Battle of the Music Videos

[Spinal]

My Chemical Romance

God help me.

[Russ]

My Chemical Romance


God help me.
ditto

[Thirdmango]

How many more play in battles are there?

[Spinal]

How many more play in battles are there?

Going to 96.

[ledfloyd]

my chemical romance have the worst song and best video of the bunch.

[Spinal]

That Madonna video was not nearly as interesting as I had remembered. First couple of effects are cool, but then it gets dull pretty fast.

[Winston*]

Madonna. I agree it's not as good as memory serves though, I remember more turning into animals.

[Thirdmango]

Alright, I just saw all three. I expected to vote for Eurythmics but the video was too bizarre. So my vote goes to Franz Ferdinand. I hated the other one.

[Thirdmango]

I had many likes and dislikes for qotsa and my chem, but after weighing it out, just by a hair for QOTSA

[Lasse]

Franz Ferdinand

[Lasse]

Queens of the Stone Age by a hair. I liked all three videos, loved none of them.

[Ivan Drago]

Queens of the Stone Age.

[Spinal]

Franz Ferdinand 5
Sigur Ros 3
Eurythmics 3

Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"

[Spinal]

Instructions:

Please take the time to watch all three videos and then cast your vote by making a post in this thread. Thread will be open a minimum of 24 hours and then may close any time after that at my discretion.

Although it will naturally be difficult to vote for music you find disagreeable or against personal favorites, please remember that the primary question should be "Is this the most effective and/or artistic video?" not "Is this the best song?" Basically, just keep an open mind and allow yourself the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised.

3 Feet Deep (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG2LDXahaWY)

Artist: DJ Format

Matt Ford, better known as DJ Format (a near-inversion of his birth name), is a hip hop DJ born in Southampton, United Kingdom and living in Brighton. He collaborates frequently with Abdominal on the album Music For the Mature B-Boy and with Abdominal and fellow Canadian rapper D-Sisive on the second full album If You Can't Join 'Em… Beat 'Em, as well as with Akil and Chali 2na from Jurassic 5. As a youth, Ford's first hip hop influences included A Tribe Called Quest and Main Source. He established a relationship with Jurassic 5 and initially traveled with them as their bus driver.

VS.

There There (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AQSLozK7aA)

Artist: Radiohead

Radiohead are an English alternative rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, beats), Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboard, other instruments), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Greenwood (bass guitar, synthesizers) and Phil Selway (drums, percussion). Radiohead released their first single, "Creep", in 1992. The song was initially unsuccessful, but it became a worldwide hit several months after the release of their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Radiohead's popularity rose with the release of their second album, The Bends (1995). Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), propelled them to greater international fame. Featuring an expansive sound and themes of modern alienation, OK Computer has often been acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s. Radiohead has received the Best Alternative Music Performance award three times at the Grammy Awards, for OK Computer in 1998, Kid A in 2001, and In Rainbows in 2009.

VS.

If You Don't Know Me By Now (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9UvzT-lLck&feature=related)

Artist: David Brent

David Brent is the (former) general manager of the Slough branch of the Wernham-Hogg paper merchants. He gained notoriety and a modicum of fame appearing as the principal subject in the BBC television documentary, The Office. He avoids employing unlucky people by throwing half of all CVs in the bin without reading them. He does not punish a girl, Dutch or otherwise, for having big boobs, believing they should be equal. He is responsible for creating the innovative management style known as 'team individuality'. He will never laugh at the handicapped because there's nothing funny about them. He does not think you solve town planning problems by dropping bombs all over the place. When people ask him, "Would you rather be thought of as a funny man or a great boss?", his answer's always the same - "They're not mutually exclusive."

[Spinal]

The DJ Format video is a blast. Great concept. Excellent execution. Has the effect of drawing attention to the way the song is put together and making it seem even more impressive.

HAMSTER!

[Russ]

DJ Format

[dreamdead]

DJ Format. Super cool.

[Stay Puft]

Queens of the Stone Age.

[Spinal]

Would like to end this one in a few hours if possible.

[dreamdead]

Hole.

[dreamdead]

My Chemical Romance. Just because.

[dreamdead]

Malk De Koijn.

[Stay Puft]

Simian Mobile Disco.

That being said, I would like to play with Missy Elliot's yo-yo. Beep beep. Fool got the keys to the jeep. Vrrrooooom.

[Adam]

Feh, DJ Format's the worst of the three

If You Don't Know Me By Now

[Russ]

How many more play in battles are there?

Going to 96.

I think this is as good a place as any to thank our master of ceremonies for his Herculean efforts thus far in overseeing this massive undertaking.

Rep!

Who's with me?

[ledfloyd]

Format

[Lasse]

Malk De Koijn -- I love that video. So delightful.

[Spinal]

Hole 5
Simian Mobile Disco 3
Missy Elliott 1

Hole - "Violet"

[Spinal]

Instructions:

Please take the time to watch all three videos and then cast your vote by making a post in this thread. Thread will be open a minimum of 24 hours and then may close any time after that at my discretion.

Although it will naturally be difficult to vote for music you find disagreeable or against personal favorites, please remember that the primary question should be "Is this the most effective and/or artistic video?" not "Is this the best song?" Basically, just keep an open mind and allow yourself the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised.

Everlong (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBG7P-K-r1Y)

Artist: Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters is an American rock band formed in 1995. Singer and guitarist Dave Grohl formed the group as a one-man project after the dissolution of his previous band, Nirvana, in 1994. Prior to the release of Foo Fighters in 1995, Grohl drafted Nate Mendel as bassist, William Goldsmith as drummer, and Pat Smear as guitarist to complete the group. The band was small, young, and they first began with performances in Portland, Oregon before expanding. The current line-up includes Taylor Hawkins and Chris Shiflett. Over the course of the band's career, three of its albums have won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album, and all six have been nominated for Grammys.

VS.

Proletar (Hvor Jeg Står) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51qjXzNi3BE)

Artist: Suspekt

Suspect is a Danish rap group composed of three members Bai-D, Orgi-E, Rune Rask. All three grew up in Albertslund. The group is one of the best known names in the Danish hip hop, and has received positive reviews, especially for their latest release, Prima Nocte. Their style has been referred to as Horrorcore.

VS.

Whip It (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbt30UnzRWw)

Artist: Devo

Devo is an American band associated most often with the New Wave music scene formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973. While they are best known for their 1980 hit "Whip It", which made it to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the band has succesfully maintained a cult following since early in their career. Their style over time has shifted variously between punk, art rock, post-punk, and New Wave. Devo's music and stage show mingle kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary via sometimes-discordant pop songs that often feature unusual synthetic instrumentation and time signatures, and their work has proved hugely influential on subsequent popular music, particularly New Wave, industrial and alternative rock artists.

[Spinal]

Devo. Although that's certainly a Foo Fighters video I could actually get behind.

[Spinal]

Malk De Koijn 5
Michael Jackson 3
Soundgarden 1

Malk De Koijn - "Fågt Op I Skalle"

[Russ]

Devo

[Acapelli]

foo fighters

[Spinal]

Instructions:

Please take the time to watch all three videos and then cast your vote by making a post in this thread. Thread will be open a minimum of 24 hours and then may close any time after that at my discretion.

Although it will naturally be difficult to vote for music you find disagreeable or against personal favorites, please remember that the primary question should be "Is this the most effective and/or artistic video?" not "Is this the best song?" Basically, just keep an open mind and allow yourself the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised.

First Day of My Life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwFS69nA-1w)

Artist: Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes is an American band that consists of singer-songwriter/guitarist Conor Oberst, multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, Nate Walcott, and a rotating lineup of collaborators drawn primarily from Omaha's indie music scene. A founding member of Commander Venus – which disbanded in 1997 – guitarist/vocalist Conor Oberst turned to focus on his new project, Bright Eyes. The name of the band comes from a 1934 Shirley Temple film in which the protagonist calls his love interest "Bright Eyes" as a term of endearment. Bright Eyes won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "When the President Talks to God" at the 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards. January 25, 2005 saw the release of two distinctly different Bright Eyes albums: the folky, analog sounding I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and the electronic sounding Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. In a June 2009 issue of Rolling Stone Oberst announced that he wanted to "retire" the Bright Eyes moniker and would be making one final album with the band.

VS.

Elephant Gun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWSz_PAfgNc)

Artist: Beirut

Beirut is an American band. It began as the solo musical project of 23-year-old Santa Fe, New Mexico native Zachary Francis Condon, and later evolved into a band led by Condon. Their first performances were in New York in May of 2006, to support the release of their debut album, Gulag Orkestar. The music combines elements of Eastern European and Balkan folk with Western pop music, fusing the American mainstream and indie-rock culture and the World Music market. Condon plays a rotary valve flugelhorn and the ukulele as his main instruments. He bought the ukulele as a joke stage prop, but found he liked the sound and was able to play it despite a wrist injury that inhibited him from playing guitar. Live, Beirut's shifting roster generally consists of Condon accompanied by Perrin Cloutier (cello/accordion), Jason Poranski (guitar/mandolin/ukulele), Nick Petree (drums), Kristin Ferebee (violin), Paul Collins (organ/keys/tambourine/ukulele), Jon Natchez (baritone sax/mandolin/glockenspiel), and Kelly Pratt (trumpet/euphonium).

VS.

Declare Independence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igOWR_-BXJU)

Artist: Björk

Björk is an Icelandic singer-songwriter, composer, actress and music producer, whose work includes seven solo albums and two film soundtracks. She is best known for her expressive vocals, broad soprano vocal range, and a diverse and eclectic musical style, which incorporates influences from many different genres, including pop, alternative rock, jazz, ambient, electronic, classical, folk and trip hop, as well as her eccentric costumes and music videos. She has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards (including one for acting). For her performance in Dancer in the Dark. She won the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.

[Spinal]

Should be able to wrap this one up sometime this evening. Only two more play-in threads left.

[ledfloyd]

devo.

[ledfloyd]

going to go wtih bright eyes, but they're all pretty good.

[Spinal]

Argh. Struggling with this one. Had to watch Bright Eyes and Bjork twice to decide. And the Beirut video is great too. Ultimately, I'm going to go with the heartstrings.

Bright Eyes

[Stay Puft]

Radiohead.

[Thirdmango]

I'm so happy DJ Format is so well liked.

[Thirdmango]

The Foo Fighters music video was pretty much the first good music video I ever saw. Though Devo is very iconic, still gotta go with Foo by a margin.

[Winston*]

Radiohead

[Winston*]

Foo Fighters

[Acapelli]

bright eyes

[Winston*]

Bright Eyes

That poor dog, he has nobody.:sad:

[Spinal]

My Chemical Romance 5
Queens of the Stone Age 4
Madonna 2

My Chemical Romance - "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"

[Spinal]

Instructions:

Please take the time to watch all three videos and then cast your vote by making a post in this thread. Thread will be open a minimum of 24 hours and then may close any time after that at my discretion.

Although it will naturally be difficult to vote for music you find disagreeable or against personal favorites, please remember that the primary question should be "Is this the most effective and/or artistic video?" not "Is this the best song?" Basically, just keep an open mind and allow yourself the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised.

Love is a Battlefield (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9J9rTZJBmw)

Artist: Pat Benetar

Pat Benatar is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American singer best known for her mezzo-soprano vocal range and establishing herself as one of rock's top vocalists and one of music's top-selling female artists. Benatar was the first female artist featured on MTV. Her music video, "You Better Run", was the second video aired by the network following The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star". In 1973, Benatar quit her job as a bank teller to pursue a singing career after being inspired by a Liza Minnelli concert she saw in Richmond, Virginia. Between appearances at Catch A Rising Star and recording commercial jingles for Pepsi Cola, she headlined New York City’s famous Tramps nightclub from March 29 - April 1, 1978, where her performance impressed representatives from several record companies. Recorded in June and July 1979, Benatar debuted the week of August 27, 1979 with the release of I Need A Lover from the album In the Heat of the Night. Of the ten Grammy Award ceremonies in the 1980s, Benatar was nominated for Best Female Rock Performance eight times.

VS.

Sponsored By Destiny (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B9hPGyabaQ)

Artist: Slagsmålsklubben

Slagsmålsklubben (often abbreviated as SMK) is an electro/pop group from Norrköping, Sweden. The name Slagsmålsklubben is an almost literal Swedish translation of the title of the novel and film Fight Club. They have released three full length albums so far. Along with their side projects 50 Hertz and Häxor och porr (Witches and Porn), they have been featured on Björk's compilation CD Army of Me: Remixes and Covers. SMK's members are Björn Nilsson, Hannes Stenström, Joakim "Beebop" Nybom, Joni Mälkki, Kim Nilsson, and Frej Larsson. The members of the band have many side projects, such as 50 Hertz, which features many of SMK's members, Din Stalker, Hannes' solo project, and Offerprästers orkester, one of Frej's solo projects.

VS.

Shadrach (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFolUn88q-o)

Artist: Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys is an American hip hop group from New York City. The group comprises Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. Since around the time of the Hello Nasty album, the DJ for the group has been Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz, who was first featured in the song "Three MCs and One DJ". Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk group in 1979, and appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash with Riot Fight and Beastie. They switched to hip-hop with the release of their 12" single "Cooky Puss", which was followed by their debut album Licensed to Ill (1986), which enjoyed international critical acclaim and commercial success. The group is well-known for its eclecticism, obscure cultural references and kitschy lyrics. They are one of the longest lived hip-hop acts worldwide and continue to enjoy commercial and critical success in 2009, more than 25 years after the release of their debut album. In 2007, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[Spinal]

I feel like the animation in the Beastie Boys video muted their charisma and personality rather than enhanced or supported it.

I'll go with the melodrama of Pat Benetar and her valiant leadership in the whore revolution.

[ledfloyd]

i dig the beastie boys one. more than the other two anyway.

[Russ]

Bright Eyes

[Russ]

Slagsmålsklubben

[Thirdmango]

Slagsmålsklubben

I love these guys. The great thing is, it's actually six guys playing real instruments. Not one dude in his basement.

[Stay Puft]

Devo.

[Stay Puft]

Pat Benetar.

[Spinal]

I will end this one late tonight so that we can get to the final play-in.

[Spinal]

DJ Format 5
Radiohead 2
David Brent 1

DJ Format - "Three Feet Deep"

[Spinal]

Instructions:

Please take the time to watch all three videos and then cast your vote by making a post in this thread. Thread will be open a minimum of 24 hours and then may close any time after that at my discretion.

Although it will naturally be difficult to vote for music you find disagreeable or against personal favorites, please remember that the primary question should be "Is this the most effective and/or artistic video?" not "Is this the best song?" Basically, just keep an open mind and allow yourself the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised.

Flashing Lights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ila-hAUXR5U)

Artist: Kanye West

Kanye West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music. His four albums have received numerous awards, including a cumulative twelve Grammys.

VS.

Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (http://new.music.yahoo.com/Beyonc--/videos/view/Single-Ladies--Put-A-Ring-On-It---201620741)

Artist: Beyoncé

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child. According to Sony, Knowles record sales, when combined with the group, have surpassed 100 million. During the hiatus of Destiny's Child, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), which became one of the most successful albums of that year, and signaled her viability as a solo artist. The disbanding of Destiny's Child in 2005 facilitated her continued success: her sophomore solo album, B'Day, released in 2006, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Her third solo album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, was released in November 2008, and earned her 10 Grammy Awards nominations.

VS.

You Belong With Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw)

Artist: Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift is an American country-pop singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. In 2008, her albums sold a combined four million copies, making her the best-selling musician of the year in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified Platinum several times by the Recording Industry Association of America. In November 2008, Swift released her second album, Fearless. Fearless and Taylor Swift finished 2008 at number three and number six respectively, with sales of 2.1 and 1.5 million. Fearless has topped the Billboard 200 in 11 non-consecutive weeks; no album has spent more time at No. 1 since 2000. Swift was named Artist of the Year by Billboard Magazine in 2009. In January 2010, Nielsen SoundScan lists Swift as the top-selling digital artist in music history with over 24.3 million digital tracks sold to date.

[Watashi]

http://www.epicallyfunnypictures.com/FunnyPictures/ISeeWhatYouDidThere/SeeWhatYouDidOwl.jpg

[Spinal]

Yes, I amuse myself.

Hey, that Taylor Swift video is actually not too bad. Perhaps a bit saccharine, but I can see the appeal. Her role at the football game cracked me up.

But, I will vote for Beyonce. Despite all the parodies, that video really is electric.

[Watashi]

I'll go with Kanye.

[ledfloyd]

i don't get the appeal of single ladies. the video or the song.

kanye

[Thirdmango]

Bright Eyes

[Ezee E]

I don't understand the greatness of the video either. Pretty simplistic really, but better than Taylor's.

But not better than Kanye.

[Thirdmango]

I can understand the appeal to Kanye's music but I don't understand at all the appeal to that video.

Taylor Swift however has a better video.

[Russ]

Taylor Swift

[Sven]

Yeah, that Kanye video is pretty stupid, though the song is badass. I'll go with Taylor.

[Acapelli]

beyonce

[Adam]

Elephant Gun

[Adam]

I'mma let you all finish voting, but first lemme just say I'm going with Taylor Swift

[Ivan Drago]

Kanye West

[Stay Puft]

Taylor Swift.

[Lasse]

Ok, I really don't see the appeal in the Foo Fighters or the Devo videos. At all.

Suspekt - Proletar (Hvor Jeg Står)

[Lasse]

Beyonce.

[Spinal]

Let's end this one tonight.

[Spinal]

We can probably finish this one too sometime tonight.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Srsly people? Shadrach every day.

[Ivan Drago]

Foo Fighters

[Spinal]

Foo Fighters or Devo? Next vote takes it.

[Ezee E]

I have to change my vote. I swore I saw a different version of the Swift video which was entirely a performance video.

This one actually has a story. Something videos have been lacking over some time.

Taylor Swift.

[Spinal]

Little action for the other two. Gonna go ahead and call it.

Bright Eyes 6
Beirut 1
Bjork 0

Bright Eyes - "First Day of My Life"

[Spinal]

Had a surge of votes here. Good enough to call it.

Taylor Swift 6
Kanye 3
Beyonce 3

Taylor Swift - "You Belong With Me"

[Spinal]

Let's go ahead and push this one along too.

All tied up. Gonna let the next voter decide it.

[Adam]

Sponsored By Destiny

[Adam]

Whip It

[Spinal]

Devo 5
Foo Fighters 4
Suspekt 1

Devo - "Whip It"

[Spinal]

Slagsmålsklubben 3
Beastie Boys 2
Pat Benetar 2

Slagsmålsklubben - "Sponsored By Destiny"

[Spinal]

We now have a field of 128 remaining. Thank you to all those who assisted with this long play-in process. I am happy that we were able to give every nomination a chance and I think we have a stronger selection because of it.

The brackets will be announced shortly. New battles will be one on one. I will be seeding based on my perception of how likely the video is to go far in the tournament. (Performance in play-in round, votes and feedback received, popularity of artist/song/director will be considered.)

The next round will begin sometime next week. I need a break and I'm sure you do too.