Music Videos That Rock

I, for one, love music. And I also love videos. What greater thing could there be in the universe, then, than music videos? Answer: Nothing. (Except backrubs.) Did you know there are people that still make them? Who cares if VH1 and MTV don't actually play anything but bad reality tv anymore, the music video is alive and well. So says I. Yay!

The following are some amazing music videos that you know and love/ should already know and love.



Asher Roth- I love College
Sure, maybe my college experience wasn't exactly like Asher Roth's epic night. While we did love the red solo cup, my college maybe didn't have the fraternities/ sororities with the doric columns (but isn't it something that I can identify them?). Our small contingent of overly-diligent security guards didn't really let us have "fun" outside of the library (...yay learning.) We sure as hell didn't have ragers like the one depicted in the video. C'est la vie.

But I'd like to think that my college (and hopefully yours too) was time well spent. Dancing on tables, celebrating being young and reckless by being reckless and young, and maybe wishing you remembered last night a bit better than you did. Hey, we've all been there. (But Asher Roth had the foresight to edit his into a 3minute video and turn it into a platinum album. I tip my hat to you, sir.)

A small PSA: it would be in your best interest to not glean advice from Mr. Roth's lyrics. His gems include "when it comes to condoms, put two on" (is that how those things work?) and "time isn't wasted when your getting wasted" (while interesting logic, I don't think that's what your parents are paying the tuition for.)

My friend Jake has a really big problem with the song, namely because at the chorus Asher sings, "I love college, hey! I love drinking, hey! I love women, hey! I love college!" Could Asher not think of one more thing to love about college? Just one more? What about intramurals? Dining halls and froyo? Sure, *maybe* these don't rhyme, but let's be honest- it's sort of like he didn't really try.

But I digress. It is a super good song to listen to if you need to be reinforced for decisions you want to make but may feel a little hesitant to do before you're consumed the appropriate amount of alcohol. I love college! (Hey.)

Tom Petty - New Music - More Music Videos

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers- MaryJane's Last Dance

This song has been a staple for nearly every summer mix I have made since I was in high school. I wanted to be that idealized Mary Jane in Indiana, before I caught on that Mr. Petty was making a drug reference to a similarly named drug, "Mary Jane." That may or may not have been junior year of college, and I may or may not still believe that there is a beautiful girl in the midwest named Mary Jane who blew all the boys away and was more than they had seen. Let me have my dreams.

The video, admittedly, is a bit creepy. Tom dances with a corpse (played by Kim Basinger) because he is a coroner and is in love with her. This happens all the time. It is clearly a thinly veiled metaphor that the video's director ran with, and thus efficiently confused me until late college-dom when I discovered the drug reference. (It is a reference, right?)

The song is still haunting and pretty. And frankly, any song that has a harmonica solo is grade A in my book. You go, necrophiliac Tom!



Lady Gaga- Beautiful Dirty Rich

Beautiful, dirty dirty. Rich rich, dirty dirty. Beautiful. Dirty. Rich. Why, it's Lady Gaga in a cape! Rolling around a mansion without any pants and being young and reckless with a group of friends! (Exactly the same reasons why I love Asher Roth! Minus the pants thing.)

Lady Gaga is the preeminent entertainer of our generation. There, I said it. Anyone who can consistently refuse conventional legwear AND throw in onomatopeic language into mainstream choruses (proof! Just Dance- 'just dance da doo doo'; Poker Face- 'mah mah poker face mah mah mah'; and Beautiful dirty rich- 'bang bang we're beautiful and dirty rich') as well as refer to the male anatomy as "disco stick" and have it be just so catchy clearly has something going for her.

But if "honey, ain't got no money" then what is all that greenbacks you're throwing around, Gags? Sure looks a bit like money to me. Dare I call her a liar? No. Artistic interpretation? Maybe. But perhaps I should be singing this song instead of Lady Gaga. I can relate a bit better to the lyrics. I can saunter around being angsty in sunglasses at night and hold choreographed catwalks. I already know I look great in a hood. Why not me, life?