Video Jukebox

Because, yes, artists are still making videos and some places are still showing them, I might as well comment on them. I ventured to the On Demand section of FIOS and watched a not-so-random assortment:

Katy Perry, "Thinking of You": This is a well-shot music video that tells a story, and I respect a music video that tells a story. During WWII, Perry cheats on her serviceman beau with another guy and feels guilty about it, picturing the soldier in combat. Maybe this sort of thing has been done before, but anytime a young whippersnapper tries a World War II theme, I take notice. Also, I must confess Perry looks rather fetching in her 1940s get-up, becoming attractive in a way I had never thought of her before.

But here's the bad news: The musical performance is terrible. I'm no Randy Jackson, so maybe I'm missing some technical nuances of her singing, but this has to be one of the worst-vocalized songs I've heard this decade (Non-Britney Division, of course). Especially from the second verse on, when she starts singing about SUM-mer and WIN-ter, I disagree with just about every phrasing choice she makes. Her quirkiness doesn't really suit the drama of the song, nor that of the video. This track sounds like a first take of an Alanis Morrissette number.

Sammy Hagar, "Loud": OK, the gimmick of this video is we're supposed to be watching young Hagar and band performing the song, intercut with footage of old Hagar--er, current Hagar--doing the same tune. That's fine, except that it reminds us how long Sammy's been around. Worse, the song is about Sammy, uh, "becoming a man" with a woman who was LOUD.

I don't blame these guys for wanting to relive their glory days, or even bragging about those exploits. I'm glad Michael Anthony has a gig after getting excommunicated from Van Halen like Hagar. But, darn it, I'm at a point in MY life when I don't need to hear about Sammy Hagar's sexual awakening. That funny feeling I got during the Katy Perry video? Yeah, totally gone after seeing this.

The Killers, "Spaceman": I don't mind the song, which is distinguished by a catchy New Wave-y chorus, but frontman Brandon Flowers just never really lets loose with the vocals like you keep expecting. In fact, he displays little charisma in the video, maintaining a blank expression most of the time and letting his Road Warrior Hawk Meets Cirque Du Soleil costume do the performing for him.

I'd try to explain the concept of this clip, but I don't think I understand it apart from the fact that a lot of weird-looking people are towering above and looking down upon the masses. Really, the Road Warrior Hawk Meets Cirque Du Soleil line is all I got here, and I hope it works for you.

But I wonder about Flowers. He has this swagger in interviews that belies his subdued demeanor in the things I've seen. Am I seeing the wrong clips? Is it a rock star thing? Am I reading too much into this and totally missing his stage/video presence?

I don't know, but it's an OK tune, and I have no problem with the Killers until 25 years from now when they start singing about becoming men with women who are LOUD.