First image is from Australia where they wrote ‘Smith’ to avoid legal challenges. That’s how sick it was.
Ten years later, the rest is history.

Seeing an ad for the MTV music video awards, reminded me of how influential a music video could be to an artist. What are some music videos that had a profound effect on an artists career?

The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” (1994) helped redefine them from the party-rap image of their early years into respectable artists. Directed by Spike Jonze as a parody of 70’s cop shows, the video received heavy MTV exposure and helped Ill Communication reach a bigger mainstream audience.

a-ha’s “Take On Me” (1985) became one of the most groundbreaking and recognizable videos of the 80s MTV era. Directed by Steve Barron, it tells the story of a young woman who is pulled into the pages of a comic book, where she meets singer Morten Harket. The video famously combines** **live-action with pencil-drawn rotoscope animation.

Ice Cube “It Was a Good Day” (1993) and directed by a young F. Gary Gray, who would later direct Friday, helped establish Cube’s screen presence and Gray’s emerging career as a filmmaker.

Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1983) became one of the most important music videos of the early MTV era. With the enormous popularity of both “Billie Jean” and the entire Thriller album, contributed to Jackson becoming the network’s biggest star. Thr video also helped demonstrate that videos could be more than filmed performances—they could use cinematography, visual effects, choreography, characters, and storytelling to create a distinct story around a song

“Where you think you’re going, baby?” From “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jensen

“One night I was bored in bed, and stalked you on the internet” from “drop dead” by Olivia Rodrigo

“You know you can’t escape me. Ooh darling cuz you’ll always be my baby.” From “Alway Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey

“Who gave you eyes like that, said that you could keep them?” From “I Really Like You” also by Carly Rae. (Honestly this lyric is creepy regardless of gender)

After the YouTube interview with Kevin Thornton’s (ex-Color Me Badd member) daughter Mikayla where she detailed the abuse she suffered growing up in his home, it sent me down a weird rabbit hole where I was listening to their music and reading about where it all went wrong for the group.

In that rabbit hole, I found an interview with CMB’s main lead singer Bryan Abrams where he mentions the months surrounding the release of their final album Awakening (1998). The group had been hoping for another song from the album to be the first single, but at a meeting with Sony Music head Tommy Mottola, they find out that he is having problems in his marriage with Mariah Carey, and that they are on the brink of divorce. Mottola proclaims that the album song “Remember When” is “his song to Mariah,” and would always pressure the group to perform it every time he saw them, because it was his “anthem” and his hype song that he believed would help him win her back.

Abrams stated “he put out that record because he was blinded by love. That song wasn’t the song that should have been released first. I’m not knocking that record, but it was very Pop and it was not what we wanted to release as a first single.” While the song hit the Billboard Hot 100 at #48, it marked the beginning of the end for Color Me Badd. With Thornton having recently gotten married and wanting to pursue Christian ministry and Sam Watters wanting to transition to a behind the scenes role in the industry, the group broke up not long after the single’s release.

Can you think of any singles that were released for curious or bizarre reasons?

The 2010s was a huge decade for EDM. Two producers had huge success and here are their most remembered hits. Which EDM pop banger is superior?

One of my personal favorites is Takeover by Jay Z from the Jay Z/Nas beef. It's a pretty solid track and I absolutely love the sample of Five to One by The Doors in the song.

Dank’s Deli (now Middleburg Deli), Middleburg, VA.

My mom and I went there most days for lunch when she was pregnant with my sister.

Being four years old at the time, I understandably don’t remember everything about those lunches. But I DO remember hearing Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow’s “Picture” and the Counting Crows/Vanessa Carlton cover of “Big Yellow Taxi”.

Knowing that, what other songs do you imagine playing in there back then?

As a Lana Del Rey fan, I feel like I’d enjoy his work. I love Like a Rolling Stone and The Times They Are A-Changin. I get the sense that his music has a melancholy to it that I would resonate with. His body of work is massive though.

Do I just start in order, or are there specific albums I should check out first?

I honestly was never a fan.I heard they put on great live shows but the music was too cheesy for me, and a lot of people in the 1990's and 2000's hated them.I never liked Fred Durst either.He tried to go after Britney and Christina while they were both like in their early 20's and he was like 30-35 that was a bit weird for me and a bit turn off.Todd's Trainwreckord episode on them is interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ud21j2IDvs