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Lou Pickney's Online Commentary

Memories and Context

Wednesday
May 8, 2006

"Would things have changed if I could've stayed?
Would you have loved me either way?"
-Coheed and Cambria "The Suffering"

Because MTV has become RTV (Reality TV) and forgotten what music videos are, the only real way to see them anymore is online. Which is okay, really, since that gives you the power to choose. And that's alright by me.

Through the years, there haven't been many videos that I've really liked. High and Dry (U.S. version) by Radiohead and A Long December by the Counting Crows come to mind immediately, but it's been, what, 9-10 years since those came out? I know, I know, it's hard for me to read that as well; my internal year counting sensor went dim in 2000 or so, and so I'm constantly getting hit with a barrage of shocks when I realize how long ago something that seems relatively recent actually took place. I get the feeling that this isn't going to change for me, either.

I mention this not to pine for the mid/late 1990s, but instead because I found a video that I actually really like: it's Love and Memories by O.A.R.. I found it on Yahoo! videos (go to music.yahoo.com, look up O.A.R., and choose to watch the video for Love and Memories, if you'd like to see it.) The first two minutes in particular are great (it starts to get a little artsy there in the mid-late stages before ending strong.) I love songs about memories, and the complications therein, and videos about them have near limitless potential. This one delivers pretty strong, particularly by modern standards.

What used to really bug me was the copycat video phenomenon of a few years ago, where Puff Daddy would do a video with a certain style of dancing or a particular way of filming... and then EVERY video in the hip hop genre seemed to emulate that for the next two years (usually poorly.) You mean to tell me that, with all of the creative people in Hollywood, that's all that was being green-lighted?

Wait a minute, it is Hollywood, where copycat tactics are second only to the NFL. Nevermind.

You can have a good song, such as The Suffering by Coheed and Cambria, but then the director makes it about some kid in school and I think: what, did the director see Pearl Jam's video for Jeremy too many times or something? I will say this: the lead singer of C&C doesn't have a voice that matches the way he looks. I see him and I expect to hear active rock screaming. But no. Plus his hair reminds me of Carlito from WWE, and also Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers. And I didn't know Varejao's name offhand; all I had to type into Google was Cavaliers crazy hair and his name came up in the second entry. I love the internet.

Here's something to make you laugh (yet another YouTube special...) It's a trailer for the movie The Shining, only as if it was one of those feel-good type movies. Hilarious stuff. Thanks to Matt Sieracki for sending it my way.

The underlay of Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel was a great touch. If they had a legit-sounding voiceover guy for it, the whole thing might seem believable. As it is, the concept was genius.

Tonight I head back to Nashville for a quick trip, as my presence has been requested at a meeting tomorrow at the office. The upside: I get to see my family again, including my Granddaddy Blaylock, who isn't doing so well these days. I haven't written much about that on here, mostly because it's actually a really hard thing for me to deal with. But I am glad that I'm close enough to be able to make frequent visits. Do I miss Tampa? You'd better believe it. But there are definite upsides to living here, one of which is being near family. So the plan is to drive up tonight (once traffic dies down in the city), stay at my bro Matt's place this evening, work in LaVergne tomorrow, have dinner at my parents' place tomorrow evening, visit Granddaddy right after that, and then drive back on I-65 South directly from there...


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