New Def Jam starlet, Brenda Mada, throws a good ol’ fashion underage rager, country star Ron Pope shows up a day after 4/20 with a celebration of doobage, The Zombies bring their jail pen pal masterpiece from 1968 to psychedilic pop life and more in the 16th week of the year’s Best Lyric Vids.
The Zombies – ‘Care of Cell 44‘
Paired with the return off the iconic psych-popper’s reunion and celebration of the almost 50th anniversary of landmark album Odyssey and Oracle, the band is dropping a whole series of lyric videos inspired by the original kaleidoscopic-Shakespeare art direction that serves two purposes, re-cementing the band’s legacy, and providing a cathartic release for the characters in this song separated by jail bars for all the YouTube world to enjoy:
Walking the way we used to walk/And it could be so nice/We’re talking the way we used to talk/And it could be so nice
Woods – ‘Hit That Drum‘
The third single of the Brooklyn psych-folk crew’s 10th album, Love is Love, feels like the kind of vibe Brandon Flowers could never master on a Killers joint, buzzing in the ethereal parts of an arena rock monster jam to ride this perpetually cinematic segue that when paired with a sinewy font and a black and white pan across a New York City skyline is beautifully post-apocalyptic, especially when considering the record was written as “a document of protest in uncertain times,” among other things, according to the band’s press release:
Will they hear the sound/Of our beating drum/Will it take him away/Will it take them away
Brenda Mada – ‘House Party‘
Speaking to Billboard, the Belgian Def Jam signee gave a peek behind the meaning of the sauntering pop-dub number, explaining it’s about, “My coming of age and everything that will play a part of that: my life, my friends, my relationships, love, empowerment, and ultimately the message that I want to convey to the world.” Translation for the creative director behind this digital adventure of a video: a Tron like web of some sort of neon-sign world where Mada “fucks with you” and guests have the decency to take off their sneakers at an underage rager. Ah, to be young:
Come check out the front/Remove all your sneakers at the door/You’ll be cool if you come/Just don’t come in acting superficial
Ron Pope – ‘Let’s Get Stoned‘
A day late and dollar short for the the 4/20 train, not sure what Pope and his people were thinking when dropping this today instead. Nevertheless, it’s a throughly fun brass-studded country homage to the cheeba, cut with the whole Hollywood b-roll footage tactic that is employed in spades all over the lyric video world, but works just fine here as Pope’s smoke-up Sally narrative pops around the screen:
Let’s get stoned/Turned the radio up/Know it sure felt good/No I wouldn’t call it love/Your blonde hair fallin’ long/Covered up my eyes/Night’s comin’ on/Ain’t gotta rush home/Baby let’s get stoned
TLC – ‘Way Back‘ ft. Snoop Dogg
The first single from the fifth and final forthcoming LP from T-Boz and Chilli without the late-Left-Eye tosses Snoop in the mix and kicks it like it’s 1996, as the three wax nostalgic about the glory days. Well Snoop just reps his creepster sex prowl schtick, while T-Boz and Chilli discuss their kinship. Anyway, the whole color scheme and video is pure genius throwback, coming off like a box of legos mashed with the opening sequence of In Living Color:
Like Prince and Marvin Gaye/Like South side on Sunday/Some things don’t ever change/Yeah, you and me/’Cause we go way back/James Brown and Michael J/Like them high school parties/Some things don’t ever change/Yeah, you and me