo, and I absolutely love the original version of this song, but then they had to go and mess it up w/a remix w/what's his face in it...jadakiss or something. They're all starting to blend together now. Oh, it's Fabulous rapping in it. Anyway, the video for the original was so cute too - the whole, different characters that she plays. I personally love the dorky girl that has a few too many and starts dancing on the table. Reminds me of my friends. haha. So, of course mtv decided that they're only going to play the remixed video now. I so wish they wouldn't, but they always do. Don't know who's idea that was, but I'm tempted to write an email or something. Be like the Karen girl. Actually, her commercials on there drive me nuts.

There's a few more, but we'll continue the list later. For now, I only have one song I wish they would play that they so never do: Beanie Sigel - Feel It In the Air. I hear it about every other second on the radio now, but have yet to see the vid. MTV needs to get on top of things, but probably in typical mtv fashion, they'll start playing that song after we're all soo sick of it that we start comparing it to "Candy Shop". haha. You know it's true! Still love my MTV though. I would love to see more than the same five videos every morning, but I'll let you guys know when that miracle happens. In the meantime, check out the Beanie Sigel song.

I Got No Movitation - Where is My Motivation?

2005-02-22T01:52:00.000-05:00

Man, so it kills me how Green Day is uber popular right now. I think everytime I turn on the tv and videos are actually playing, I hear that good old chord and "I walk a lonely road..the only one that I have ever known" etc etc., and see Billie Joe's strangely hot self. But do y'all remember the old days? I clearly remember sitting on the bus w/my friends in 6th grade on that excruciatingly long ride home from Wilmington (Newark kids, you know what I'm talking about), and listening to my Green Day tape. That's right, a tape. I heard Longview (see "Dookie" album)
on the way home today and that spawned this whole little rant. Memmoorries.
So anyway, it's crazy that they're so popular again and got nominated for a ridiculous 7 Grammy Awards. Although I don't even look that highly on the Grammy's ever since Who Let the Dogs Out won one. And we won't even talk about Milli Vanilli.
Just a funny sidenote - I turned on mtv this morning, as usual, and lo and behold, there weren't any videos on. I think it was the Newlyweds instead. Don't really remember, as I turned the channel too quickly.

About My Blog

2005-02-20T20:02:00.000-05:00

Almost every morning, I watch mtv while getting ready for class, and I've noticed that they're actually starting to play videos again! This blog is my chance to vent about the videos and give a little more than my 2 cents on the artists I see there. I want music television, so I might also chat a bit about how annoying all of the "reality" and other random crappy shows, are. I do like some though...bring back Fear and Laguna Beach!