October 2014

Here we present our collection of recent weird, wonderful and on occasion completely off-the-wall music videos featuring some of the biggest names in the movie business…

Famous actors have been appearing in music videos for many years. A trend kicked off in the nineties with many huge bands featuring young actors in their videos such as Aerosmith’s Crazy, starring Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler, Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in The Dark featuring a young Courtney Cox, Tom Petty’s portrayal of a young rock star’s rise and demise played by Johnny Depp in Into the Great Wide Open to name but a few. 

Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5.

Beastie Boys – Make Some Noise

The Beastie Boys’ Make Some Noise is a must-see featuring Elijah Wood, Seth Rogan and Danny McBride as the Beastie Boys (mouthing along quite impressively to the words) while they carry on their party throughout town. During the video there is literally a famous actor on every street corner (and a few in a limo) with Rashida Jones, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson, Amy Poehler, Steve Buscemi, Chlöe Sevigny, Maya Rudolph, Kirsten Dunst, David Cross, Orlando Bloom, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Jack Black in cameo roles.

Ke$ha – Blow

Ke$ha’s Blow featuring James Van Der Beek of Dawson’s Creek and more recently Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 fame, is a comical portrayal of the two stars at a party. Here, James displays some pelvic thrusting (also known as dancing) and Ke$ha makes out with a unicorn in a suit on their path to a confrontation of amusing insults –  resulting in a bizarre rainbow effect laser gun shoot down (!). None of the unicorns were injured in the filming of this video.

Sigur Rós – Fjögur píanó

Sigur Ros’ Fjögur Píanó has Shia LaBeouf showing off his ballet moves in this eerie portrayal of a couples’ post-coital depiction of how they got their cuts and bruises. The journey continues as they go on a magical mystery tour with lollipops! A haunting transformation from the young star’s performance in… Transformers! Lots of butterflies, tears and nudity; be warned.

Eminem – Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna

Eminem teams up with Rihanna to give Shia’s Transformers co-star Meghan Fox a run for her acting money in Love the Way You Lie as she portrays a girl in a serious, tumultuous relationship with Lord of the Rings star Dominic Monaghan. Meanwhile, lots of things set on fire and Rihanna is über-cool as ever…very Eminem.

Aerosmith – Jaded

Aerosmith’s Jaded stars a beautiful young Mila Kunis in an ‘Alice in Wonderland meets Eyes Wide Shut’ portrayal of a young girl who appears to have everything but is incapable of feeling. Her inability to experience emotion is the basis of the video until her lost, lonely and jaded self finally ‘finds the forest’ A.K.A her inner self and for the first time she sheds a tear…Hurrah! There are, of course, some classic Steve Tyler leg kicks and microphone hugging to boot.

Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around…Comes Around

Justin Timberlake’s What Goes Around Comes Around stars the stunning Scarlett Johansson in this short film-style music video. The two meet for the first time, the sultry Johansson plays hard to get (for about 5 seconds) but leaves the party with Timberlake after a little persuasion. They subsequently flick from making out clips, her faking a drowning, then make out some more with a few fire jugglers in between and some singing, he then claims she’s ‘the one’ to her and his best friend, does a bit more singing – cue fire jugglers – a lot more making out and then hey presto she cheats on him with said best friend. The result is a nasty confrontation, followed by a car chase between Johansson and Timberlake with a crash and burn ending. Justin proves his karma-based song title choice right as Scarlett gets what she deserves (according to him anyway), and all in just over nine minutes!

Cobra Starship: Good Girls Go Bad ft. Leighton Meester

Cobra Starship’s Good Girls go Bad is a collaboration as well as an acting role for Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester looking stunning and a long way from her prissy role as Blake. The guys from Cobra Starship open an underground club below their convenience store, the entrance being a walk in fridge, where the good girls get the opportunity to go bad. Leighton joins in the fun and throws in shades of her Gossip Girl role spending a lot of time on her phone as “Good Girl”, only to turn out to be an undercover cop who busts the bad boys for their illegal subterranean dance venue.

The Rolling Stones – Anybody Seen My Baby

The Rolling Stones’ Anybody Seen My Baby stars the beautiful Angelina Jolie sporting a shaved head and a Gaultier-esque corset strutting stormily through the streets of New York to evade Mick Jagger’s attempts at finding her.

Jenny Lewis – Just One Of The Guys

Jenny Lewis’ Just One of the Guys stars Kristen Stewart, Anne Hathaway and Brie Larson in a very amusing depiction of them looking rather more like Beastie Boys than beautiful actresses! Anne Hathaway even sports a rats tail (apparently her own styling touch) while Jenny and the girls manage to make tracksuits and moustaches look somehow appealing. Kristen Stewart is spookily good at being a lad…or just one of the guys.

Vampire Weekend – Giving Up The Gun

Jake Gyllenhaal surprisingly stars in a fair few music videos, unsurprisingly they are very diverse; one being Jamie Foxx’s Blame It, featuring TPain and starring the big names of Forrest Whittaker, Ron Howard and Samuel L. Jackson. This is a pretty typical “in da club” type video but worth a look to see all of the above. Another Jake appearance is in The Shoes’ Time to Dance where he turns American Psycho and slaughters lots of people in this seriously grim and gruesome video which doesn’t have much to do with the song! Warning; very gory and disturbing. So we went with a third Jake find where he appears briefly (literally) in some tiny sport shorts playing a monochrome game of indoor tennis against a girl in Vampire Weekend’s Giving up the Gun!

Gorillaz – Stylo

Gorillaz’ Stylo video is basically a car chase involving the cartoon characters and a very Die Hard-esque Bruce Willis. Say no more.

Flying Lotus – Tiny Tortures

Flying Lotus and their Tiny Tortures video features our favourite hobbit Elijah Wood on a spiritual, dreamy journey after magically gaining a robotic arm having apparently lost his own. Interesting!

Lady Gaga – Paparazzi

If you are inspired to watch Lady Gaga being thrown off a balcony by the gorgeous True Blood actor Alexander Skarsgard, then tune in to Paparazzi and get a glimpse of the Swede’s reaction to his on-screen lover as the pair struggle when in the limelight. She, of course, does not die but her stardom is in serious jeopardy, and so after some typical Gaga style costume changes and choreography she eventually gets her own back and poisons Skarsgard, which for some reason regains her stardom status (odd!)…the best part is probably LG’s mug shots at the end.

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While many popstars started at the bottom and worked their way up, others were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Whether it was handed to them or not these stars have made big names for themselves. Following in the footsteps of their successful parents, they’re now the ones in charge of staying in the limelight.

Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5.

Redfoo

Redfoo (née Stefan Kendal Gordy), the LMFAO front man and our favourite Speedo wearing shuffler, was born into the Gordy family in LA. Coming from a very long line of musicians in the R&B and Jazz world, Redfoo’s father, Berry Gordy, made his mark as the founder of Motown, making him the first African-American to own a record label. Redfoo’s fame and fortune has a very different style to that of his father, but tracks like Party Rockers and I’m Sexy and I Know It have earned him and the band worldwide recognition.

Redfoo – New Thang

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift, the youngest songwriter ever hired by Sony at the sweet age of 14 (!) did not come from humble beginnings. Taylor was born in Pennsylvania and her father Scott, a financial adviser for Merryl Lynch, has a history of bank presidency going back three generations. This, plus her mother’s financial background, did not manage to sway Taylor’s musical tendencies, she felt certain that a move to Nashville Tennessee was necessary to develop her career in country music. The family put their trust in her and Miss Swift has been pounding out hit after hit ever since proving her idea to be a good one as her fan base continues to flourish while her music continues to encapsulate the experiences of the girl next-door. Her biography is already extensive and über-impressive with Grammy Awards coming out of her ears and a fifth album coming out very soon.

Taylor Swift – Shake It Off

Willow & Jaden Smith

Willow & Jaden Smith, siblings born to superstar parents Will & Jada Pinket Smith, have been raised with more like diamond spoons in their mouths. These two have had fruitful careers acting in blockbuster movies and launching their own music careers whilst still in their early teens. Their parents provided an alternative attitude to raising them whereby being ‘told off’ was not something they did. Perhaps this assisted in their early successes or maybe it’s just that mummy and daddy knows everyone in the business? Either way, their careers are already booming and they’re both constantly noted in the press for their recent tweets, restaurant choices, appearance, friends and dates (as well as their acting and singing of course).

AcE ft. Jaden & Willow Smith

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus (née Destiny Hope Cyrus), fortunate daughter of the famous country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, became famous as a teen actor on the Disney channel as Miley Stewart. The sweet, sickly Hannah Montana alter ego has long been drowned in the media attention Miley has deliberately developed over the past few years. She has worked, twerked and jerked the media into a frenzy with her vulgarities, promiscuity and down-right disregard for the eyes of the general public to rid herself of her Disney persona and create a new career path. Whatever her goal she has reached superstardom with her most recent creation of herself, it will be interesting to see what she morphs into in the future.

Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball

Robin Thicke

Robin Thicke was born into a showbiz family with famous actor, TV host & songwriter father Alan Thicke and mother, American singer and actress Gloria Loring for parents he was destined to be in the limelight. He has collaborated with many of the big names in music but attained worldwide fame with the hit Blurred Lines in 2013. For which we owe Miley’s twerking development a lot of credit. Thanks Robin.

Robin Thicke – Lost Without U

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga or Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, as her family once knew her, was brought up in an affluent situation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side but claims that her family worked hard to get where they did and originally came from lower class families. Due to their hard work, and her fortunate upbringing, Gaga was given every opportunity to develop her talents going to all the best performing arts schools and mixing with the “right” people to find her path to success. And didn’t she just waltz up that path in a meat dress? Her crazy outfits and appearances sometimes seem to cloud the fact that Gaga is a very talented lady and has achieved a lot in her career to date becoming one of the world’s biggest and, despite her ever-changing appearance, most recognizable stars.

Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett – But Beautiful

Jordin Sparks

This 6th season winner of American Idol was not unused to fame and fortune growing up as her father, Phillippi Sparks, played defensive back for the New York Giants. Sparks had the luxury of homeschooling in order to focus on her singing. Her privileged upbringing and money spent on her voice training has done her proud with numerous awards behind her; an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, an American Music Award, a People’s Choice Award and two Teen Choice awards. This, and her record sales, made her not only the youngest winner of American Idol, aged 17, but one of the most successful to date.

Jordin Sparks – Battlefield

Adam Levine

Lead singer of Maroon 5 had a well healed start to life with wealthy father, Fred Levine, being the founder of US chain store giant M. Frederic. Levine attributes his musical path choice to his mother playing him music from Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel from a young age. After a failed band experience Levine moved to New York and shed his sheltered upbringing for an eye opening street view of Manhattan and got to grips with the R&B and Hip Hop scene. Following some major successes Maroon 5 re-hit and conquered the big time when they released Moves like Jagger which became a monster hit and launched them into major stardom. Levine touched base with his roots recently when launching a fashion line 222 (named after a guitar he designed alongside First Act) in partnership with his father.

Maroon 5 – Maps

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The up-and-coming deep house producer/songwriter Momo Khani was introduced to music at a young age whilst singing in a church choir. Since then, he knew that music would always be a big part of his life. His passion continued to develop as he begun taking an interest in various instruments, mainly piano and guitar, and in 1990 he joined a punk rock band in Vienna, as lead drummer for two years.

In 2008 Momo moved his roots to Marbella, in southern Spain, where he created Dirty House Studio, composing and remixing different sounds in collaboration with other artists. His use of a wide range of instruments and production techniques help him to create a fresh and innovative style. He has an army of fans on SoundCloud and Facebook and his single Drop Your Love, released in 2013, put him on the deep house music map. 

Interview by Sarah Gatward

In 2008 you created your own company ‘Dirty House Studio’, what made you to get back into music after such a long break?
I have always been ready to make music, it has always been there and when the circumstances were correct, the idea to make a production studio actually came to me in my sleep.

‘Dirty House Studio’ is a great name, how did it come about?
It actually happened by coincidence, whilst construction of the studio was in process my house was full of plaster and dirt, and it was just a dirty house studio.

Who are your main musical influences? 
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Daft Punk, Moby, Quincy Jones, etc… too many to name, the world is full of influences.

Your first big single ‘Drop Your Love’ was released in 2013 and has been widely praised for its lyrical dexterity, did you write it yourself?
90% of the lyrics I wrote myself, the other 10% I finalized with the help of the singer of the track, Adam Graham.

Momo Khani – Drop Your Love ft. Adam Graham (Tap on video title to open in Creation 5)

Likewise with your newest single ‘Again’, the instrumental side is delicious. Do you play/compose it yourself?
Absolutely. Originally it only existed as an instrumental, that I composed myself. When I started to collaborate with Blackmouth, he came up with the lyrics to the song, and of course then sang them.

Momo Khani – Again ft. Blackmouth

All your singles seem very different from each other, is there a reason for that? 
I wouldn’t say they are that different from each other, deep house has a lot different styles whilst keeping within it’s category. It also has a lot to do with my mood and the artist I’m working with at the time.

Could you give us a summary of what the process of creating a single is like?
It constantly differs. Belle Epoque took me 2 weeks to write, whereas Again took me 2 years. I get a melody in my head, I play it. Another idea comes, I write it down. I’m in a certain mood, I get inspired by songs I hear and things around me. Normally 90% of production happens in the first few days! The last 10%, the perfecting of a song is what takes the longest. I also don’t finalize the song, I use the help of professional studios for the mix down and polishing of the tracks, as my studio is only equipped for production.

In 3 words, how would you describe your sound?
Smooth like butter.

You’ve collaborated with a wide range of artists, local and international, it must be a fantastic experience.
Yes – a great experience. Each one of them has inspired me with their style. However, I don’t marry artists, I’m always on the lookout for new artists and I know there’s so many out there, so I try not to work with the same artist twice.

Momo Khani – Belle Epoque

Being a songwriter/producer is clearly your passion, is it your livelihood as well?
No it isn’t and that’s where I get lucky. I’m financially unattached from music production, which makes it a real passion and in a way I think that’s what makes the music so special.

What’s the reaction to your music been like so far? Have you received a lot of positive feedback from fans?
Yes, 99% positive feedback! Since I’m not completely mainstream people only listen to the songs and comment if they are into this kind of music, they give the music a chance and most of the time they end up loving it.

Momo Khani & Jay Saccone – Infinity ft. Phill Kullnig

You’re a producer and songwriter, do you also like to Dj?
No. Although in this digital age, it’s sometimes the only way to break even with all the outgoing costs you have in production. I have had some great offers recently but my record label won’t allow me – for at least the next two years anyway.

Changing topic, something we always like to know, what’s playing on your iTunes right now?
My music! Most of my inspiration comes straight from my head, I’m not listening to a lot of other music right now.

Both your latest singles have been chart toppers on the iTunes Electronic charts, what does the future hold for Dirty House Studio?
I’m actually in the process of moving to a new studio and by January 2015 I will start production again. For now, I have a few summer songs on my mind and maybe even an EP….

Follow Momo Khani on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Dirty House Studio’s Facebook

Momo Khani chose our Sunday Sessions this week. Click here for the playlist.

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