Watch This Now: M.I.A. – “Bad Girls”
“My chain hits my chest, when I’m bangin’ on the dashboard…”
Fresh from her Superbowl controversy and her fab new video with Madge, it seems Maya Arulpragasam is at a higher level of public attention than ever before. Fitting, then, that she continues on her blazing comeback trail with a great new video, Bad Girls. Firstly, relax: this isn’t anything like Born Free, the confronting nine-minute short based around the song of the same name in which redheads were rounded up and killed. Sure, that was a fucking fantastic video; but an attempt to try something like that again would be a bit much. We’re onto something different here. Very good, but very different.
The video, directed by Born Free‘s Romain Gavras, was shot in Morocco. This is an important aspect to the video – its location. Watching the video, which sees a lot of car-racing, stunt-driving and thrill-seeking, would almost certainly come across as contrived and materialistic were it set in New York, L.A. or the like. Due to its Moroccan location – with dirt roads, ancient buildings and men in keffiyehs – it comes across as more of a triumph. It’s a roundabout celebration of Middle Eastern culture by poking fun at Westernisation and spinning it on its head. Much like her antics on Monday, it will be viewed as a very blatant middle finger to the U.S. Still, she wasn’t scared then and she sure as hell won’t be scared now. The bitch is back.
Watch This Now: Madonna feat. M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj – “Give Me All Your Luvin'”
“Ever record sounds the same, you gotta step into my world…”
Here we go. On the back of yesterday’s amazing Superbowl performance, let’s talk shop on a legend. The circus is back in town, the wheels are back in motion, your gay friends are squealing… Madonna is back. Again. The pop immortal is gearing up for the release of her twelfth LP, entitled MDNA, her first since the mostly-average Hard Candy back in 2008. I’ve basically been following her career since Ray of Light, and have always doubted how good her comeback singles would be. Every time, that doubt has come to bite me square in the arse…with the exception of American Life. I mean, Music? Hung Up? Hell, even 4 Minutes was a banger. Here is no exception: with a Sri Lankan badass on one side and the biggest female name in hip-hop on the the other, Madge is clawing her way right back to the top.
I know it’s going to be the focal point of basically every discussion of this video, but can we please remind you that this woman is FIFTY-THREE YEARS OLD? To look THAT good at that age is pretty remarkable. Photoshop can only do so much, remember. She flaunts it like she was twenty years younger, and she still looks just as fierce as she did when she was twenty years younger. Typical of a Madge clip, they’ve pulled out all the stops on this one. There’s footballers, cheerleaders, Marilyn Monroe getup and, if I recall correctly, a toy baby. It’s all remarkably camp and brightly coloured, as if you would expect anything less. Gotta say, M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj are both looking fabulous here, too – both as cheerleaders and as Marilyn impersonators.
Sure, she’s going to have plenty of detactors in the lead up to MDNA, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the only successful single, aka Hard Candy. For what it’s worth, however, this was my first major pop video joy of 2012. Here’s to many more to come!
Watch This Now: Lady Gaga – “Born This Way”
“Don’t be a drag, just be a queen…”
Really, were you expecting that I’d just let this one drop by the wayside? Fat fucking chance, sister – Gaga is a long-time friend of Y,WGAV!; especially after taking out the “enviable” pole position in my Top 30 Videos of 2010. With her new sci-fi epic, Born This Way, I’m not too sure if she’s made something that will end up topping the end-of-year list just yet. That said, it’s another fabulously entertaining prospect that’s once again a must-see.
I’m not too sure what she’s going for from a conceptual point of view – something about a different breed of humans from what I can gather? It’s completely farfetched, but the beauty of the video lies in the dazzling choreography and the brilliantly busy editing job – so many costumes, so little time! I’ve found this one to definitely be an improvement over the Alejandro video, which I’m sure we can all agree was a weak effort for all involved. This is much more focused, flashy and just downright fun! What’s not to love? Sure to get people talking too, I’m sure – although probably not as much as Telephone did. Take a look for yourself and see where you stand – if you haven’t made up your mind already, of course.
Yes, We've Got a Video! 