Videos of the Week April 15th

If you're in the mood for some quirky new videos, you'll be in heaven this week. The only video I'd characterize as "normal" would be Drake's 30 second trailer for his upcoming Views from the 6 album. Yes, it will be annoying when the album is released solely on Apple Music for the first week on April 29th, but sadly, it's something that's become a reality with music releases these days.

Marshmello's video for Keep it Mello reminded me why I'm such a big fan of his. Uplifting, bass heavy, Zelda music is the best comp I have for his style, but I love it. In other news, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis continue to blaze their own path and do fun, creative things with their videos. It is true that tons of people now have the "Macklemore haircut". Speaking of weird and artsy, that's about all the adjectives I have for will.i.am. and Nicole Scherzinger's new video for Smile Mona Lisa. Lots of augmented reality in that one, but it'll appeal to the art buffs for obvious reasons. And last, but certainly not least, holy crap can Common break dance! Daaaaamn man, he put on a surprise, spur of the moment show that had me yellin' at the computer in my living room...#Common
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Brad Pitt's Cousin (Video)

Marshmello feat Omar LinX - Keep it Mello (Video)

Drake Views From the 6 Album Trailer

4/29/16 #VIEWS pic.twitter.com/kHa2rerRyV

— Drizzy (@Drake) April 10, 2016

will.i.am ft. Nicole Scherzinger – Smile Mona Lisa (Video)

This Just in...Common Can Break Dance! (on Fallon)

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week November 14th

Interesting mix of Hip Hop and EDM for this week's top 5. Shady Records made a big splash with their lengthy cypher that is being used to create momentum toward the new Shady XV Compilation. Along the same lines of stand out performances, anybody who had any doubt in Logic making it big time needs to watch his performance on Fallon. The kid can rock a mic, that much I know.

On the EDM front, Ellie & Calvin delivered an emotional video for their latest single Outside. On the other end of the wild spectrum we have Steve Aoki's new one. The video is so incredibly Will i am it's not even funny. The futuristic tech with plenty of crazy futuristic CGI mixed in. And to top it all off, how about a slice of silly thanks to Jimmy Fallon and Channing Tatum. I might as well carve out a permanent spot on the weekly top 5 for something related to the Tonight Show as it continues to set the bar higher and higher for late night television...#LateNightFallon
Calvin Harris feat Ellie Goulding - Outside (Video)

Shady CXVPHER

Steve Aoki feat Will i Am - Born to Get Wild (Video)

Jimmy Fallon & Channing Tatum Play Box of Lies

Logic Performs I'm Gone on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week May 30th

Whoever decided to make trailer for festivals deserves a raise. After a minute of watching the Electric Daisy Festival Vegas's trailer, it was added to the bucket list. Lots of fluorescent colors and people wildin' out to synthesizers for miles. The only predicament I would have is choosing between set times when two of my favorite acts were playing at the same time. Coming in right behind that is the Electric Zoo in NYC. Let's just hope the amount of drug related deaths this year is kept to a minimum.

If you're into the more exotic videos, you'll appreciate how this guy contorts his face to dubstep music. For those in search of a poetic escape with plenty of melody to spare, check out Sam Smith's emotional new video for Leave Your Lover. And last but not least, an entertaining collaboration between Jimmy Fallon and Craig Robinson will serve as this week's icing on the cake...#Take5
Electric Zoo 2014 Trailer

Electric Daisy Carnival 2014 Trailer

Dubstep Face Making - The Widdler Part 2 (Video)

Sam Smith - Leave Your Lover (Video)

Jimmy Fallon and Craig Robinson Play Take 5

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week December 14

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayer go out to the families of the kids who lost their life today in Netwon, Connecticut. No music or entertainment could ever take away focus from something as truly despicable as what happened today. It's hard not to lose faith in mankind when acts like this occur, especially when something of this magnitude hasn't ever happened in the US before.

If you get to a point where you can let music and entertainment back into your life today, below are a few videos that I found entertaining this week. It's a little pop, a little Hip Hop, some reggae dance, house and even some new product placement brought to you by one of the kings of product placement, @s_c_. Tell people you care about you love 'em tonight, the world needs more love after days like today...#PrayForNewton

Skylar Grey feat Eminem - C'mon Let Me Ride (Video)

Major Lazer - Jah No Partial (Video)

Jay-Z Launches New D'USSE Cognac Line

The Cool Kids - Champions (Video)

Felix da Housecat feat Will.i.am - Burn the Disco Down (Video)

Videos of the Week November 30th

Definitely an off the wall week for videos and for good reason as Hip Hop has dominated posts this week. Partly as a way to mix it up and keep a healthy dose of variety, there's a full spectrum of choices below. If you're not one of the 1.5 million people who have viewed @realPaulVlahos's Family Guy remix of @ChrisBrown's (twitter shut down) Look at Me Now, you need to check that out. Dude nails Peter, Cleveland, Stewie and Herbert to a T and does it with creative lyrics and a fast pace.

The other really awesome video is @Skrillex's Scary Monster's and Nice Sprites on piano. If you're like me, you're thinking how in the hell could Dubstep sound good on piano? My only answer is, you'd be surprised. Don't sleep on that Rolling Stones featuring @flo_tweet concert video of Gimme Shelter either. I'm not the biggest Stones fan, but there's something about seeing Florench Welch and Mick Jagger sharing a mic on stage that resonates with me...#TalentGalore

Family Guy Rap Chris Brown's Look at Me Now (Paul Vlahos)

will i am feat Britney Spears - Scream & Shout (Video)

What Skrillex Would Sound Like on Piano

B.o.B. ft. Playboy Tre – Just A Sign (Video)

Florence Welch Performs Gimme Shelter with the Rolling Stones

Afrojack Feels the Love

Might as well call this @djafrojack and @evasimons week with the love they've been getting on the blog of late. If you're like me, you're probably appreciating the timing of this track because the original was well past it's prime and it needed a second life. Afrojack provided that and then some with a little dubstep and a lot of club friendly tempo transitions.

As a quick aside, I am learning more an more to appreciate good cover art. You want to get me excited about featuring a song, then throw together a crisp png that will make the decision for me to post the song even easier. Case in point the cover above. It's pretty simple, but well thought out and screams high-res. I know I'm preaching to the A&R choir, but I design is a big part of the experience of visiting a web page, so if you want readers to associate a track with a positive visual experience, it matters...#CoverArtIsUnderrated

Will I Am feat Eva Simons - Feel the Love (Afrojack remix)

"Standing in the Hall of Fame"

After two really solid albums, it's not a big surprise that @thescript is now starting to reel in some high powered features on their upcoming album #3. The high powered feature I'm referring to is the omnipotent international pop superstar known as @iamwill (pictured above in studio). If you're worried that The Script switched up their style with Will on the track, fear not. They still managed to stick to the manu-script that got them to the level they're at now. (I know, that was forced...my bad)

The strength of their music has always been their irresistible hooks and undeniable piano-heavy instrumentals. Hall of Fame is par for the course with Will I Am (suprisingly) only chipping in a few background vocals. The track below will serve it's purpose well as the lead single off their upcoming album #3, which is scheduled for an October 9th release. I can only hope it'll be as good as their first two albums...#TheScript3

The Script feat Will I Am - Hall of Fame
|iTunes

Videos of the Week

When watching @iamwill's new video for T.H.E., the only though that crossed my mind was that's about right. I wouldn't expect anything less than interstellar, Michael Jackson-esque, Scream type, CGI driven madness. The only thing I'm in complete awe about is what jboymoo said about him on iTunes (below):

Saying Will I Am is a great rapper would have been debatable ten years ago, not today. Now he's more international pop star, let's try and keep his pop star persona from the association of the word rapper, k?

As a sidebar, it's pretty cool seeing all of the behind the scenes footage of Kanye and Jay's Watch the Throne tour. Other than the fact that they play N words in Paris a record 10 times in one concert (not joking), it seems to be the most highly sought after concert ticket. I'll be the first to admit, I was very lukewarm on their album initially, but lately I've found myself going back to it and liking it better the more I listen to it. Some things are just too intense and shoved down our throat and over-hyped that it borders on too cliche to even say nice things about. Now that the dust has settled, I'm more than happy to say should be in the conversation for album of the year...#NotTheBestThough

Will.i.am feat Jennifer Lopez & Mick Jagger - T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever) Video

The Cataracs feat Dev - Sunrise (Video)

Gym Class Heroes feat Neon Hitch - Ass Back Home (Video)

Kanye & Jay-Z Watch the Throne Episode 3

Kanye & Jay-Z Watch the Throne Episode 4

Kanye & Jay-Z Watch the Throne Episode 5

Young Jeezy Performs I Do and Lose My Mind on Jimmy Kimmel

B.O.B. on NBC Nitecap

"You Could Go Hard or You Can Go Home"

This has the making of being the most hyped and overplayed single of 2011. It doesn't take an idiot to figure out that putting @Jagger_M, @iamwill and @jlo on a track together will result in the largest possible demographic reach when you factor in the different genres. Call this the perfect Super Bowl track because it's @bep style pop, which is like crack these days and correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't all three performed at the Super Bowl? Not sure on J-Lo, but you get my point.

This is slated to appear on Will's new album fashionably titled #willpower. First of probably many hash tagged album names this next year I'd imagine. One of those consume it before it gets to the masses type of tracks. For me I'll give it a week before I leave it to the hyenas of contemporary radio. This, folks...is the epitome of pop...#EvenMyParentsWouldLikeIt

Will.I.Am feat Jennifer Lopez & Mick Jagger - T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)
|iTunes

Weekend Party Track: Will I Am - Fly Away (prod by Crookers)

You wanna talk about a good look...Will I Am and Crookers getting together on a dance track...now thats a GOOD LOOK! With the multitude of Black Eyed Peas dance tracks that Will has been a part of, it's a logical progression of quality and a step up from what you'd usually hear from the Black Eyed Peas in my opinion...who for the record, were an awesome, organic, true Hip Hop group before Fergie eff'ditallup came into the picture.

Lyrically it's your typical dance track with a very repeatable chorus "Fly Away, Fly Away, Fly Away" and it even has a little autotune mixed in, just too make it that much more processed for general consumption. Just another example of how Hip Hop/R&B mixed with House/Techno can be a match made in heaven. It's about time we had an injection of quality European house/techno into Hip Hop from producers like David Guetta and Crookers.

Will I Am - Fly Away (prod by Crookers) HOT CLUB Track!!!

The Month of Usher...Welcome Back Mr. Raymond

It's been quite a while since I've seen such a high volume of quality tracks from one artist find their way out on the public...um...internet I mean (same thing these days right?). Yes, Love in this Club was good and Moving Mountains was great, even classic I'd dare say with Usher's emotion soaked lyrics and Danjahandz's picturesque beat, but his album Here I Stand in it's entirety wasn't anything to write home about and not near the caliber of some of his other efforts like My Way or Confessions.

So what has changed since 2008 this is going to make this new album a return to classic Ursher material? Well for one, as of this summer he's now divorced from his former wife Temeka Foster, which surely will have some sort of emotional toll good or bad on his music. I'm not sure about Usher but some of the most creative stuff I've ever produced, created or written has been shortly after a break up...I'm guessing the reason for that can be blamed on the heightened emotion levels I poured into what I was doing. Hopefully we get the same from him with this new album...

Which brings us to his new project, Raymond vs Raymond, which is supposed to drop on March 2, 2010. Originally slated for a December release, the album has been pushed back with plenty of rumors regarding a relationship with a competing record company employee as well a plenty of...well...leaked promotional tracks. It remains to be seen if the below tracks will make the final cut, but honestly I don't think it matters whether people hear it now or hear it later, it's quality material that will sell no matter what in my opinion.

Here are my five favorite new Usher tracks:

1. Usher feat Nicki Minaj - Little Freak (prod by Polow Da Don) Sexy!!!

This track is quite a bit more lyrically explicit than any Usher track I've heard. The track says to me he's got that post-break up swag back and he's back to being in touch with how much the ladies have always loved him and just how far he can take that. Of course it doesn't hurt to have Polow da Don drop a crazy hot beat that amplifies the already overtly sexual lyrics. I don't really mind Nicki Minaj's verse either, she's finding her niche in the Hip Hop game, especially with her growing contingent of Barbie followers. Hot track and I'm guessing soon to be cleaned up radio hit.

2.Usher - There Goes My Baby (prod by Jim Jonsin) Nice Slow Jam!!!

My second favorite is more of smooth slow jam of sorts that is set off perfectly by none other than the man himself Jim Jonsin. Impossible to go wrong with him or Polow for that matter, but this one is on a grown and sexy slow jam tip. The beat takes a turn for the dramatic at the end when he goes semi-acapella and hits a few of those high notes. Really makes you think about how proud you are of that dime piece you managed to fool fall in love with you.

3. Usher - Foolin Around (prod by Jermaine Dupri & B. Cox) Slow Jam!!!

Now this one may actually end up being my favorite, but it hasn't quite had the opportunity to marinate on me yet. This is more on the U Got it Bad and Nice and Slow level of slow jams. I mostly blame B. Cox and his mastery through writing and producing R&B tracks. It really is ridiculous how many great songs he's been behind, give this one a quick read to get yourself learned on a legend.

4. Usher - So Many Girls (prod by Danjahandz) Hot Club Track!!!

Just for good measure why not throw in another slightly edgy and dark, in your face, upbeat banger with Danja. Keeping up with the whole single vibe, noting just how many girls there are out there, Mr. Raymond is definitely back on his grizzly adams if get what I'm sayin'. This one will be sure to catch the attention of all the ladies who enjoy the upbeat, in your face synthesizers that Danja is known for.

5. Usher - Oh My Gosh (prod by Will I Am) Hooot Club Song!!!

Yea, I could be accused of taking a nap on this one on first listen. This time I turned it up a little louder and it's definitely likable in that very radio friendly, measured clap sound that Will I Am/Black Eyed Peas have become known for. It does go pretty hard though, despite not sounding like an Usher track...or at least anything he's done previously. That might be a good thing though, this one is a little too simple lyrically for me to really love, but the way the beat keeps changing pace is pretty awesome, especially when it morphs itself into a slow jam around the 3:30 mark. Well put together track...

Bonus: Alright I couldn't keep it to 5 tracks, again there's just waaay too many US-HER quality tracks circulating, I couldn't do justice with 5.

6. Usher - Slippin Hot Slow Jam!!

Had to throw in another piano laced slow jam. This one warn boyfriends to not take your girl for granted cause "...you got caught slippin, now your girl's gone missin, now you're alone wishin'". Never fun to be on the losing side of the battlefield of love...this one ranks up there with R Kelly's - When a Woman's Fed Up.

Great producers, a mix of up-tempo club songs with a couple more classic slow jams...Raymond vs Raymond is gonna be exciting...Welcome back Ursher!