MUSIC TOPIC: Is MTV Exploiting the Drake-Chris-Brown-Rihanna Love Triangle Controversy to Promote the 2012 VMAs?

Twitter is all aflutter with news that Rihanna is up for not one but two Video of the Year nominations at MTV's 2012 Video Music Awards for "Take Care" and "We Found Love." I realize that most award shows are rigged to sell commercials, but I've always been particularly annoyed by the VMAs because they rarely award, or even nominate, the right videos.

In 2007, Rihanna won Video of the Year for her breakout single "Umbrella." She beat Amy Winehouse's lounging video for "Rehab," Beyonce's breakup video for "Irreplaceable," Kanye West's hi-tech revival video for "Stronger," Justin Timberlake's revenge video for "What Goes Around…Comes Around," which starred several actors, including Scarlett Johansson, and Justice's innovative animated-meets-live-action graphic design-heavy video for "D.A.N.C.E."

"Umbrella." The video where it rains sparks, CGI water splashes around, she struts like a ballerina, and does a silver homage to Goldfinger. That video.

Yes it's true. That song is a bonafide earworm. Even if you haven't heard it in the last 5 years, you can still hear it echoing in your head right now. Ella ella eh eh. But not only was Beyonce's song better written and sung, but Justice's video was ten times more impressive. So if it were in MTV's interest to award the Best Video of the Year, they would've given it to Justice. Instead, they chose the new girl who photographs well.

Now, five years later, amidst new controversy concerning her exes Drake and Chris Brown, Drake's video for "Take Care," featuring Rihanna on the chorus, has been nominated four times (Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography). Maybe they're trying to stir up controversy to get as many eyeballs on the live airing as possible, or maybe they actually think an existential video featuring a mountain, a bull, a bird, a fish, a coy, half-dressed, constantly-caressed Rihanna going in slow motion is worthy of going up against Katy Perry's fairytale video for the regret-filled "Wide Awake" and M.I.A.'s feminist Middle Eastern revolution video for "Bad Girls." How about this? If either one of them can explain what any of those things has to do with the song, they deserve the award? How's that?

If MTV wanted to acknowledge Drake for one of his videos on a grand scale, I would've went with his video for "HYFR (Hell Yeah Fucking Right)" feat. Lil Wayne. It starts off with real footage from his bar mitzvah and then goes into a present day hip-hop bar mitzvah that's far more raucous and debauched. It's clever and worthy of more than just a Best Hip Hop Video nomination (a category that includes Childish Gambino's "Heartbeat," but should actually include his far more controversial and surprising "Bonfire"). And instead of the ass-tastic Nicki Minaj video for "Beez in the Trap" feat. 2 Chainz, they should've nominated Odd Future's "Oldie." I don't even like Odd Future, they're way too aggressive for me, but the video is ten minutes long and it takes place during a Terry Richardson photo shoot for XXL magazine. Tyler, The Creator basically tells Terry to fuck off and each member goes through their verse in a makeshift moshpit. It was bold and unexpected, and that's what the best videos are supposed to be.

Following those standards, I wholeheartedly approve of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" video being nominated for Best New Artist. Yes, it's as vapid and earworm-y as Rihanna's "Umbrella," but the narrative plays out like a Farrelly brothers movie. Girl crushes on boy-next-door, girl washes her car attempting to look sexy, boy-next-door finally comes over to watch her band play, boy-next-door starts crushing on male band mate. Burn! That's hilarious. Even her popstar-filled lip synch video featuring Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez deserves respect. It's refreshing to see any of those kids act normal, even when it's orchestrated. I'd gladly award her over One Direction's beach jaunt in "What Makes You Beautiful" or The Wanted's euro-bash in "Glad You Came." And I'd even get behind Rihanna's other Video of the Year nomination "We Found Love," a video that features a guy who is a Chris Brown lookalike, and "Where Have You Been," which was nominated for Best Choreography. But "Take Care" was just straight famewhoring on MTV's part.

There are some amazing videos out there and they're going unnoticed. I realize MTV is no longer interested in music, but couldn't they change their name and leave the slot open for a channel that does. 

Check out my list of 2011's Best Music Videos.

BEST OF 2011 MUSIC: Best Videos of 2011

Here are the best videos of the year by category. Click on the photos to watch the videos:

BEST ACID TRIP: Ke$ha's "Blow"
90s heartthrob (for some) James Van Der Beek + unicorns that bleed rainbows = Somebody's gotta be high.

BEST BIBLICAL REFERENCE: Magnetic Man's "Getting Nowhere" feat. John Legend
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as hooded bikers.

BEST CAMEOS: Chris Brown's "Beautiful People"
Many videos with celeb cameos look orchestrated and excessive, but this video actually made it look organic. List of notable cameos: Swizz Beatz, The Game, Tyga, Estelle, Lil Bow Wow, P. Diddy, Pharrell Williams, Brandy, Timbaland, and T-Pain.

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Beyoncé's "Run the World"
Honestly, she makes every other popstar's attempt to "dance" in a video seem pathetic. Look around. There's no one else who can do it better. Britney gave up the throne years ago.

BEST COMEDY: Sara Bareilles's "Gonna Get Over You"
At first this video seemed...kind of racist. It's not often that you see a white girl dancing around with a bunch of cholos, but then the ending delivers an extremely funny and unexpected twist that explains it all. Who knew Sara had a sense of humor? Or that she'd let Jonah Hill take the director's chair?

BEST CONCERT MIX: Lupe Fiasco's "The Show Goes On"
Concert videos are lazy and boring and completely unappreciated. Fiasco's, however, doesn't seem like a quick-and-dirty afterthought. There's impressive cinematography, fluid transitions, and even a sense that his journey to the stage is a culmination of everything he's worked towards as it flips from the young Fiasco to the present day Fiasco.

BEST DRESS-UP: Jessie J's "Who's Laughing Now"
A young Jessie J rages against her two-faced, middle school bullies, while the present day Jessie J plays dress up and is utterly unrecognizable.

BEST LOVE STORY: James Morrison's "I Won't Let You Go"
It goes from him laying down with her in solidarity to everyone who's watching laying down too. It gives this odd feeling of national unity.

BEST POLITICAL MESSAGE: Lupe Fiasco's "Words I Never Said"
The video shows a world muzzled by the government, who brainwashes and censors the public.

BEST REHEARSAL: Beyonce's "Love on Top"
Leave it to Beyonce to make boy bands look uncoordinated.

BEST REMAKE: Cults's "Go Outside"
This video starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco reminded me of the 1987 rom-com Mannequin, except instead of being a plastic doll, Roberts' character climbs out of a film and falls in love with an amateur filmmaker, only to return to her world and break his heart.

BEST SEQUEL: Beastie Boys's "Make Some Noise"
Seth Green, Danny McBride, and Elijah Wood play the young versions of those veteran rappers so that they can continue the saga of the greatest party ever recorded. Later on, Maya Rudolph, Kirsten Dunst, John C. Reilly, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, and several actors join them.

BEST SOLO: The Black Keys's "Lonely Boy"
So, the band got this black dude to basically dance throughout their entire song. Just him. It looks like it takes place in the 70s, but no, it's 2011. So simple. Yet endlessly entertaining.

BEST THROWBACK: Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now" feat. Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne
This is your average ghetto rave dance party in an abandoned warehouse. (You've been to one of those before, right?) What makes it cool though are the vibrant neon colors and the throwback homage to Busta Rhymes' 90s video for "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See," where he use to get a lot more creative then his rap equals, distorting visuals and playing dress up.

BEST TRAGEDY: Best Coast's "Our Deal"
It's a modern day Romeo & Juliet, a mix of West Side Story and Grease, directed by Drew Barrymore and starring Chloe Moretz, Tyler Posey, Alia Shawkat, Miranda Cosgrove, Shailene Woodley, and Donald Glover. It's only four minutes long but it managed to sum up the story quite well. And in place of dialogue, there are written and spray-painted notes. It was cleverly adapted.

BEST TRANSFORMATION: Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night"
Katy never ceases to amaze me when it comes to not taking herself seriously.

BEST TWIST: Childish Gambino's "Bonfire"
Donald Glover stars in his own horror music video where he plays a man who barely escapes a lynching when his rope is cut. He looks for help and discovers a bonfire of young people who are unaware that a man is coming to lynch one of them. He runs and screams to save them only to discover they can't see him and that he's actually a character in their horror story. Then he ends up back where he was, noose around his neck, freshly cut down, like he's damned to repeat the nightmare over and over. That's one way not to dance around the issue. 

BEST VIRAL VIDEO: Beyonce's "Move Your Body"
Beyonce had a "try to make kids lose weight" campaign this year, remixing one of her old beats and making a dance to it. It swept the internet, and schools and kids everywhere were all too pleased to remake it. It's adorable.

BEST VISUALS: The Strokes's "Taken for a Fool"
They illustrated the vibrations of their music with dancing drops of colorful liquid and multiple incarnations of themselves. This is what it feels like on the inside when I listen to music.

BEST OF 2011 MUSIC: Best Album Covers

These album covers were chosen for their unique and artistic design.

   

   

   

   

Bayside Killing Time That astronaut is straight flossing. Chevelle Hat Off to the Bull Nice mid-action shot. Funeral for a Friend Welcome Home Armageddon An awesomely morbid, (literally) nuclear family. In Flames Sounds of a Playground Fading That's a very interesting way of depicting death. Not just a crow, but a cloaked crow of death. Raphael Saadiq Stone Rollin' It's cool that the cover projects the audience he's aiming for. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Am I the Enemy The gas mask stencil is a great way to symbolize the dichotomy between good and evil in the listener. Simple Plan Get Your Heart On It's cool how they designed so many different band posters with styles from different decades. Speed of Darkness Flogging Molly The title may be disturbing, but the pinwheel sketch of a guy wrestling a skeleton looks cool. The Lonely Island Turtleneck and Chain They look ridiculous, but they've perfectly captured the overly confident cool of the 90s--both for boy bands and rap groups. The Antlers Burst Apart From afar it looks like a stain of something that splattered on the floor, but the more I stare at it the more it looks like the glittery entrance into an enchanted forest. Intentional or not, it looks beautiful. The Roots Undun This band has always been true to their name, never straying from their roots, and this black and white photo of black kids finding an unorthodox way of having fun is a perfect homage to a ghetto childhood. Wale Ambition My brother told me that an artist actually drew this (and that she didn't get to finish before they released it). I didn't even realize it was drawn. It really does look like him, which is rare with album portraits.

MUSIC: Best Albums of 2010

The days of buying entire albums are over, but sometimes you find a record that's actually worth it. Here are my top 5 favorite of the year:

Kings of Leon's Come Around Sundown

This is my new favorite band of the year. Their latest offering dives deeper into the blues genre, with gut-wrenching vocals and melodic intensity. I love most of the songs because of lead singer Caleb Followill's voice. I get lost in its vibrations and fail to even remember to listen to the lyrics.

KT Tunstall's Tiger Suit

After listening to all 11 songs off her new album Tiger Suit, I realized that Ms. Tunstall has got a little more fire in her than she's commercially let on. I'm liking the less bubbly side of KT. There are still plenty of up-tempo tunes on the album, but most of the tracks have a more intense, bluesy, tribal, drum-and-chant driven melody.

Natasha Bedingfield's Strip Me
This British popstar has successfully released a catchy single with every new album, but how she's managed to stay afloat, unlike her brother Daniel, is beyond me. Considering that most music is about sex and vanity, her uplifting, self-esteem boosting, and romantic songs should fall by the wayside. Luckily, this album is chocked full of them and they're as catchy as ever.

Hanson's Shout It Out

This is the first year that I heard an entire Hanson album. I was pleasantly surprised to hear traces of Jonas Brothers, Robin Thicke, Jason Mraz, Michael Buble, Maroon 5, Rob Thomas, and Gavin DeGraw. The boys are definitely grown up, and still incredibly talented.

Bruno Mars's Doo-Wops & Hooligans

I didn't think he had the ability to construct an album that didn't have just one repetitive pop sound. What encouraged me to try it was the album's hilarious first single, an overly dramatic and hyperbolic declaration of love called "Grenade." Intrigued, I conducted a more thorough investigation and discovered an entire library of genres, where he seduced like Robin Thicke, goofed around like the Lonely Planet comedy troupe, and romanced like a lovestruck teenager.

Honorable Mentions: Travie McCoy's break-up album Lazarus and Weezer's anti-establishment, lyrically awesome, rock album Hurley.

MUSIC: The Best Music Videos of 2010

I HATE when the VMAs give out the Video of the Year award. They always give it to the song with the most airplay, not the song with the best video. LAME! Especially considering how awesome some videos truly are. Here are the best of the year by category:

BEST IDEA/DESIGN

• "We Used to Wait" - Arcade Fire

Ok so when the album first came out, true Arcade Fire fans went to their website and got to experience something hella cool. They entered their address and then a video was automatically generated to incorporate aerial and land views of their neighborhood. The character in the video was concealed enough for the viewer to consider it their avatar. So in the end, it was like each fan had their very own music video. There's a sample below, but if you want to make one for yourself, I should warn you that it'll generate several pop ups that bleed into each other all over your screen.

• "Why Don't You Love Me" Beyonce

The chocolate diva went back in time to channel the underappreciated housewife who did it all and never got enough in return. It's practically Betty Draper's anthem.

• "Cousins" Vampire Weekend

The ingenuity that went into this—creating a trolley track in an alley way, drawing all over the walls and ground, synchronizing motions, confetti canons, and loads of instruments—is just astounding. 

• "Just the Way You Are" Bruno Mars

Do you remember, way back when, when your cassette tape use to malfunction and the film would get tangled or wrinkled? It used to be a bitch. Who knew you could use it to construct images that look like an etch-a-sketch drawing with unbroken lines? 

 

• "King of Anything" Sara Bareilles

There have been plenty of videos in music history that have manipulated still photography, but Sara really takes it to the next level, never diverting from the theme. 

• "Nothin on You" B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars

It's like a cut-out stop motion production.

• "Loca" Shakira ft. El Cata

With that title, one expects something crazy. But stripping in the street, jumping on a biker's motorcycle, and rolling around on concrete? That's way better than a fitted straight jacket and a padded room.

• "WTF?" Ok Go

Even if you've never heard an Ok Go album, you know they've got awesome videos. This one is just a potheads playground.

 

BEST PLOT

• "Na Na Na" & "SING" My Chemical Romance

This is above and beyond the call of duty. The band has its own comic book and this is the live action version of it. Come on?

• "Tighten Up" The Black Keys

Puppy love at its grandest. It starts off super sweet right up until the 2:15 mark, and then they start behaving exactly like you'd expect boys to. As do their fathers.

• "Cuando Me Enamoro" Enrique Iglesias feat. Juan Luis Guerra

Enrique chose to uncharacteristically not molest a stranger in this video, but to instead cast a group of kids to tell little stories of young love. So adorable.

• "Round & Round" - Selena Gomez

Um, so put the song on mute, and watch the Disney star audition for a spy movie.

BEST MESSAGE

• "Un-thinkable" Alicia Keys

This video didn't get as much TV-play as her other single, but I think it deserved to. It goes through 6 decades, showing the evolution, or lack there of, of her biracial romance with Chad Michael Murray ("One Tree Hill"), complete with little details that signify the decade. In the 50s, he had a pompadour and she had a beehive. In the 60s, he was a prep and she had colorful jewelry. In the 70s, he had a shag/mullet and she had an afro. In the 80s, she was sporting a makeshift Jheri curl and her friends were playing cassette tapes. In the 90s, she was using CDs and giant cell phones, and they both had leather jackets. And in the 00s, she had a touchscreen mp3 player and, most importantly, a backbone.

• "Firework" Katy Perry

She managed to cover a lot of bases in the self-esteem arena, telling chubby girls to love their bodies, gays to come out of the closet, and Cancer patients to have hope, and she does it with a party vibe.

• "No Love" Eminem feat. Lil Wayne

These gentlemen are known for their controversial lyrics, but they surprisingly teamed up and created this anti-bullying video. No promotion of violence, just an encouragement to stand up for yourself. That is rarely the rapper agenda.

• "Window Seat" Erykah Badu

Everyone pretty much flipped out when they heard she stripped down in the middle of the street without warning, permission, or guards. The meaning behind it, however, was apparently lost on the small-minded. Badu says she was inspired by the indie rock duo Matt & Kim's video for "Lessons Learned." She thought it was the perfect example of bravery and liberation. Stripping down was her way of showing her true self. And when she gets shot at the end, in a way assassinated, it's suppose to represent society's rejection of the true self and the reassertion of conformity. While it's basically the same video as M&K's, including the surprising death at the end, it's a little braver than theirs because 1) she did it on her own and 2) she didn't get a permit under the guise of shooting a commercial, so she really could've been arrested.

BEST TWIST ENDING

• "Say You Don't Want It" - One Night Only feat. Emma Watson

I admit I only watched this video because a Harry Potter actress was in it, but I was pleasantly surprised at the end. It starts off seeming like a romance, where the guy is trying to woo the girl, but at the end (3:35) all of their bizarro behavior suddenly makes sense...they're actually smitten puppies. Altogether now: Awww!

• "Grenade" - Bruno Mars

I like this song, but the video is incredibly boring until the 3:30 mark. I would not advise doing this, but it definitely wakes you up.

BEST CASTS

• "Erase Me" Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West

Clark Duke and Christopher Mintz-Plasse play his British rock band mates, complete with rockstar attitudes and star-f*cking groupies.

• "Memories" Weezer

The boys of Jackass fool around and dangerously skate within an empty pool. Non-Jackass lovers are unaware of how much brotherly love runs through this clan, but you really get that feeling watching this video.

• "Giving Up the Gun" Vampire Weekend

Let's see. Joe Jonas as a sore loser. A drunk, overly confident Jake Gyllenhaal. Rapper RZA dressed like he's auditioning for The Matrix while refereeing the tennis match. And, last but not least, the randomest of the random, rapper Lil Jon as a coach dressed in preppy clothes.

• "Stylo" Gorillaz

This badass animated band managed to get Bruce Willis in their video as a littering, aviator-wearing, gun-toting speed demon!!

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

• "In the Sun" She & Him

I may not love the duo or even this song, but I'd like to congratulate Zooey Deschanel for being one of very few indie artists who not only dances in their videos, but dances well. No, Feist doesn't count.

• "Thinkin' Bout Something" Hanson

The boys ingeniously recreated a scene in The Blues Brothers and Weird Al Yankovic guest stars too. This is the coolest the boys have ever been.

MUSIC: Best Album Covers of 2010

Now that we have iPods and various other forms of digital media, we rarely see album covers. That's why I like to acknowledge the best ones every year, because I like to see how creative bands (and/or their record companies) can be.

The Black Eyed Peas - The Beginning
The Peas like to reinvent themselves with every album—always a party vibe, but never the same visual style. This time around they were going for a more video game aesthetic: pixelated, lego-like, and malleable. Aside from the fact that Fergie looks...more like Barbie than Fergie, I like their dedication to the new theme.

Brian Wilson - Reimagines Gershwin
I...don't know who Brian Wilson is, but I like that as the piano keys begin to separate and come apart, they not only get bigger but become colorful. It's like a metaphor for what the customer can look forward to: bland and conservative music is transformed into untamed and revitalized sounds. Of course I am assuming this because again, I have never heard his music. However, the cover is subtly enticing enough to attract a skimming eye.

Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Most new artists put their face on the cover and self-title it. I like that Bruno got artistic with it. It looks like a yellow brick road and a rocket—both symbols of a journey towards something great.

Weezer - Hurley
So the basic story behind the photo of Jorge Garcia is that band leader Rivers Cuomo took a photo with the "Lost" star and liked his mug so much that instead of just showing the band and naming it after themselves for a fourth time, they would use a random backstage photo and name it after his character. Now you could say they were using the series's fame to promote their album, implying that secrets to the series's ending lied within their lyrics since Hugo was left in charge of the island, but I just think it's funny that they didn't even get a professional photo of Jorge. They just slapped his lovable teddy bear mug on an album and called it Hurley. Genius? Maybe. Funny? Definitely. Why? Because there's nothing cuddly about this rock album.

 

James Blunt - Some Kind of Trouble
Again, I don't listen to James Blunt. Mainly because his voice annoys me. But who can resist a baby photo? Especially one where the baby is being thrown up in the air? I use to LOVE that as a kid. It was like I was flying.

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
Self-portraits are hard to make artistic on an album cover. It usually veers towards the vain, especially with pop singers—I'm looking at you Mariah. I like this though. The lighting makes it look like he's in black-and-white and the rest of the world is in color. Then there's the added bonus of the distressed look, worn lines on the surface, which emphasize the title's allusion to an old tale. Plus, with the mention of a Man on the Moon, you'd think he'd do something a little more space-agey, but instead he does something far more subtle, adding stars as a backdrop, like a halo.

MercyMe - The Generous Mr. Lovewell 

Once again, I've never heard MercyMe's music, but this cover reminded me of that Magritte self-portrait that has a guy in a bowler hat with a green apple in front of his face. Granted, none of that is happening on this cover, but in the moment, that's what it reminded me of. I also liked that it looked like paper pop-ups—like an etsy design.

Robyn - Body Talk
At first glance, this kind of looks like Robyn stuck a bunch of post-its onto her body—not that I would put it past her—but after further examination it would appear that through computer manipulation, she's managed to isolate square-sized portions of the image to move them off kilter a bit into like a sculpted Monet. I specifically like the layers of square mouths—sort of saying that her voice is three dimensional and there are many layers to her music and her sound.

Take That - Progress
Not a fan, BUT I have this job where I have to find creative ways to illustrate the topic of an article. That's what this band's done with the title of their album. How do you show "progress"? They went the route of evolution, which apparently, by their theory, will go from walking to flying. The image itself was actually photographed, not drawn, by Nadav Kander, who also photographed President Barack Obama.

The Chemical Brothers - Further 
Heard of them, but never heard them. This cover, however, is one of many underwater covers that exist in music history. Unlike many others, though, the focus isn't on the fact that something is underwater, but on the water itself. It's like she is manifesting from the water, like it's apart of her. Plus, it's also a great illustration of the title.