Zaras video at the first watch was very socking because of the attitude change but incredible at the same time.

 

Britneys video is algo very good

Awesome to see Keeping Score here! I loved both the song and the video, the vocals on that track were truly stunning :wub: Also good to see some Can't Stop The Feeling! love here :heart:

The Best Music Videos of 2016 (Collection 2)

*I'll be uploading the format page forthwith*

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Louis The Child f/K. Flay - "It's Strange"


Okay I like this video too. Probably for the same reasons as "Keeping Score". I think I just like people walking into game-like fronts. :P It's so delightfully weird and yet the song is the same thing so it kinda works.

Shawn Mendes - "Treat You Better"


I think I wasn't expecting him to make such an emotionally charged video despite him putting so much effort in the one for "Stitches". I felt this had more of his acting chops and better cinematography than the whole "Charlie Charlie challenge" thing the latter had going on. Interestingly the song with one of the highest burn rates also has one of the best videos. It was tense and full of story from beginning to end, and the signal boost for domestic violence is just the icing on the cake. Canadians really know how to bring the peace.

Sia f/Kendrick Lamar - "The Greatest"


Same thing. I think this would end up being in my top 2 if it weren't for Sia tagging Maddie into every single thing she touches. If the tenth Sia video in a row features Maddie I'm gonna be convinced that it's management doing the talking rather than Sia. And as a Dance Moms fan I got really sick of Maddie quickly so I hope Sia doesn't go this path. That said, it's a beautifully crafted video and it's an amazing tribute to the Pulse Nightclub victims. It's just full of solemnity and anguish from start to finish. Maddie really has those acting chops down.

Maroon 5 f/Kendrick Lamar - "Don't Wanna Know"


The more I watch this video, the more it looks like one giant satirization of Pokemon Go.

Kilian & Jo f/Erik Rapp - "Suburbia"


I very nearly spat out my drink first watching this video. Androgynous model (which apparently is just Erik Rapp in a pair of golden hoops) lip syncing? Check. Brilliant neon aesthetics? Check. All I wanted in a song that displays casual homosexual tendencies like it's a thing. Because it is. (More on this when I talk about the song itself *spoilers*.)

Britney's and Zara's videos :heart:

 

Zara's is iconic for this gif alone tbh :heart:

 

 

Justin's and Lindseys are really good too!

The choreography of Zara's ALONE sealed the deal with this video. So effortless.

hi Cody~

 

ahh I really liked the D.R.A.M song. :( Unfortunately whilst it was top 5 in the US it only made #93 in the UK. Also a fan of 'Fake Love'.

 

Agree with your #1 though, such a boring cover. And 'Juju On That Beat' really is inexcusable, possibly the laziest song ever to make the UK top 40 (but thankfully only peaked at #37). 'Sweatshirt' likewise is unbearable.

"Broccoli" also seems lazily constructed as well

The Best Music Videos of 2016 (Collection 3)

*I'll be uploading the format page forthwith*

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Miike Snow - "Genghis Khan"


I was going to go with "My Trigger" because it was so all over the place, but I kinda like this James Bond homage a bit more. It's got cute dancing and the references aren't lost on us.

Little Mix f/Sean Paul - "Hair"


It doesn't have the super campiness that "Black Magic" has but there's a bit of camp in here, and that goes into the overly dramatic delivery of this entire plot. It's a sleepover, it's a girls' night in, and it's supposed to be fun. They just injected some of whatever Taylor Swift was snorting before the Shake It Off video. It's totally within the element of the song, so that's the plus.

Clean Bandit f/Louisa Johnson - "Tears"


Clean Bandit have really made some weird and all out videos but this seems to be their most artistic effort yet. It's a bit like an overly produced music video with a high budget and yet they still give it the personality and charm that makes CB pure and real.

Tiesto & Oliver Heldens f/Natalie La Rose - "The Right Song"


Because apparently toilet bras are in fashion..

And the last omission before the top 2 is...

Halsey - "Colors"


It was so close between this and the two videos that will appear in the last collection of this section. You bring in daddy issues, a high school fantasy, throw Tyler Posey in the mix and you get a video that's equal parts music video, equal parts stereotypical telenovela, minus the high-strung overdramatic temper tantrum that results in eighty extras getting stabbed. Tom Selleck is amazing here and Halsey and Tyler have electrifying chemistry. The plot is exuded with care - it's tasteful and yet shows the deep vices of wanting someone much older than yourself. This was probably the daddy kink that was too hipster for Buzzjack's knowledge of Lotti's daddy kinks. (Since that started with Daddy Says No)

Hair, Tears and Colors have such good music videos attached to them especially the latter tbh that reveal that she is obse

reveal that she fancies or is obessed with his father I am not sure what is the proper definition as it could be both :lol:

The Best Music Videos of 2016 (The Top 2)

*I'll be uploading the format page forthwith*

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This has left my top 2 down to two very whimsical and well-crafted videos with just the right amount of CGI cheese to work. Both by respected artists with well-developed platforms and both with a history of outstanding videos. BUT ONLY ONE CAN BE AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL

2.) Taylor Swift - "Out Of The Woods"


First off, THOSE ARCTIC WOLVES.

http://i.perezhilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/taylor-swift-out-of-the-woods-video-wolves.gif

Secondly, timing is EVERYTHING. Who knew that the first song that I was going to be listening to was a new Taylor Swift single on repeat about 30+ times in the last hour? It set the bar for 2016 pretty high... only for it to come crashing down on us and turning 2017's bar into a gaping hole of death. It's well-crafted in the sense that it attacks the senses with the feeling that you're in nature and Taylor's controlling it like the Avatar. It's a bit of an out-of-body experience dealing with the aftermath of a breakup and finding yourself. The fire is her world being burned down. The rain is herself melting. The cold is the bitterness in her heart. It ending with the rebirth of her world and looking back at what she has conquered.

"She lost him, but she found herself, and that has made all the difference."

Yeah Taylor let's hope it stays that way this time. New rule for TS6: NO. BOYS.

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Which means my top video for 2016 is:

1.) P!nk - "Just Like Fire"


If there was anyone who can pull off as much cheese and whimsy as Taylor Swift... it's P!nk. She rarely takes herself too seriously when it comes to these types of videos - the "So What" video is probably one of my favorite music videos of all time - so the utter flashiness and vibrance that came with the JLF video was both expected and unexpected at the same time. Unexpected because we didn't really think P!nk was gonna make a comeback so soon, but expected in that this was made for an Alice In Wonderland movie, and that world THRIVES on whimsy, so playing chess pieces, dressing up as a Mad Hatter of some sorts, and levitating above a flower field is not news to us. It is to Carey Hart (and when he's in a P!nk video you know it's gonna be a fun one) though, and he sends his loving wife to a mental facility. That added "Love ya babe!" was pretty adorable too because he's so oblivious to what his wife is experiencing.

So yeah, some fun in what was an endless sea of bad.

Oh good to see some Keeping Score appreciation here! Had kinda forgot about it but it was a really well produced song & accompanying great vid!

 

Tears is definitely up there with the best, Clean Bandit usually deliver on their MV's.

 

Not huge on the song but Just Like Fire is a good call for top video, even I probably favour OOTW myself, those visuals are damn impressive.

All righty, I have done it and updated the format post so that it shows everything that has been covered so far! Which means it's time for...

 

Cody's Album Review 2016

*lmao this is so low budget*

 

Which is going to start off with a couple of standouts based on categories that I'm making up on the spot just to highlight some fave albums of mine before I extensively talk about the top 10.

It's Strange, The Greatest, Can't Stop The Feeling, and The Right Song all have good music videos

 

Am I the only one who thinks It's Strange reminds me of Flume?

It's Strange, The Greatest, Can't Stop The Feeling, and The Right Song all have good music videos

 

Am I the only one who thinks It's Strange reminds me of Flume?

Maybe, I think that might just be the stigma of the future bass genre rather than LTC's production

 

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Anyway I'll start off with the special categories now

 

Cody's Album Review 2016

*lmao this is so low budget*

 

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Best Soundtrack: Suicide Squad: The Album

Cody Recommends: "Heathens" l "Gangsta" | "You Don't Own Me"

 

Never have I seen an album so diverse in genres. Just a slew of alternative/hip-hop/blogpop that the BJ public creams themselves over (hi Grimes) and it meshes so well with the overall feel of the movie. It's so epic and superhero-ish and yet there's that aura that makes it look like Grand Theft Auto: Gotham City with all the bitches, booze and Twenty One Pilots blasting on the stereos while you make an explosive exit. That said, my three recommendations are the overall theme of the song ("Heathens"), one of the most unexpected growers that I've had ("Gangsta") and a song dedicated to my favorite character in the movie, Miss Harley Quinn ("You Don't Own Me"). I'm very aware that they used the original Lesley Roy version in the movie but both versions seem to fit so well.

 

It's interesting to see this pop up as a cohesive album because the genres are so far removed from one another but they seem to fit. I've always considered "Heathens" to be the theme and yet it's only third in the running order. It actually starts with "Purple Lamborghini" which sounds more like a Fast & Furious song than something like SS. "Sucker For Pain" sounds a bit dated but considering Alex Da Kid produced some of the biggest songs of the early decade, I'm not surprised it sounds like it. "Heathens" is an anthem and I'll get into more detail on that later. "Standing In The Rain" was an interesting theme for Deadshot - I thought it encapsulated more of his mafioso side than her mercenary side but it's okay. "Gangsta" was hot as are all Kehlani songs, I preferred the arrangement the movie used. Everyone pretty much knows "You Don't Own Me" - it works well as Harley's theme. I loved the inclusion of "Without Me" in the video - once again Margot Robbie's acting killed it on that part. "Wreak Havoc" was something I both expected and didn't expect from Skylar. I'm sad that "Medieval Warfare" wasn't in the movie - it's something that would have worked during a Joker scene. The rest were pretty much excerpts from the movie and it wouldn't be a soundtrack without them and "I Started A Joke" is basically BJSC's "Surfboard Fire" for this movie.

 

In short, LOVE this movie, LOVE this soundtrack.

Cody's Album Review 2016
*lmao this is so low budget*

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Best Carryover From A Previous Year: Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface
Cody Recommends: "Lane Boy" l "Fairly Local" | "Stressed Out"


Things have really changed since this scraped my top 50 album countdown last year. I've probably listened to this album about a hundred more times since then. Of course the big recommendation hasn't changed, "Lane Boy" was probably a song I expected to go #1 as soon as I charted it and it did for about two weeks. I'm still hoping "Fairly Local" can get a pop release or a re-release into alt stations so that it can impact properly. The single releases pre-"Stressed Out" were SUPER messy. I actually consider LB the single AFTER "Ride" rather than a promo single. And of course "Stressed Out" - one contender for my song of the year, which I will reveal sooner rather than later :P

I think all the hype and my obsession with these guys has really amped up my affections for this album and it's in my top albums of all time, and I'm so irked that this isn't in my top 10 of the year but it isn't a 2016 album sooooooooooo... carryover category it went.

Mind you this almost went to either Selena or Bieber.

Cody's Album Review 2016
*lmao this is so low budget*

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Biggest Surprise: Grimes - Art Angels
Cody Recommends: "Kill v. Maim" l "Butterfly" | "California"


I don't think I would have ever begun to like a Grimes song if it weren't for this site. First hearing excerpts from this album on Dubtrack, I was thoroughly impressed because I thought she'd be a little too weird for me. The whole "electronic harajuku vampire" aesthetic that she's got going on seemed to throw me off. A lot of her work is actually pretty well-crafted! The slick "Fresh Without Blood" is kinda reminiscent of an MTV show in the middle of its first season. "Belly Of The Beast" combines pure pop with her general style. There's also that Pon De Replay beat in "California" - a bit disjointed but it easily made the track stand out. And then there's her big smash for me that completely turned my head - "Kill v. Maim". A song from her that's equal parts in-your-face and fierce but yet cutesy and soft at the same time. Her ability to channel so many sides of her at once makes her so unique.

Cody's Album Review 2016
*lmao this is so low budget*

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Most Surprising Release: Karmin - Leo Rising
Cody Recommends: "Didn't Know You" l "Blame It On My Heart" | "Come With Me (Pure Imagination)"


It's no secret that I really enjoy these guys. Saw them live a few years ago while they were on a promo tour for Pulses, it was an enjoyable show, and they were just as good as they were on YouTube. The album was surely no disappointment - it was one of the best albums that year. Then for some reason they just didn't release again, and it was mainly due to problems with their label, which eventually they left. A few months later, and a few more backed up releases and in came Leo Rising. This was really the album to get them back to their quirky side. Not saying that their previous work was too poppy - everything to Karmin's tracks exuded some kind of uniqueness, kinda like Clean Bandit do, only more indie and less classical. And it really shows with the added touches to this album. From the standoffish nature of "Didn't Know You" to the interesting Gene Wilder tribute in their cover of "Pure Imagination". It was everything I liked in their work and more.

Cody's Album Review 2016
*lmao this is so low budget*

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Best EP/Album That Should Be An EP: Elephante - I Am The Elephante
Cody Recommends: "Catching On" (+ "Plans"/"Dynasty"/Sirens" are really good too)


Dance albums are a bit hit-or-miss for me: I thought DJ Snake's album was pretty decent albeit repetitive and I thought the same with Borgeous - "Wanna Lose You" was an interesting track but it didn't really make the album stand out as much - and Collage is essentially a Greatest Hits + "Inside Out". Because we all know XYLO are next to get that Chainsmokers effect. (As if we need more BJSC artists to get that *cough Louane cough*) Elephante's offering was different. It seems like an album in length but it felt like an EP in composition, almost similar to KSHMR's EP (although that was filled with interludes and spoken word). The feel of an EP came because it felt like it didn't overstay its welcome and it kept the interest flowing by making it seem like there were less tracks than it did. And yet it's not an EP for some reason although it really should be lol.

This highlights the versatility of his production while making it sound so Zedd-like, which was what got me into his work in the first place. "I Want You" and "Age Of Innocence" were amazing progressive house songs so it was nice to see a bit of that with "Closer", "Shake The Earth" and "Goliath". There was "Black Ivory" that was typical trap. There was "Dynasty" that was a little bit of both. I didn't like this arrangement as much as the original one but it's a nice rework and it kept all the good parts of the song. "Plans" is interesting in that it's 2014 dance at its finest and I kinda miss that sound. Brandyn's voice kinda reminds me of Wrabel for some reason. "Hold" continues from that, only being more of a Major Lazer clone (so... 2015 dance). "Sirens" was a nice change of pace - a slower progressive house in the vein of "Faded" was nice to see from him. And then there's "Catching On", subtle and yet such a beast of a song.

Haven't listened to a lot of soundtrack albums in their entirety this year

For the Suicide Squad OST, I like Sucker For Pain, Purple Lamborghini, and Heathens

Art Angels is a really good album! ([insert thumbs up emoticon here] Why doesn't Buzzjack have an emoji for a thumbs up?)

Need to listen to that Blurryface album someday

YES at Karmin! I was so impressed with Leo Rising, maybe even more so than Pulses. 'Sugar' and 'Didn't Know You' are massive faves, and then 'Blame It On My Heart' and 'Along The Road' after that.

 

Did you see they're supposedly on hiatus now? :( According to their twitter Amy's going it alone as 'Qveen Herby' now.

 

GREAT choice for best video too!!! :heart: I couldn't help but think how amazing it would have been to be on set for that.

YO. The Suicide Squad album has a couple of great tunes on it (Heathens obviously, plus I Started A Joke (is it called that? icr) and a couple of others) and obviously I love Blurryface :wub: