Tag Archive for 'lil wayne'

Lil Wayne - Mrs. Officer - “I Said Lady What’s Your Number, She Said 911″

Published
by
neal
on November 19, 2008
in Music Videos
. 0 Comments

I give Lil Wayne a hard time here at the AudioShocker, I really do. I’ve also said that 2008 has been the year of Weezy, T-Pain, and their joint reign of vocoder terror. That said, sometimes you hear a new song on the radio by an artist you don’t particularly care for and it gets you sprung. As I was driving home the other night, I caught wind of Mrs. Officer feat. Bobby Valentino (another hot/cold artist in my book) and I had to tell you all about it.

The Track: Tell me you don’t like Valentino’s weeohweeohweeohwee cop call chorus thing. I love it — almost as much as I love Weezy for NOT using a vocoder on this. That is huge for me. Maybe the vocoder is done for 2008? The beat is laid back and I’m actually pretty surprised this was not released as a summer jam, would have been big.

And the rhymes!! I can’t hate - Weezy keeps it hot.

She know I’m raw, she know I’m from the streets // And all she want me to do is fuck the police

And after we got done, I said lady what’s your number she said 911

Breakfast in bed turn into breakfast and head (this verse isn’t in the video)

The obligatory negatory: Wayne has taken up an affectation that I am dubbing ‘The Dorian Self-Laugh’; it was first brought to light by Dr. Cox on Scrubs. Zack Braff’s J.D. did this stupid self laugh whenever he made a joke and no one else thought it was funny. Well, Weezy has been doing the same thing recently - after every. single. line. Other examples? Check T-Pain’s Can’t Believe It and Mike Jone’s Cuddy Buddy. It’s like the new delay double and I find it similarly bothersome. Hopefully, Mr. Carter will grow out of it quickly. However, given his repertoire of vocoder hits this year, it may be a while.

The Video: Hot cops may be cliche, but they make for an entertaining video. I mean who hasn’t wanted to get it on with a Hot Cop? Ladies and Lads alike. It’s the basis for an entire genre of porn. Frisking hot perps? I want to do that. Mugshot modeling? I’ve seen it before, but I still chuckled. 3 hot cop dancers and squad cars? Yeah, I can suspend disbelief. Obviously this isn’t anything groundbreaking or new, but it’s easily digestible fluff that I can watch it more than once.

While somewhat unrelated, I disliked that the 2nd video Comfortable used the same video treatment/model. I am of the mind that videos self contained packages that can stand on their own. But Comfortable is easy to ignore, so it’s all good.

The Bottom Line: Perhaps this is some of that ‘change we can beleive in’

Ryan Leslie - Addiction Would Be an Overstatement

Published
by
neal
on October 1, 2008
in Music Videos
. 4 Comments

Ryan Leslie. What can I say that hasn’t been said already? You gave us Cassie and Diamond Girl, and for that I am grateful but conflicted. Cassie is hot, but she’s a mess as a performer. Diamond Girl was a hot track but the video tried too hard to channel OutKast and Michael Jackson. Well, I finally got around to watching the new video for Addiction and it’s more of the same. Read on for more.

The Track: The beat is mellow and I’m all about that. Not every track needs wicked knock. I didn’t like the synth at first, but I’ve really warmed up to it. The percussion is well designed too. Hand drums playing off a synth? Yes. Cassie provides the backing vocals, natch. She sounds a little flat and detached, like she’s in a daze - perhaps that’s the point? It’s sort of hypnotic in its monotony.

Fab’s verse had me hooked because of how it handles a pet peeve of mine. I have reviled name-dropping in the past, but Fab turns it around. He incorporates the names into the verse as punchlines and not just as obnoxious references. His lines get better and better: ‘I got you Amy Winedout’, ‘I hop out the suicides looking so Cobain’, and ‘They come back want more grams, right back, like Lindsey out the program’. If that doesn’t get a rise of out of your punchline meter, perhaps you should stop listening to hiphop.

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The Video: The ‘official’ video is your typical ‘white background’ video but in gray. The treatment must have read like this: 2 guys, 4 models, all gray. The ‘2 guys and some models’ concept is not new either. Schwayze did it. So did Lil Wayne and Lloyd. Remember Golddigger? SAME THING. There are plenty more examples. It’s the buddy cop equivalent of music videos: you’re not really sure if Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan belong in the same movie, but it’s easy to watch and you’re too lazy to change the channel.

The ‘alternate‘ version of the video is fairly unremarkable except that it is in color. Alternate videos strike me as a sign that the album isn’t going to stand by itself without being crammed with extras.

Remember George Michael’s Freedom video? No one ever does stuff like that anymore, which is sad. It is the closest thing to a perfect music video I have seen to date. It had models, explosions, good set and costume design, new technology, replay value, and it wasn’t just a taped performance!

The Bottom Line: Decent track, routine video. It happens.

Cassie - Official Girl Is Officially Wack

Published
by
neal
on August 28, 2008
in Music Videos
. 6 Comments

Now that the GMAT is over, I finally have time to rant about analyze music videos again. It takes a lot of time to properly put a video in its place, believe me. Today I’ll discuss Cassie’s new joint Official Girl, featuring Lil Wayne, which premiered last week on FNMTV. As you may know, Cassie is a model who got a record deal with Bad Boy after catching the eye of producer Ryan Leslie, or something like that. I’m a bit fuzzy on the details. Anyway, after a year or so hiatus she’s back on the block. I’ll address both the track and the video.

The Track: The beat is courtesy of Danja and smacks of his mentor Timbaland - that is definitely a good thing. The song is basically Cassie saying ‘i don’t want to be a jumpoff, I want to be your girl for reals,’ but it’s insincere and pushy. If she’s so tired, why doesn’t she just leave? Even Keri Hilson (who belongs to the production team that wrote the song) knows the energy isn’t worth it.

It is by ‘label magic’ alone that the super busy Lil Wayne found time to record a verse. It’s not like he even needs the cash right now. (This has seriously been the year of Weezy F Baby) Sadly, if there was any chance of this song being salvageable, the vocoder towards the end crushes it like a boulder.

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The Video: After about 20 seconds you will inevitably make the Aaliyah connection. I mean come on,The bikini top with the hair and the jacket and the black pants, who are you trying to fool Cassie? This isn’t an homage - it’s cheap imitation. The director, Chris Robinson has actually worked with Aaliyah before, so I’m a little surprised. Additionally, Cassie says in an interview “I’ve never seen myself dance like this before.” What I infer from this is that you really stepped up your dancing game.

But I call bullshit. I’ve seen your other videos, so I have a good baseline. Dancing wise, the video doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It’s the same old moves from the same old Aaliyah videos of yore. If this is a ‘new level’ for you, I’m surprised Diddy didn’t bounce your ass like he did half the girls from Making The Band 3! Lastly, the white bikini. Totally gratuitous! It comes out of nowhere and has no relevance to the rest of the video. You aren’t near a pool, the beach, or even outside.

The Bottomline: Hear me out Cassie. You are a beautiful girl - but if you want to stay in the game, you need to learn to sing, act, or at least dance. They call you a ‘triple threat’ in Step Up 2 - but where is the supporting evidence?

FNMTV - Gym Class Heroes, The Game, We The Kings, Solange

Published
by
neal
on August 18, 2008
in Music Videos
. 0 Comments

It’s hard in these streets. That’s the only real excuse I have for not writing this post on Saturday. You know the deal: MTV debuts new videos during FNMTV and I tell you what I think. Easy peasy

Gym Class Heroes - Cookie Jar
I hope this is supposed to be a joke. The ‘white background video’ returns with a vengeance, a vocoder, and shitty synth line. If The Cool Kids are a bunch of lame scene kids - then what the eff is this? I just can’t take any part of this seriously, not with homeboy’s bull nose ring.

The Game - My Life (ft. Lil Wayne)
Game is such a drama queen. Is his life really that hard? Wait till the end where he smears a cross on his chest - in blood. Seriously, how effing into yourself are you? You are not John Lennon, Biggie, or Jesus. And who name drops Kanye twice on a track? As if that weren’t enough, Lil Wayne rides shotgun with a vocoder. Weezy is giving T-pain a run for his money.

We The Kings - Check Yes Juliet (Live)
I’ve never even heard of these oldboys, but it sounds a lot like Panic at the Disco. In other words: they are probably popular, but not for any logical reason.

Solange - Sandcastle Disco
Solange is Beyonce’s sister in case you didn’t know. The song is pretty breezy - but hey, it’s a song about a DJ, I expected as much. Yeah, this is a “white background video”, but I like it more than others I have seen recently. Overuse of CG? Perhaps, but I dig the whole mod/60’s thing. We both know this could have been done way worse.

The Bottom Line: The Game needs to stop feeling himself so much. He is no longer relavant in my musical sphere.

FNMTV - Miley Cyrus, David Banner, Hawthorne Heights, and All Time Low

Published
by
neal
on August 3, 2008
in Music Videos
. 3 Comments

So, after a dismal showing last week, FNMTV returns with 2 live performances by Miley Cyrus and some other less important stuff. How do this week’s videos stack up? Perhaps you should just keep on reading:

Miley Cyrus - 7 Things (Live)
Easily the best live performance ever on FNMTV. This is also 679 times better than the real video. Notice how Miley plays to the camera instead of the crowd and wears herself out from all the running around. I have to say, the girl has energy.

Hawthorne Heights - Rescue Me
Let this be a lesson that a Les Paul and a Flying V will not save your video (or band) from sucking. Basically, there is a crappy band with skinny ties and a girl playing Harry Houdini with technicolor stuff in the water. I’m not sold.

David Banner - Shawty Say ft. Lil Wayne
Basically… be nice to your lady and raise your kids. Otherwise, David Banner is going to sample a Lil Wayne track and then blow your lady’s back out while you sit at home. alone. At least, I think that’s the point - Banner mumbles a lot.

All Time Low - Poppin
Oh I get it. It’s another video making fun of suburban white kids and their love of gaudy hip hop style and trappings. Isn’t making fun of a cliche even more cliche? Also, this band blows. They sound like what garbage would sound like, if garbage sang and played instruments.

Miley Cyrus - Fly on The Wall (Live)
Miley, you were doing so well until this! I can’t bring myself to say good things about this. In fact, I’m not entirely convinced that this isn’t a B-52s cover. And the secret spy dancers? Come on, we all know you can’t dance. (Of course, I can’t wait to see the end of the battle on Monday)

The bottom line: It’s kind of a wash, but Miley Cyrus still places above everyone else this week. Till next time.

Podcast Episode 037

Published
by
nick marino
on July 1, 2008
in Podcast Episodes
. 0 Comments

Back to business talking about the Wanted movie, NaS, Lil Wayne, too many white background music videos, Mark Millar’s Wanted, Kung Fu Panda, Mama’s Boy, Anna Farris, Barb Wire, cooties, 30 Days of Night, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Immortal Iron Fist #16, Avengers: Under Seige and Civil War, cuban hair, My Bare Lady, and we got a face to match.

 
 AudioShocker #37 [52:31m]: Play Now | Download

FNMTV - Rope Chains, Capri Pants, Duffy, and More

Published
by
neal
on June 26, 2008
in Music Videos
. 0 Comments

It’s time for another round of FNMTV bashing - courtesy of yours truly. In case you missed last week’s post, MTV recently added a new segment called Friday Night MTV as a venue for video premiers and live performances. This salvo of music television begs to be discussed - because it is so clearly bottom of the barrel - but not in a formal video review manner. Consider these video review ‘quickies’.

Lil Mama - I’m What It Is (Strike a Pose)

Old skool rope chains, T-Pain sans vocoder channeling the pied piper, and Missy Elliot style antics make for a pretty kid-friendly video. I wouldn’t hesitate to show this to an 8 year old.

Boys Like Girls - Thunder

The band members all have similar haircuts to other bands, they sing slow and deep at first and then jump up an octave to belt out the chorus. Flashback / performance videos like this are boring. If I want to relive getting drunk in high school and doing dumb townie shit… I’ll look out my window at the douchebag highschoolers on summer vacation.

Shawty Lo - Foolish (Remix)

DJ Khaled has never been on a decent track, so this was doomed from the beginning. Morever, what self respecting rapper wears a beater when he has a gut - and for that matter CAPRIS? I’m not even watching the rest of this video. 39 seconds in and I am over it. I won’t even mention that Baby, AKA The Birdman, drops a vocoder verse.

Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

This actually did not suck. The whole thing reminded of a Wes Anderson movie- but one that didn’t suck. In fact, if all of Wes Anderson’s stuff was this short and pithy - Nick and I might like the guy a lot more.

Duffy - Mercy (Live)

I don’t know much about Duffy, but her voice is definitely an acquired taste. I can get into the track, but I’d like it more if it were by another vocalist. ZING! Other than that, this ain’t much to write home about. Here is the original video.

Lil Wayne - A Milli (Live)

It’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of Lil Wayne’s recent records - but apparently he gets crowds hype. And really, how can I disagree with that? If you can rock ‘em right, you must be doing something right. He did race through the song though - he was def in a hurry to get out of there.

That’s it ladies and gents. You don’t have to go home - you can stay and comment here!