Critic Jonni

Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus |

This song has to go down in history as one of the rock greats. This is the band's only hit so far, and it's definitely their signature song. It was released in 2000 and it was Wheatus' first single. Their other singles that they released didn't perform as well on the chart, and soon enough they were unheard of... Apparently, they are still going and the line-up has changed, but I very much doubt they'll ever release another song as good as this one!

The music video is very interesting, it contains a narrative and a performance. The song was written by Brendan B. Brown (AKA BBB). And the music video has Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari, both of which appear in American Pie, which is where people get the misconception that this song is a soundtrack to the films, but the song doesn't even appear on the soundtrack.

I like the storyline although I do think it looks more dreamlike than anything else. I like the fact that the band is a part of the music video as performance wise and plays a small part in the narrative, which is quite clever.

I am a little surprised that the music video blanks out some words but doesn't blank out others, especially since young people could be watching a video like this. I like the fact that actors star in this music video, and it is pretty similar to American Pie so I can understand why people get the misconception. The backdrop film is actually "Loser" which both the actors appeared in.

There really isn't a lot going on, I can't say I like this bit because there isn't a bit that clearly stands out. Apart from when she sings the bridge bit "I got two tickets to Iron Maiden baby". I like the references to Iron Maiden, but there's not much else to comment on.

Overall I like this song, and it'll still be with us for ages and ages, but its music video is neither good nor bad, and so it's difficult to comment on and there doesn't seem to be a lot going on compared to many other music videos.

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The Summer Set is a whole new band to me. This music video got posted on my Facebook Wall, thanks to DJD, and I watched it for the first time today.

The band consists of Brian Dales, Stephen Gomez, Josh Montgomery, Jess Bowen and John Gomez. The band has a typical pop/rock sound that may appeal to younger audiences. This is the sort of music I'm going off now, I think there's some cheesiness to it and that is probably what dissuades me from liking it.

The song "Chelsea" is written by the band themselves which is supposed to help them connect to the song, but I'm not sure if I like it, I don't know whether it's the song or the fact that the band doesn't connect very well... It's a catchy song and it's currently stuck in my head, but I can't see this band going anywhere.

The music video is heavily narrative, sometimes this is a good thing and at times it's not. In this case I'm sort of in the middle, I like the fact that we're introduced to the characters and we know exactly what is going on, but it's missing something, such as humour? Fine they pull the teacher's wig off but that's funny for a 10 year old. They aren't really appealing to the teenagers which is where they would really get more of an audience from.

There is quite a lot going on, but it's sharp, quick and fast that I find it difficult to follow, and I've watched it three times already. He gets the girl way too quickly and he's not even worked for it, I just don't quite understand how this has all happened within a short space of time... Maybe I'm being too critical.

As for look-a-likes... Well when I first saw the lead singer I could have sworn I had seen him in a TV show or something, and after further searching, I found out that Brian Dales looks a lot like Dustin Milligan (most known for playing Ethan in 90210). As for anyone else, I'm not sure but I bet you can come up with some ideas.

Overall this song is really catchy and has grown on me, but it's still not my sort of thing. The music video needed to be more humorous and easier to follow, however it's got performance and narrative all compact into one, and is one of those videos you could watch a few more times.

30 seconds to mars is a band I've enjoyed for quite sometime. Thanks to Tink09 and Hollagram Star I would never have gotten to know this rock band. The band consists of Jared Leto, Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević, but at the time of this music video there was a 4th member of the band which was Matt Wachter. They have just achieved a place in the Guinness World Records for the "Longest Concert Tour by a Rock Band", after playing a total of 309 gigs over two years.

This song was written by Josh Abraham and 30 Seconds To Mars, which suggests they had some input into the song, which suggests that they have a connection towards the song, and this is exactly why I feel this song is really emotional, and it's exactly what you need in a rock song.

The music video is clever and effective. I like various things, but the fact that there is two of each of the band members, makes you think which ones you have been following and whether their deceptions has changed things. After a second watching you still unsure of whose side you are actually following, and I think this is really interesting.

It's a very clever concept, and they actually managed to put the performance side into the narrative, which is definitely different to any other videos I can think of at the moment. I reckon this band will be around for a lot longer than people think and they have quite a big fan base here in the UK, and I'm pretty sure it's a lot bigger in the US.

The music video is set within a hotel, it is reference to the film "The Shining" which is based on the Stephen King novel, which I haven't read yet, but I'm pretty sure it's amongst my book collection somewhere waiting to be read.

It gives us this surrealistic effect that makes you think that this could be almost a film, and to manage to fit all that into a 5 and a half minute music video is really surprising. It's definitely something I'll be watching again and again, and it's also quite unnerving at times which makes this video stand out from a crowd.

Overall I enjoy this song and it's accompanying music video, it fits perfectly and tends to shock a lot of people as they aren't expecting it to be almost like a film when they first see it. I like the reference to "The Shining" and I find it's extremely interesting when an artist decides to reference a film in their music video, it kind of makes me want to watch the film. I hope you would all agree with my rating.

Jessie J (real name Jessica Cornish) is quickly becoming one of the biggest UK female artists, she's already cracked it in America and Australia. Europe is obsessed with her, so where else has she got to go? This is he new song here in the UK, but elsewhere it was released as her fifth single, ahead of "Who You Are". I first heard it in the car, and I was immediately drawn to it, but the radio DJ wouldn't announce who it was, so the next time I heard it I listened out for a name, after having the people in the car send out suggestions as to who was singing. Suggestions were: Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Pixie Lott and Cher Lloyd. We piled out of the car with shocked faces as we weren't expecting Jessie J to be the singer.

The writing credits is surprisingly long, but here goes, the people who wrote this song were Jessica Cornish, Lukasz Gottwald (Dr. Luke), Claude Kelly, Max Martin (collaborates with Dr. Luke quite a bit) and Henry Walter. Claude Kelly has wrote quite a lot of songs, most of them well-known, and has worked with Jessie J quite a few times. This song is definitely a hit, especially since it has already got to number one here in the UK on album downloads only, the official release date is the 27th February 2012. Will she remain on top until the official release date? We'll have to wait and see, but there will be a lot of competition.

Now when I first saw this music video, I was surprised, with this sort of song I was definitely expecting a massive production that will just make us all go WOW. Instead we're left with what looks like a low budget video with little to talk about, and there's really not a lot going on.

When I watched this today, it's the first time I ever noticed something intriguing. No one looks at the background, but for some reason I did and then I noticed that everything was moving in a sort of rhythm as the song suggests. I'm still disappointed at the video, it could have been amazing and perfect all at the same time, but I guess you can't always have one of the best music videos.

Lastly I want to comment on her hair, it looks like it may be a wig, since not so long ago in August 2011 Jessie J confirmed that she would be shaving off her hair to save lives... BUT there has been no official statement that she has yet, which means that in the video she could just have her natural hair. If that's the case then it must take ages to dye it all. However whether she has shaved off her hair or not, they still might be wigs...

Overall it's an amazing song and it's understandable why it's at the top of the charts, and I bet the clubs are using it a lot, but it's music video is dreadful, and I never expected a music video like this to ever be released for this singer, it's definitely her worst video yet, but considering other artists music videos, it's not all bad. But with guidance from CamCam, I came to this rating, I hope many of you agree.

Britney Spears has gained quite a few number ones over here in the UK. But hasn't had one since 2004, which was with "Everytime". This single was released as her first single from her album, which is titled the same. She is definitely the biggest pop star around, and I can definitely see her becoming bigger still and I reckon she's going to be around for the rest of her life. The only problem I have is that her last two singles failed to make the UK chart, therefore suggesting she needs to do more promoting here in the UK, if she wishes to get back on our good sides.

This song was written by Max Martin and Rami Yacoub. The former is extremely well-known in the song writing world, and has been mentioned in my blog more times than I can count. As for the latter... Well Rami, has wrote songs for a number of artists, but I wondered where I've seen the name before, and so I went searching and found out that Rami wrote One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" with 2 other songwriters. I think Britney felt an immediate connection to this song, even though she personally didn't write it. Her voice is different now to what it is here, I'm not entirely sure if they did anything with it in the studio... But I'm pretty sure, when I saw her on live TV when I was younger, that she had the same tone of voice as she had here.

The music video was all Britney's idea and she wanted to be seen "dancing on Mars", which is exactly what the director has done. I think it's clever and totally out of this world, and no other artist has done anything similar. There are however other music videos that attempted something similar, but they've all failed.

Apparently, according to MTV News archives, that while recording this music video, "part or all of a camera fell" on Britney and she needed four stitches, and she might have been concussed. After four hours rest, she was up and ready to carry on for the music video (for full article Click Here).

I do like the choreography, it's got this kind of twist that makes you intrigued by it, as if she is dancing every single word she sings, and that's exactly what's coming across. I also like the bridge, which is extremely clever, I like the reference to the Titanic film, since the old lady drops the "Heart of The Ocean", and I find it how funny that he went through all that trouble for nothing, and he just shrugs it off? And Moonwalks (wait, I should say Marswalks)? I very much that would happen, especially nowadays.

Overall this music video is a BIG production, it must have taken them ages to come up with everything so perfectly, there's both narrative and performance, and it's the perfect mixture. My favourite bit is when Britney dances on the white pad, as it shows she knows how to dance as all her moves are clear-cut. This was one of the best music videos from 2000, but compared to what is out now, it seems old and unoriginal. My rating is based on what I would have thought of the music video back in 2000.