Perfectly dark, strobe-lit and weird, this is exactly what I see in my head when this song plays.
SALEM - KING NIGHT from Theo Wenner on Vimeo.
music video, salem, video
It's no secret that we here at Soldout have a special love-mock relationship with Britney Spears. We love for its vapidity--or surprising lack thereof--and laugh at the popstar for the same reason. Femme Fatale? Over-produced jams with ridiculous lyrics. Love. Her fear of flying but desire to be a bird? Priceless. Mock...and also love.
Personally, I've come to think that the woman has lost interest in her pop star career and wants to retire, but she knows her retirement wouldn't be a James Murphy-esque step out of the spotlight into another one, but a true decision to stay home with the kids and the new boyfriend watching Dora the Explorer and giggling. And she's not quite ready to admit that and knows that even if her career has spanned almost 20 years, she's still barely 30. And maybe the latest video is her unwillingness to admit that, judging from her Hello Kitty colored hair extensions and Ke$ha-esque irreverence.
However, within the video are so many delightful self-deprecating references that I think she's actually grown up a lot. Unless she's a better actress than I know...and that marquee for Cross Roads 2: Cross Harder is NOT a joke:
(Thanks to Edith Zimmerman at The Hairpin for pointing that out--Easter Egg indeed!)
So...without counting all of the best moments, here are my faves. Add your own in the comments pls!
britney spears, music videos, pop music, video
Updated on Jun 30, 2010 by
Marley
So it's been a week since I posted my thoughts on the Alejandro video and all of Soldout has been watching the interwebs for other people's thoughts. Besides OMG-ace-of-bass-madonna-blah-blah.
This is the definitive Alejandro-Madonna post.
This is one of the MANY Ace of Bass comparison videos from youtube.
MOVING THE FUCK ON!
I personally think the song itself is about a loner teenage girl getting hit on by latino dudes... but the video is a totally different story.
Here's Soldout's roundup of the more interesting commentary on the video.
Ok monster-kittens.
You’ve seen it all over the internet by now; the video premiered Tuesday and it’s Friday so it’s pretty much old news. All the Madonna comparisons have been made (whether it’s being called homage or a rip-off depends on how much you like the Lady and how much you miss the old Madonna). Other references to other videos abound—whatever music videos have been around for how long now? (1981, 1st video aired on MTV but the idea has been around since…well, Wikipedia says the 1960’s). And movies were around for how long before that? (Let’s say 1890, it’s a tricky question)
My first version of this SAY-SOMETHING-ABOUT-ALEJANDRO started with a chat about Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1926)…which I haven’t seen. Which I feel I should see but like…it’s long. And German. And …it looks scary and it looks like something I wouldn’t understand. And I have enough WTF moments in my day-to-day life, thank you.
Having seen Alejandro I’m kind of wishing I had seen it so I could intelligently dissect what’s going on in this video and make good references to other art, besides freakin’ Madonna videos. But, this is not going to be an undergrad paper about Gaga compared to …everything else ever. It’s me, rambling. This isn’t Harpers. It’s Soldout. Snark n music n stuff.
What up Sellouts*!
I’m Marley, Soldout’s newest official contributor. You may know me from online chats such as SALEM and videos such as Melissa Fucking Auf der Maur. I’m a writer, editor, and burlesque performer and I like music with a beat that tells a story. And other stuff, too... you'll find out soon enough.
And, much like I love a good short story, I love a good, well-executed short film. Today that basically means the music video. A good music video that really works with a song and an artist is hard to find.
Which is why I’m seriously crushing on the vid for Beyonce’s “Why Don’t You Love Me.”
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