Music Video Round-Up – July 2011

Jason Aldean, “Dirt Road Anthem”

What on earth is that?  Is he trying to dance?  Other than that, a fairly predictable video.

Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter, “You and Tequila”

Possibly my favorite of this list.  The “You and Tquila” video features a beautiful seaside setting with some breathtaking aerial shots.  Extra points for having Grace Potter in the video with Kenny.

Martina McBride, “Teenage Daughters”

Shania Twain, “Today Is Your Day”

Shania’s video for “Today Is Your Day” is made up of compiled footage from her OWN docu-series Why Not? with Shania Twain.

Terri Clark, “Northern Girl”

Terri’s “Northern Girl” video features her singing in a variety of beautiful scenic locations in her native Canada.

Trace Adkins, “Just Fishin'”

Lady Antebellum, “Just a Kiss”

A lame, cheesy, four-and-a-half-minute iPad commercial with little or no connection to the original song.

Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett, “Knee Deep”

A little creepy, but still fun.

 

Music Video Round-Up – June 2011

This month’s edition of the Music Video Round-Up features quite a few offerings from new and independent artists as well as major-label hitmakers.

Luke Bryan, “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)”

I was pretty sure I knew what I was getting before I had even seen this video, but at least they didn’t play up the backwoods country corn as much as I was expecting.

Burns and Poe, “Second Chance”

Amber Hayes, “Wait”
http://www.yallwire.com/embed/0/
Amber Hayes’ first music video acts out the story told in her current single “Wait,” featuring a simple chance meeting in a coffee shop – a meeting that could turn into something more.

Amos Lee, “Flower”

The animation in the video is very artistic, though it throws me off a bit that we never see any actual footage of Amos Lee himself.

Hunter Hayes,”Storm Warning”

Blake Shelton, “Honey Bee”

Frankie Ballard, “A Buncha Girls”
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:cmt.com:657016
Like you didn’t already know what this video was going to have in it.  Hint:  See song title.

Brad Paisley, “Old Alabama”

It wouldn’t be a Brad Paisley video without celebrity cameos now, would it?  Besides the expected Alabama appearance, we also get to see some classic Alabama video footage from back in the day, along with some Jeff Gordon thrown into the mix.

Teea Goans, “Letter from God”

The sand painting is a very interesting touch.

 

Music Video Round-Up – May 2011, Part 2

Stealing Angels, “Paper Heart”

Margaret Durante, “Maybe Tonight”

Jennette McCurdy, “Generation Love”

Corey Smith, “Twenty One”

Ronnie Dunn, “Love Owes Me One”

Eric Church, “Homeboy”

Taylor Swift, “Mean”

 

Music Video Round-Up – May 2011, Part 1

Lots of great new vids to talk about this month, so we’re going to split this round-up over two parts.  Part 2 will be coming soon!

Josh Abbott Band, “Oh, Tonight”

Overall simple, but including a few more dramatic touches – like fire, for instance.  The music video preserves the same conversational tone that the song itself has, in that it shows Josh Abbott and Kacey Musgraves playing guitar and singing to each other in a simple fireside setting.

The Dirt Drifters, “Something Better”
(Embedding disabled – Click here to watch)
This video follows a blue collar worker through his grueling everyday routine.  It includes quite a few odd camera angles, and a good bit of humor.  Quirky, fun, and off-beat, just like the song.

David Nail, “Let It Rain”

Eh, didn’t really care for this one.  Kind of boring.  Never really went anywhere.  All that really happened was sitting around and watching the soon-to-be-ex-lover get dressed.

Thompson Square, “I Got You”

A Sonny & Cher spoof – seems appropriate, considering the song’s title.  This video finds Keifer and Shawna Thompson playing muliple roles – the hosts of the Keifer & Shawna Show, themselves performing as Thompson Square, and others as well.  Still not a fan of the song, but this is a cute video.

Sugarland, “Tonight”

Some interesting visual elements, including a variety of colorful costumes worn by Jennifer Nettles.

Emerson Drive, “Let Your Love Speak”

What could possibly be a cooler setting than Sydney, Australia?

Chris Young, “Tomorrow”

Simple, yet very well played out.

 

Music Video Round-Up – April 2011

Lee Brice, “Beautiful Every Time”

Due West, “When the Smoke Clears”

Keith Urban, “Without You”

Rehab, “Talk About”

Alison Krauss & Union Station, “Paper Airplane”

 

Music Video Round-Up – March 2011

Zac Brown Band, “Colder Weather”

Very artistic.  The editing effects, especially the fact that the video is in black and white, really seems to fit with the mood of the song.  Well done.

Sarah Darling, “Something to Do with Your Hands”

It’s hard not to use the word “cute” in describing this video. She’s in love with a handyman, so she keeps intentionally breaking things to get him to spend time with her.

Darius Rucker, “This”

I like how this video shows Darius singing in the Ryman Auditorium.  Who doesn’t love the good ol’ Ryman?

Reba McEntire, “If I Were a Boy”

A definite improvement over the “Turn On the Radio” video.  Reba’s simple yet elegant video for “If I Were the Boy” almost seems to lend the song more maturity in a way.  Great video!

Carter’s Chord, “A Little Less Comfortable”

The Victorian-era setting makes an interesting visual element, and the storytelling is fantastic.

The Band Perry, “You Lie”
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:cmt.com:626358

You Lie – The Band Perry – The Band Perry Videos

Some great performance footage, and another interesting setting similar to that of the Carter’s Chord video.

Trace Adkins, “Brown Chicken Brown Cow”

The puppets were kind of cute, but I hate it when Trace tries too hard to be sexy.

 

Music Video Round-Up – February 2011

Quite a diverse group of videos in this month’s Music Video Round-Up.  This edition includes contributions from new artists, established hitmakers, an indie artist, a veteran group, and even some bluegrass from Dierks Bentley.

Randy Montana, “1,000 Faces”

Surprisingly (or not), this video has a lot of faces in it.

Danielle Car, “Walk of Shame”

A fun and energetic performance by a talented indie country artist from Detroit.

Ashton Shepherd, “Look It Up”

Why, Miss Ashton!  Somebody should wash your mouth out.  But still a cute and funny video nonetheless.  In the “Look It Up” video, Ashton claims sweet revenge on her philandering man by selling off his belongings at a yard sale.

The Harters, “If I Run”

Beautiful.

Taylor Swift, “Back to December”

I think the snow falling indoors is actually pretty cool.  It’s definitely in character with the song.

Joe Nichols, “The Shape I’m In”

Joe Nichols’s video for “The Shape I’m In” puts a new and different spin on the song by applying the sentiments to a soldier recovering from injuries.

Steel Magnolia, “Last Night Again”

Steel Magnolia’s video for “Last Night Again” fits the song perfectly, and also places it in an interesting setting – a bowling alley.

Alabama, “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”

Emerson Drive, “When I See You Again”

A tribute to former member Patrick Bourque, who died one month after resigning from the band.  You can tell there’s a lot of emotion packed into this video.
Dierks Bentley, “Fiddlin’ Around”

I’ll start appraising the video once I get over how cool the record itself sounds.

 

Music Video Round-Up – January 2011

Katie Armiger, “Best Song Ever”

Ha, I totally could have been in this video.  See all those people bopping out to “Best Song Ever”?  That’s how I get whenever I’m listening to it in the car.

Easton Corbin, “I Can’t Love You Back”

Really interesting concept.  It fleshes out the storyline a bit further, and shows that the departed lover has not dumped the guy, but rather was killed in a car accident (Don’t worry – It’s not graphic or bloody).  It makes the song seem even sadder!  My only thing is that I was expecting it to reach some sort of peak when it finished showing the lover driving in reverse back towards her man, and it really didn’t.  But still a good video nonetheless.

The Grascals and Dolly Parton, “I Am Strong”

Aw, they filmed it at St. Jude.  And yay for Dolly Parton!

POLL RESULTS
Favorite new video?

56% – Easton Corbin, “I Can’t Love You Back”
37% – Katie Armiger, “Best Song Ever”
6% – The Grascals and Dolly Parton – “I Am Strong”

 

Music Video Round-Up – December 2010

Joey + Rory, “That’s Important to Me”

Every bit as sincere as the song itself.  Joey + Rory add many unique personal touches by filming portions of the video on their farm, and in their family’s diner.  Even their daughters make an appearance.  Excellent video!

Catherine Britt, “Sweet Emmylou”

A beautiful tribute to the incomparable Emmylou Harris.  This song originally appeared on Joey + Rory’s 2008 debut album The Life of a Song.  Catherine’s video earns props for keeping things simple, and letting sincerity and emotion pull the load.

Jewel, “Ten”

Okay, which is cooler – Matthew McConaughey in a gorilla suit, or Jewel in a boxing match with a giant heart?  Wittiness aside, I can give this video plenty of creativity points, though part of me would have preferred that they kept it more serious.

Tim McGraw, “Felt Good On My Lips”

I am actually tempted to like this one.  The creative video editing serves as a pleasant distraction from the overall cruddiness of the song itself.

Dierks Bentley, “Draw Me a Map”

Great performance footage and nice lighting effects.  It’s great to see all those bluegrass musicians in this clip.  But I would have given extra points if the video had had Alison Krauss in it.

Josh Turner, “I Wouldn’t Be a Man”

This video perfectly fits the mood of the song.  And yes, that is his wife.  Nice touch how they show the pregnant belly at the end.

No Justice, “Just Get Going”

A great energetic performance, incorporating a few touches of humor.  Fun video.

Little Big Town, “Kiss Goodbye”
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:cmt.com:601461

Little Big Town   More CMT Music   More CMT Music Videos

I love the setting with Phillip Sweet playing piano in a middle of a field, and I also enjoy this video’s portrayal of the song’s story.

 

Music Video Round-Up – November 2010

Jamey Johnson, “Playing the Part”

Just what every music video needs – Matthew McConaughey in a gorilla suit.  Between Jamey Johnson and Gorilla Suit Matthew, I think it’s a toss-up between which one is hairier.  The video told its story well, and it incorporated some humor as well.  I find it odd that we don’t actually see Jamey until three minutes into the video (which was very much on the long side), but overall I would consider this video a success.

Blake Shelton, “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”
[Embedding disabled – click above link to watch)

Overall not bad, but I was irritated by a few misguided attemtps to make it sexy.