Video Of The Week: Nicki Minaj

If only because it dethroned Miley Cyrus from a YouTube record (most views in its first week), this song is totally worth featuring. Of course, it's basically just replacing one twerker with another, but at least Nicky Minaj has talent something.

Sir Mix-A-Lot might say that something is a ''big butt'', hence the sampling of his classic ode to derrières, Baby Got Back, throughout the song, which both emphasizes Minaj's own, but also reverts it back to her appreciation of large penises, hence Anaconda.

The metaphors are obvious, the visual aids are sophomoric, the idea is funny yet unsophisticated... but it works. Better and more subtle than Black Eyes Peas, anyway.

As in many Nicki Minaj videos, director Colin Tilley put forth a dazzling array of colours to catch the eyes of those less enthused with the singer's silhouette, and even added eye candy for fans of the other gender with the cameo by Drake, seen getting a lap dance at the end of the video.



It's hyper-sexualized candy for teenagers and young adults, and fodder for critics of sexism and the depiction of women in our era. And for ''concerned parents who'd want to hide this from their kids'', but really, 1. the lyrics have enough swear words to make those people kill themselves anyway, and 2. if you can't control your own kids, don't try to control those of others.

A quick word about Drake: after seeing him in this and Anchorman 2, I have concluded he's better when having fun in small doses than when actually singing. Please: more cameos, less singles.

Nicki Minaj Vs Steven Tyler: Battle Of The Dolls

It now seems that Steven Tyler was fired from American Idol, rather than his desire to get back to Aerosmith. He and Jennifer Lopez were replaced with Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj on the self-deflating show that no longer produces top sellers, and now he's saying what I always thought was true of these shows, namely that if Bob Dylan would have applied to such a show in the 1960s, they would have turned one of the best songwriters of all time down because his voice isn't powerful and radio-friendly.

Except Tyler said it specifically about Minaj, and she responded by calling him ''racist''. And now Twitter is aflame.

Bad Music Will Kill Your Mojo

I often post about how bad music is detrimental to society - more than any other art and, in the Western world, more than perhaps even politics and the environment. I even did so just a few days ago.

Indeed, to some extent Nickelback is as bad as a right-wing religious zealot, although they do seem to cancel each other out, as while the latter does its best to deter abortions, the former is a deterrent to making babies, as is proven in this study.

The poodle-haired frontman and his douchebag-looking cronies partners employees (see picture above) seem to strike a mighty chord on all fronts - love 'em or hate 'em, I guess.

Guess which side I'm on? I'd rather not get laid for a year than fuck one of their record-purchasing, concert-attending fans. I think.

Who else are people turned off by? Allow me to quote the article:

What other musicians and bands did the poll reveal are likely to make a potential amour shake, rattle and roll right out the door on the first date? In order of their horror-inducing power: Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Coldplay, U2, Creed, Katy Perry, Lil Wayne and Britney Spears.

I totally agree with the first 4, and would put Creed above and beyond even Nickelback, but while I don't listen to the other 4 (U2, Perry, Wayne and Spears), I think putting them in here is a tad exaggerated.
I'd put Maroon 5 in there, for sure, way ahead of them, perhaps with Bush and Linkin Park.

Video Of The Week: Lil' Wayne Feat. Nicki Minaj

For the second week in a row, the Video Of The Week is dedicated to something I'm not particularly fond of, myself... Lil' Wayne, and his over-the-top use of Auto-tune, the pitch-correcting software that makes everyone sound like a computer virus and is ruining popular music pretty much single-handedly.

I've been hoping for the Death Of Auto-tune (thanks, Jay-Z, for joining in the battle!) for about 8 years now, but instead its use is becoming more and more rampant; however, more than ever, it seems like the last throes in a war, the final insurgency, where the enemy are giving it all they've got because they know if they don't win this round, it's over anyway.

Anyhow, Lil' Wayne is definitely abusing the fucking thing. And the video is also cheap as fuck - it looks like the ''special effects'' coordinator (i.e. the guy who took the green from around where Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj are and made it into a boxing ring in an arena) was a 5-year old computer illiterate from the 1950s who had a budget of $5.25 and spent it on a burger and fries instead of electronics.

Hopefully, this spells the end of Auto-tune. But I doubt it, if only because I'm sure Britney Spears still has 2 or 3 comebacks left in her...

If you have trouble seeing it, the full YouTube page is here. Oh, and the song is called ''Knockout'', hence the boxing theme; if he writes a song called ''My Parents Were In A Rocky Relationship'' later in his life, maybe he can use out-takes from this for the video and save time, cash and effort.