Modern hip hop videos don’t look like this…
Thought it was interesting as a social snapshot of the early 80s in New York. Plus there’s some great fashions and urban landscapes in there.
Tag: video
Gnarls Barkley – Crazy Video
Cool Hunting blog the Gnarls Barkley video for UK chart smash number one hit – Crazy. It’s top. A really simple idea beautifully executed. Based around a morphing set of Rorschach ink blots it’s a worthy accompaniment to the track. I don’t know quite why I felt compelled to write about it, it just moved me. But I guess there’s a few things that I really liked:
- The video mirrors the beauty (and simplicity) of the track; which is nice.
- They’re both a modern interpretation of things from the past. They feel like they’ve been inspired by loads of things, but actually imitate nothing (that I’m aware of).
- They both stand out from everything around them. The track just bursts out of the radio. And if I watched MTV I’m sure that this video would really stand out alongside the ‘booty action’ of most modern hip hop videos.
Anyway, you can watch it here if you like: Gnarls Barkley – Crazy (Quicktime)
Stephen Colbert – Amazing Video
There’s been lots of stuff in the press about this address from a Whitehouse dinner. Stepen Colbert gives one of the funniest and most cutting speeches I’ve ever heard. Absolutely ripping into George W. – who’s sitting right next to him. You really have to watch this (it’s in three parts on YouTube).
Part 1:
Damn, he took a beating.
And furthermore, Bush takes to the stage with an impersonator. This bit just confused the hell out of me, he seems to be joining-in taking the piss out of himself. He’s either a really good sport, or an idiot (or perhaps a measure of each).
YouTube’s Big Bill
In the last 6 months video has really started to take off online. There’s a whole host of new video sharing sites springing up. But hosting video costs money. Lots of money.
This article: Your Tube, Whose Dime? – Forbes.com estimates that YouTube are spending $1m on hosting every month. That’s quite a lot for a startup. It also looks at how the hosting companies are making money out of it and some alternatives.
Videos From the Googleplex
Google have released a heap of videos from their internal archives:
In addition to helping distribute content from across the world, Google would like to share videos featuring our company.
Some great stuff in there, especially the ever-brilliant Seth Godin doing a presentation that seems to cover the central themes of a selection of his books in under 50 minutes. I saw Seth present years ago when he was at Yahoo! and he’s always stuck in my mind as one of the most natural and compelling presenters out there.
Visit Videos From the Googleplex
Aaaaargh!
Virgin Radio have another one of their infuriating but brilliant ‘see how many artists you can spot‘ thingies. This time it’s moving video not just an image. Unfortunately I can’t keep up, it’s too quick for my puny brain. I’m a big fan though.
Fashion Vs Style Vs Pop Video
Compare and contrast: French Connection’s new advert is not a million miles away from this pop video from last year (damn, that song is really really bad!).
Thanks to Emil for the tip – came up in an IM conversation about originality in ideas.
Update: Song is by GrooveCutters (sorry guys, the track’s just not my thing), and they’re not all that happy about the whole affair; according to Ad-Rag.
LED Throwies
Simple, cheap and pretty. These LED Throwies stick to any metal surface and make it look pretty. Can imagine some really nice interactive type applications with these at the core. Check the video at the Graffiti Research Lab (their re-use of Jose Gonzales made me smile).
Only downside, someone’s got to clean up the mess…
The Postal Service vs Apple
I like the The Postal Service a lot. Their album is great. I also like Apple a lot. Their products are great. As has been well documented the latest Apple Intel Ad looks a lot like the video for “Such Great Heights” by the aforementioned band. Ben from The Postal Service expresses his disappointment on their site. But, in a sweet twist of irony the video ends up topping the iTunes video chart.
Shows the power of a bit of controversy online. The digital equivalent of kids standing round a schoolyard fight. “Scrap! scrap! scrap!”.
Directions on your iPod
Mash-up alert, it’s not perfect, but an interesting service combo nonetheless. Get directions onto your iPod (video, photo or nano). http://www.ipodiway.com/. Unfortunately is US and Canada only (for now).