Eliana Steinberg and Noa Kattler Kupetz

Life Editor and Photo Editor

This week we decided to do something a little different. We wanted to bring you our most recent favorite music videos with sprinkles of commentary for your viewing pleasure. Although not always logical or serious, we share our thoughts on the videos that excite us.

1) Countdown- Beyoncé

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XY3AvVgDns&ob=av2e[/youtube]

Noa: This fun, quirky video is a gem amidst the many generic suggestive music videos being produced by top artists. Beyoncé, claiming to now be her own creative director, has completely changed her image. It’s impossible to not be smiling with her at the end.

Eliana:  I’ll be honest. A few months ago I would have scrolled right by any news on “Bey” and her music. I spent more time watching her Neutrogena ads than I did listening to her sing. BUT CAN I JUST SAY THAT I REGRET EVERY MINUTE OF MY LIFE PRIOR TO PRESSING PLAY? Beyonce’s channeling of Audrey Hepburn, Jennifer Beals and Marcel Marceau in “Countdown” is brilliant. The flashes of colors made me dizzy. I loved it. Although there are rumors about the authenticity of her baby bump, whatever Beyonce was carrying under her leotard certainly didn’t stop her from doing her thing.

2) Cruel- St. Vincent

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itt0rALeHE8&ob=av2e[/youtube]

Noa: This video is brimming with symbolism; being drowned by her daughter, leaving behind the innocence of the rag doll, the inability to match the right puzzle pieces together. If you focus on that, you leave the video with chills. Not really feeling like being suffocated by these confusing and depressing images, my attention was drawn to the clothes lead singer Annie Clark wears. SPOT ON fashion, the ‘60’s housewife pieces are fantastic.

Eliana: Is Annie Clark even real? With her pasty complexion against her dark curls, Clark passes through the mundane scenes in this video as if she were a ghost. Abducted by a wheelchair-bound little girl and her brother and father, Clark is forced to play mother in a makeshift, perverse game of house. Her transition from an active being (returning the bear, caring for a wound) to a passive, unreal archetype leaves her literally buried alive. The terrific guitar solo adds depth to the song, as well as to the character Clark is portraying. Oh, and watching a child drown an adult is frightening…

3) Santa Fe- Beirut

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlwDbdiaAvI[/youtube]

Noa: I wish I could get a better grasp at the story line; the dog dies, the girl dies, they are both resurrected, then there are these freaky monks at the beach… what’s happening? Regardless of my confusion, I like the grainy filming, and the song… that’s about it.

Eliana: I don’t know if the plot of the video is just insignificant or if I just find it boring. Anyways, to me Beirut can do no wrong. “Sante Fe,” featured on their newest album “Rip Tide” is a prime example of Beirut doing Beirut. Their creation of such a unique sound, and consequently an acute genre is much appreciated. Yeah Noa, it is goofy. But in the best way possible. Oh, and now I want to go to the beach.

4) Castles in the Snow- Twin Shadow

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2k61rSCY9E[/youtube]

Noa: The video footage is from the 1983 documentary, “Punks.” Before I knew this, I was amazed by how believably retro the feel of the video is. It is a cool idea, but it does not really hit the spot for me.

Eliana: Almost every time that I’ve brought up Twin Shadow with friends I’ve mistakenly referred to George Lewis Jr. as George Carles Jr. No, I told them. That’s really his name! Yes, like the fast food place. Well, my bad… This one’s easy. I’m just such a sucker for old footage of big cities and crowds of leather-clad youth. His album Forget is one of the few albums that I can enjoy listening to in its entirity in a single sitting. And all of his other music videos feel more like video art than accompaniment to his songs. Oh, and if you’re now youtube-ing his various music videos, you may want to head over to Pitchfork.com to see him make out with a random woman for about a minute straight.

5) Oh why- BALAM ACAB

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1xIUYZVKxQ[/youtube]

Noa: Much more modern art than music video. The grainy etchings of the girl in the foreground really intrigue me. The layering of the neon-y video behind it has this really great look, but it drags on a bit too long, and I’m really not a fan of the song.

Eliana: Stop Noa, I love Balam Acab. How does one even pronounce it? Bay-lamb ay-cab? Beh-lom Uh-cobb?  I will google it. Unanswered. I’m not particularly fond of this video, but I am a fan of the type of sound Balam Acab has produced on his two EP’s. Check out “See Birds (Sun).” Trust me.

Featured image: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XY3AvVgDns.