Videos of the Week October 28th

I'll be honest I was pushed and pulled a lot of different directions this week when putting together this week's top five. I say that because this week ran the full gauntlet of emotions from playful to sad and serious to funny to whimsical and eventually landing on downright outlandish. Starting with The Chainsmokers new video for Closer with Halsey, we got to get another dose of on screen chemistry between Halsey and Drew. Really cool to see the guys portray such a nostalgic story through the video.

Then, the top five took a turn for the serious with Macklemore's gripping video for Drug Dealer. At this point we've all been touched at some point by the opioid epedemic in America, so it's about time we start shining the light on legal drug companies to highlight their contribution to the mess. Kudos for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for taking the issue head on. I included the Zeds Dead video because this week needed a dose of playful claymation to blend with the other vastly different moods. Different moods like silly when Fallon and Timberlake went back to Camp Winnipesaukee to sing everyone's favorite Alanis Morissette song. And to end on a completely outlandish note, I had to give my buddy John Bradford some love in the top five this week for his role in Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa's new Bossed Up video. For those wondering, he was the accountant who grabs the manila folder from Juicy J at the 19 second mark. It's the most odd, yet stereotypical rap video mixing corporate accountant team shenanigans and strip club scenes. Who knows how the concept came to be, but love to JB for doing his part as a straight edged accountant that gets quickly turnt up...#BossedUp
The Chainsmokers feat Halsey - Closer (Video)

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Ariana Deboo - Drug Dealer (Video)

Zeds Ded feat Rivers Cuomo & Pusha T - Too Young (Video)

Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake Sing "Ironic" at Camp Winnipesaukee

Juicy J & Wiz Khalifa - Bossed Up (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

"We Made a Lane of Our Own, We Ain't Assimilators"

A few weeks back Zeds Dead made their GWDJ debut with their collaboration with Diplo on Blame. I'm not going to pretend to know the scope of their talents or abilities, but I'll say this...I'm intrigued. I am because the two tracks that I've written about are so different that I don't even know where to start.

I guess I'll start with their new single with Pusha T and Rivers Cuomo. Here I was thinking an EDM/Hip Hop collaboration with some stellar cameo vocals was on tap and what I got was a mellow sing along. You might be thinking that's a bad thing, but it actually came together pretty well. Too Young has a couple of things going for it. For one, good luck trying to avoid singing along to Weezer's own Rivers Cuomo on the hook. Second, Pusha T eats these slow, poppy beats for lunch. His brand of storytelling plays really well on tracks with this slow of a tempo. This one will be surfacing on Zeds Dead's upcoming Northern Lights album due out in about a week. Given my lack of experience with their music and overall curiousity with their music, you better believe I'll be running a few laps around the album when it drops...#TooYoung

Zeds Dead feat Pusha T & Rivers Cuomo - Too Young

Videos of the Week September 23rd

Normally I'm a Jimmy Fallon guy, but kudos to Jimmy Kimmel for bringing the heat this week with performances from Usher and Desiigner. Both brought the heat with brief sets and they did it their own way. On one hand you had Usher doing his usual dance routine while spicing it up with videos of fans around the world dancing to No Limit. And on the other hand you had the raw energy of Desiigner performing his hype new single Timmy Turner. To be blunt, I'm still on the fence about Desiigner as an artist. He walks the line between hype and over-the-top, which is why I want to like him, but in manageable doses.

If you have five minutes and have to choose one video to watch this week, there's no doubt that it should be Elton John and Gallant performing Weight in Gold. It's an awe inspiring performance by a legend and an up-and-comer whose voice is on another level. If escaping reality through animation and adventure is more what you're looking for, then you'll dig Zeds Dead, Diplo and Elliphant's collabo on the video for Blame. And last, but not least, there was the time Hillary Clinton went Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. If you've seen any of the episodes in the series, there's a level of awkward situational humor that always ends up being surprisingly funny and this one did not disappoint...#BetweenTwoFerns
Elton John & Gallant Perform Weight in Gold

Desiigner Performs Timmy Turner on Kimmel

Zeds Dead & Diplo feat Elephant - Blame (Video)

Usher Performs No Limit on Kimmel

Hillary Clinton Goes Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

Photo Credit: YouTube