Another week, another INTERACTIVE VIDEO ENTERTAINTMENT EXPERIENCE, right?
It is perhaps a sign of the times when music videos have to be like, a hundred music videos in one for them to get anyone to watch past the first twenty seconds. This week brought us three of those videos! One for Pharrell song "Happy" that allowed you to manipulate the time of day, from which the video would react by showing you a different group of people having a great time listening to Pharrell's song "Happy." Just a couple days prior, Bob Dylan, or perhaps the Department of Bob Dylan Related Entertainment Services came through with a television video. As in, the television was INSIDE THE VIDEO. You can change the channel and see a bunch of different people, Danny Brown included, having a great time lip-synching the classic "Like A Rolling Stone." What this overwhelmingly entertaining re-interpretation of the music video medium has to do with the lyrical content of the song, the world may never know. No one really knew exactly what Bob Dylan was ever saying, anyway. Had Complex been around to post his music when it was coming out, our commenters may have expressed the same things they currently do about, say, Chief Keef. The takeaway here is that Bob Dylan is the best rapper alive.
Some other things occurred this week as well...Ah yes, another music video! "Bound 2" didn't exactly drown in the Bob Dylan applause. Kanye West gave us horses, birds, desktop backgrounds, and Kim Kardashian essentially naked (which none of us have ever seen before, nor been exposed to in any way, form, or fashion). So it was kind of like the previously mentioned interactive videos, but instead of putting a television inside of a computer screen, Kanye was putting Kim Kardashian and himself inside of a bunch of computer screen desktop backgrounds. Kanye's just always one step ahead.
RELATED: The "Bound 2" Music Video Is The New Kim Kardashian Sex Tape
RELATED: The Holy Mountain: The Influence of Alejandro Jodorowsky on The Yeezus Tour
RELATED: Spend A Day With Pharrell And See How "Happy" His Life Is
Lady Gaga's "ArtPop" album may or may not have flopped, depending on how you view the current technocultural landscape.
Lady Gaga's "ArtPop" album may or may not have flopped, depending on how you view the current technocultural landscape.
Date: November 20
"Lady Gaga's ARTPOP will debut at No. 1 on this week's Billboard charts after selling 258,000 copies in its first week. This will push Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP 2 down a spot to No. 2, but with 210,000 units moved this week, the sales total clocks in at 1,002,000 copies, making it Em's seventh album to break the million mark. Jhené Aiko also slides into the top ten this week, with her Sail Out EP landing the No. 8 spot after moving 34,000 units." —Dharmic X
Maino and Trinidad James got on the phone to squash beef. The collective world asks, "Who?"
Maino and Trinidad James got on the phone to squash beef. It was an interesting conversation if you follow contemporary rap closely and so know who Maino and Trinidad James are.
Date: November 20
"The phone conversation apparently happened before James' 'Truth Will Set You Free' vlog and he explained to Maino that the vlog would clarify the Brooklyn rant. Before hanging up, Maino said that as long as Trinidad released this vlog and apologized to New York City, they could move forward.
But was Trinidad's vlog enough? It's worth noting that there is no apology in 'The Truth Will Set You Free.' In fact, he makes it a point to say that he has nothing to apologize for. Meanwhile, Maino's tweets that have come after the vlog seem to be referring back to Trinidad, indicating that he was not satisfied with what he saw." —Dharmic X
R. Kelly did a song with Justin Bieber. Your life became slightly more absurd.
R. Kelly did a song with Justin Bieber. Your life became slightly more absurd.
Date: November 17
"Justin Bieber continues his Music Monday series with 'PYD,' a collaboration with R. Kelly. Once again, Bieber demonstrates his growth as an artist and the R&B influence that is seeping into his music. 'PYD' finds Bieber and Kelly talking about love, but in a more sensual way compared to previous Music Monday releases. Meanwhile, Kells' is following up his big Saturday Night Live appearance with Lady Gaga, as he gets ready to release his own album, Black Panties, next month." —Dharmic X
The Yeezus tour came to New York City. A Tribe Called Quest Opened.
The Yeezus tour came to New York City. A Tribe Called Quest Opened.
Date: November 19, 20
"The Yeezus tour is equal parts Jesus Christ Superstar, Klaus Kinski, Spalding Gray, and call-and-response chruch. Even if you were to set all of the religion iconography aside, it'd still be all of those things, and more. After all, when was the last time you saw someone scale a mountain during their act? Or perform entire set pieces while lying on their back? Or sitting on a throne made up of essentially naked women? Or while talking to Jesus?
It'd be hyperbole to call the Yeezus tour a religious experience, sure. But it's exactly what the rapture of a great concert should be: Raw energy of live music, where any theatrics only serve to supplement (and not overwelm) it. And that's what this show is. In other words: Fucking incredible." —Foster Kamer
Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" got a music video. Rather, an entire television dedicated to the song.
Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" got a music video. Rather, an entire television dedicated to the song.
Date: November 19
"Bob Dylan's iconic record 'Like a Rolling Stone' gets the video treatment today, 48 years after its release. Dylan joins the digital age with an interactive video that gives the classic song new life. It includes 16 different television channels to choose from. TV shows similar to Pawn Stars and The Price is Right are available as well as vintage footage of Bob Dylan performing the track. There's also a channel solely dedicated to Danny Brown walking on the street and eating a bunch of food while singing the lyrics. Sushi, donuts, pizza, you name it. If it's in Brown's hand, it's immediately going in his mouth." —Edwin Ortiz
Pharrell released an interactive video for his song "Happy," which you will also be if you watch him for the full 24 hours.
Pharrell released an interactive video for his song "Happy." It is 24 hours longs and you should quit your job and devote your life to watching it repeatedly.
Date: November 21
"Ever wondered what an average day in Pharrell's life is like? Find out by watching his music video for 'Happy,' a song off the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. The producer shops for groceries, hangs out at a gas station, and watches Despicable Me 2 on a giant projector, as he travels the world and meets up with his celebrity friends. Cameos come from Magic Johnson, Chad Hugo, Jamie Foxx, and Odd Future, among many others. The full 24-hour experience is available here. —Dharmic X
Kanye West released a new video. It involved horses, a bird, a motorcycle, a Kardashian, and Yosemite. He told you motherfuckers it was more than the music.
Kanye West released a new video. It involves horses, a bird, a motorcycle, a Kardashian, and the sublime vistas of Yosemite National Park. He told you motherf***ers it was more than the music.
Date: November 19
"Kanye West's 'Bound 2' music video, which he debuted on The Ellen Degeneres Show today, is more than a visual companion piece, it's the new Kim Kardashian sex tape.
In February 2007, Kim became an overnight sensation when a coital recording she made in 2003 with R&B singer and then-boyfriend Ray J leaked. Since then, she's become the undisputed queen of reality television and gotten engaged to Kanye, who fathered her daughter North and is arguably the world's biggest music star. When the couple started dating in April 2012, the far less relevant Ray capitalized on their fame by releasing the diss track 'I Hit It First,' in which he bragged about, well, hitting it first. He even used a pixelated image of Kim for the single art and a look-alike for the music video. Kanye let the insults slide initially but eventually returned fire during a surprise performance of "Bound 2" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." —Frantz Rocher, Justin Monroe
