All right, so this is the halfway point. There's been 25 great videos so far and 25 more to come. With no disrespect to any of the videos from the first half, this is where it gets serious. Well, as serious as a video countdown on a blog can get. These are what I believe to be the 25 best videos of the 2011. So let me get to it.
Starting off the second half of the countdown at #25 is Miss Reba McEntire with her video for "Somebody's Chelsea" that features Ed Asner and was directed by Trey Fanjoy. http://youtu.be/V88ibS2q-BU
First of all, I want to say how much I like this song. I think it's so sweet and I just love the concept. I'd venture to say that a whole lot of people can relate to this, especially this time of year; the longing to be to someone what this Chelsea was to this old man. I'm so happy that Trey Fanjoy was the director for this video because she has such a talent for making videos that hit all the right emotional buttons. Not that other directors don't do this as well, but I think she's one of the best in this particular area. One thing I love about this video is that that first button gets hit even before the music starts when Reba's characters asks if he always travels alone and he responds with "Only now" with an unmistakable sadness in his voice.
I love the mixture of the shots in this video. You have the shots on the plane. The shots of Reba in the restaurant sitting all be herself and surrounded by couples. I think Reba's reactions were spot on there. Add in the black and white, slightly distorted, shots of the old man and his Chelsea when they were younger - the black and white was an excellent touch, I feel. The video has an undeniable sense of sadness and longing to it with a hint of hope when Reba is joined by her potential love interest. They show just enough of them together to give you a sense that Reba's character might end up being somebody's Chelsea after all. Though I love that the ending shot is on the plane. A beautiful video.
I think that this next song is a little polarizing. It seems like this is one people tend to either love or hate, with the lovers edging the haters out based on the response it gets when performed live. This is a song that one of the songwriters of it, Dallas Davidson, has said is probably the dumbest song he's ever written. And yeah, this is not a deep lyric we're dealing with here. But that's okay because we need songs we can move to too right? Of course we go. And this is one of them. So here at #24 is Mr. Luke Bryan with his Shaun Silva directed video for "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)". http://youtu.be/7HX4SfnVlP4
Now, granted, the one thing I will say about this before I get into what I like about this video is that the whole herd of beautiful girls dancing around is not exactly a unique concept. It's been done. Like a million times. But like it or not, this is one kind of video that will never not be as popular as it is currently. The thing I liked about this video is that it was a fresh take on this concept. The black and white shots of the girls already sets it apart from the other videos like this and I love the clips they use of the girls talking about what country means to them. Especially the one who talks about country being "an honesty and an openness, like this is me, this is who I am. And what's up y'all?" What's up is that this girl totally gets it. That's what it is.
But what really makes this video stand out to me, the reason why I not only included it in the countdown but put it here is because it's capturing someone that doesn't always get captured in videos. And that is an artist reaching an entirely new level of confidence; an artist who has reached a new level of comfort with who he is as an artist. Note him getting his flirt on with the camera at several points in this - check out the 1:36ish mark. This is not to imply that Luke Bryan hasn't seemed confident or that he hasn't known who he is up until now by any means. Just that he has reached a new level. A level that is serving to propel him into a new level of stardom. I've seen and heard more than one person refer to him as country music's next superstar and I totally believe that. I see this as Luke getting out there and being yeah, this is me and I'm not going anywhere.
This is also one of those songs that was meant to be done live - I got to see him do this last summer and the vibe in the crowd was electric. Fantastic country song. And hey, I gotta love a song that gives a shout out to "the crickets and the critters and the squirrels". Fun song.
Coming in at #23 is a group that I think shows a whole lot of promise. I've gotten to see them perform live twice - once opening for Brad Paisley and again on the Opry a couple of nights ago - and I think they're harmonies are kind of ridiculous. And I mean ridiculous in a good way. Just beautiful, beautiful harmonies. I cannot wait to see what they accomplish in country music and I sincerely believe that the genre will be richer with them in it. I'm talking about Edens Edge and their Roman White directed video for "Amen". http://youtu.be/odsGzafXAYQ
I adore this video. I love the whole look of it; I'm so happy they gave it more of an old-timey, down home, small town country feel. I'm sure there's a better way to describe it, but there we go. You know what I mean, right? It made it different enough that if you weren't hooked in by those harmonies, the video made you want to watch it. It's just so charming. I love all the little moments, like the blonde spitting her gum out in disgust or all the reactions from the women in the beauty shop and all the looks and whatnot in the church. I love the hand waving for the amen. In short, yeah, it's like I said, I just adore this video. It makes me smile. I always love seeing new vocal groups pop up in country music and I think they pretty much all have something to offer. There's just something so fresh about Edens Edge and I think this was the perfect introduction for them. Charming video.
Next up I have another of the newer artists to pop up in country music. One who also shows a lot of promise in my book. Here at #22 is Craig Campbell and his video for "Fish" which was directed by Wes Edwards and featuring Mariko Izumi from the World's Fishing Network. http://youtu.be/M_Am8bSYIms
I find this video amusing. Very much so. It, and the song, starts off with a guy meeting his girl for what I'm sure he believes to be a romantic rendezvous. But he's wrong; his girl just wants to fish. I find all the reactions in this video to be priceless. Her looks of glee as she catches fish, starting off with a good size one and having them progressively get bigger are good on their own, but I think it's Craig's reactions that make this video as amusing as it is. Poor Craig, looking increasingly put out as the video goes on and his looks getting just a bit dirtier each time, combined with the hint of disbelief. It never fails to get a giggle or more out of me. Especially the look she gives him when he catches that tiny fish. Things finally appear to be picking up for Craig near the end when he's reeling in what you'd hope was a decent sized fish and what ends up being a boot. Perfect. I love when artists do these kinds of videos. It's important for an artist to use their videos to show different sides of themselves and showing that they have a sense of humor is always a total win in my book. Great job, Craig.
Finally at #21, I have David Nail with his video for "Let It Rain" which was apparently directed by both Stephen Shepherd and David Nail himself. A fact I find very interesting. http://youtu.be/pvxAiLqF7C0
This video is kind of awful. And by that I'm not saying it was a bad video; in fact, I think it's quite the opposite of that. I'm talking from more of a moral standpoint. Because, you see, David Nail's character has been a bad boy. See the shot at 23 seconds. Note the wallet and the wedding ring. Yup, this is a song about a man who "forgets" to wear his wedding ring one night and hooks up with random chick. The guy is a jerk, to be frank. But what makes this song and video so interesting is the fact that he is well aware that he is a jerk. He knows what he did was wrong and messed up and guilty doesn't even begin to describe how he's feeling at this point. Bad doesn't begin to describe how he's feeling at this point. I don't think there are words for just how awful he's feeling at this point.
To backtrack just a bit, I think this is a fantastic song. There's so many great lines in here. My favorites:
"Living with the shame; it ain't nothin' like the pain that I saw on her face"
"No seven years can't hide the one night I forgot to wear that ring"
This is a kind of song that I imagine some artists would be hesitant to sing. The lyrics are not beautiful ones, they don't paint a pretty picture. Far from it. There is nothing remotely good about this situation and it's coming from the perspective of the cheater himself. But a cheater who genuinely feels horrible about what he has done. In writing this it occurs to me that it shares some similarities to Sugarland's "Stay". Kind of the guy's potential take on the situation, assuming he felt this guilty about it. What I love about this video and the song itself is how real it feels. I came across this on David's website, http://www.davidnail.com/news_d.aspx?nid=6794 , where he says that he hadn't planned on being in the video, but Stephen Shepherd talked him into it. Which I think was the perfect idea.
They could've used an actor, but using David and watching him sing these lyrics himself as that guy take this to another level. I'm all about the levels here, people. It made it all seem so much more real and that much more effective. This is one of those videos that kind of punches you in the stomach, I think. Note that there is no interaction between him and the girl at all. Not even a glance. Another perfect decision. I don't know if David has any plans to ever give acting a try, but if this is any indication, he could do very well. Yeah...this video is awful. Awful and exactly what this video needed to be. Kudos for David for having the nerve to put himself in that position and to Stephen Shepherd for knowing exactly how this video needed to be.
Whew. Here we are at the end of another section of the countdown. So am I doing so far? Has your favorite video made the cut so far? You'll know what the next five videos are after you read this, but any guesses on what videos are going to make up the the top 20? Feel free to answer via comment or tweet if you're more of a twitter person. That works too. Hope you enjoyed this part! Thanks for reading.
Starting off the second half of the countdown at #25 is Miss Reba McEntire with her video for "Somebody's Chelsea" that features Ed Asner and was directed by Trey Fanjoy. http://youtu.be/V88ibS2q-BU
First of all, I want to say how much I like this song. I think it's so sweet and I just love the concept. I'd venture to say that a whole lot of people can relate to this, especially this time of year; the longing to be to someone what this Chelsea was to this old man. I'm so happy that Trey Fanjoy was the director for this video because she has such a talent for making videos that hit all the right emotional buttons. Not that other directors don't do this as well, but I think she's one of the best in this particular area. One thing I love about this video is that that first button gets hit even before the music starts when Reba's characters asks if he always travels alone and he responds with "Only now" with an unmistakable sadness in his voice.
I love the mixture of the shots in this video. You have the shots on the plane. The shots of Reba in the restaurant sitting all be herself and surrounded by couples. I think Reba's reactions were spot on there. Add in the black and white, slightly distorted, shots of the old man and his Chelsea when they were younger - the black and white was an excellent touch, I feel. The video has an undeniable sense of sadness and longing to it with a hint of hope when Reba is joined by her potential love interest. They show just enough of them together to give you a sense that Reba's character might end up being somebody's Chelsea after all. Though I love that the ending shot is on the plane. A beautiful video.
I think that this next song is a little polarizing. It seems like this is one people tend to either love or hate, with the lovers edging the haters out based on the response it gets when performed live. This is a song that one of the songwriters of it, Dallas Davidson, has said is probably the dumbest song he's ever written. And yeah, this is not a deep lyric we're dealing with here. But that's okay because we need songs we can move to too right? Of course we go. And this is one of them. So here at #24 is Mr. Luke Bryan with his Shaun Silva directed video for "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)". http://youtu.be/7HX4SfnVlP4
Now, granted, the one thing I will say about this before I get into what I like about this video is that the whole herd of beautiful girls dancing around is not exactly a unique concept. It's been done. Like a million times. But like it or not, this is one kind of video that will never not be as popular as it is currently. The thing I liked about this video is that it was a fresh take on this concept. The black and white shots of the girls already sets it apart from the other videos like this and I love the clips they use of the girls talking about what country means to them. Especially the one who talks about country being "an honesty and an openness, like this is me, this is who I am. And what's up y'all?" What's up is that this girl totally gets it. That's what it is.
But what really makes this video stand out to me, the reason why I not only included it in the countdown but put it here is because it's capturing someone that doesn't always get captured in videos. And that is an artist reaching an entirely new level of confidence; an artist who has reached a new level of comfort with who he is as an artist. Note him getting his flirt on with the camera at several points in this - check out the 1:36ish mark. This is not to imply that Luke Bryan hasn't seemed confident or that he hasn't known who he is up until now by any means. Just that he has reached a new level. A level that is serving to propel him into a new level of stardom. I've seen and heard more than one person refer to him as country music's next superstar and I totally believe that. I see this as Luke getting out there and being yeah, this is me and I'm not going anywhere.
This is also one of those songs that was meant to be done live - I got to see him do this last summer and the vibe in the crowd was electric. Fantastic country song. And hey, I gotta love a song that gives a shout out to "the crickets and the critters and the squirrels". Fun song.
Coming in at #23 is a group that I think shows a whole lot of promise. I've gotten to see them perform live twice - once opening for Brad Paisley and again on the Opry a couple of nights ago - and I think they're harmonies are kind of ridiculous. And I mean ridiculous in a good way. Just beautiful, beautiful harmonies. I cannot wait to see what they accomplish in country music and I sincerely believe that the genre will be richer with them in it. I'm talking about Edens Edge and their Roman White directed video for "Amen". http://youtu.be/odsGzafXAYQ
I adore this video. I love the whole look of it; I'm so happy they gave it more of an old-timey, down home, small town country feel. I'm sure there's a better way to describe it, but there we go. You know what I mean, right? It made it different enough that if you weren't hooked in by those harmonies, the video made you want to watch it. It's just so charming. I love all the little moments, like the blonde spitting her gum out in disgust or all the reactions from the women in the beauty shop and all the looks and whatnot in the church. I love the hand waving for the amen. In short, yeah, it's like I said, I just adore this video. It makes me smile. I always love seeing new vocal groups pop up in country music and I think they pretty much all have something to offer. There's just something so fresh about Edens Edge and I think this was the perfect introduction for them. Charming video.
Next up I have another of the newer artists to pop up in country music. One who also shows a lot of promise in my book. Here at #22 is Craig Campbell and his video for "Fish" which was directed by Wes Edwards and featuring Mariko Izumi from the World's Fishing Network. http://youtu.be/M_Am8bSYIms
I find this video amusing. Very much so. It, and the song, starts off with a guy meeting his girl for what I'm sure he believes to be a romantic rendezvous. But he's wrong; his girl just wants to fish. I find all the reactions in this video to be priceless. Her looks of glee as she catches fish, starting off with a good size one and having them progressively get bigger are good on their own, but I think it's Craig's reactions that make this video as amusing as it is. Poor Craig, looking increasingly put out as the video goes on and his looks getting just a bit dirtier each time, combined with the hint of disbelief. It never fails to get a giggle or more out of me. Especially the look she gives him when he catches that tiny fish. Things finally appear to be picking up for Craig near the end when he's reeling in what you'd hope was a decent sized fish and what ends up being a boot. Perfect. I love when artists do these kinds of videos. It's important for an artist to use their videos to show different sides of themselves and showing that they have a sense of humor is always a total win in my book. Great job, Craig.
Finally at #21, I have David Nail with his video for "Let It Rain" which was apparently directed by both Stephen Shepherd and David Nail himself. A fact I find very interesting. http://youtu.be/pvxAiLqF7C0
This video is kind of awful. And by that I'm not saying it was a bad video; in fact, I think it's quite the opposite of that. I'm talking from more of a moral standpoint. Because, you see, David Nail's character has been a bad boy. See the shot at 23 seconds. Note the wallet and the wedding ring. Yup, this is a song about a man who "forgets" to wear his wedding ring one night and hooks up with random chick. The guy is a jerk, to be frank. But what makes this song and video so interesting is the fact that he is well aware that he is a jerk. He knows what he did was wrong and messed up and guilty doesn't even begin to describe how he's feeling at this point. Bad doesn't begin to describe how he's feeling at this point. I don't think there are words for just how awful he's feeling at this point.
To backtrack just a bit, I think this is a fantastic song. There's so many great lines in here. My favorites:
"Living with the shame; it ain't nothin' like the pain that I saw on her face"
"No seven years can't hide the one night I forgot to wear that ring"
This is a kind of song that I imagine some artists would be hesitant to sing. The lyrics are not beautiful ones, they don't paint a pretty picture. Far from it. There is nothing remotely good about this situation and it's coming from the perspective of the cheater himself. But a cheater who genuinely feels horrible about what he has done. In writing this it occurs to me that it shares some similarities to Sugarland's "Stay". Kind of the guy's potential take on the situation, assuming he felt this guilty about it. What I love about this video and the song itself is how real it feels. I came across this on David's website, http://www.davidnail.com/news_d.aspx?nid=6794 , where he says that he hadn't planned on being in the video, but Stephen Shepherd talked him into it. Which I think was the perfect idea.
They could've used an actor, but using David and watching him sing these lyrics himself as that guy take this to another level. I'm all about the levels here, people. It made it all seem so much more real and that much more effective. This is one of those videos that kind of punches you in the stomach, I think. Note that there is no interaction between him and the girl at all. Not even a glance. Another perfect decision. I don't know if David has any plans to ever give acting a try, but if this is any indication, he could do very well. Yeah...this video is awful. Awful and exactly what this video needed to be. Kudos for David for having the nerve to put himself in that position and to Stephen Shepherd for knowing exactly how this video needed to be.
Whew. Here we are at the end of another section of the countdown. So am I doing so far? Has your favorite video made the cut so far? You'll know what the next five videos are after you read this, but any guesses on what videos are going to make up the the top 20? Feel free to answer via comment or tweet if you're more of a twitter person. That works too. Hope you enjoyed this part! Thanks for reading.
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