Video Rankings

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mrmeadows
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Video Rankings

Post by mrmeadows »

Got my CD today....yay! Figured I'd start a thread about the videos on the DVD, wherein we rank our favorites. And even though it isn't on the video DVD, let's include PTW in our rankings, too.

Here are mine, ranked in reverse order (worst-to-best):

11. TMZ -- Plympton strikes out again, I'm afraid. One of the best songs on the album gets strapped with the worst video. Wasn't digging watching a cartoon about a photo of someone's bare a** for 3 minutes, and the punchline was weak.

10. SKIPPER DAN -- Some pretty, colorful animation here, but unfortunately a rather dull video. Granted, the song itself doesn't have a ton of jokes in it, and is kind of a downer story (well, relative to the other songs on the album). It's a great song with an unfortunately forgettable video.

9. RINGTONE -- My least favorite song on the album, and video doesn't do much to improve my enjoyment. Nothing really inspired here, other than some decent energy and movement. Mediocre all around.

8. ANOTHER TATTOO -- Has a decent look and style, but is basically just a visual mirroring of the lyrics in tattoo form. Okay....nothing terribly funny here, but compliments the song fine.

7. CRAIGSLIST -- A live action video that nails the 60's "acid scene" look that was pervasive in Jim Morrison's day. It's almost too good, in that there are almost zero jokes other than Al dressed up as Morrison. A+ for style, but D- for comedy.

6. IF THAT ISN'T LOVE -- Here's a video that actually matches my ambivalence about the song. There are some head-scratchingly lame moments here, but there are also quite a few moments that got genuine laughs out of me. I liked how they tied in the cell phone photo at the end. Had a cool look, too.

5. WHATEVER YOU LIKE -- I didn't love the look and style so much, but I did appreciate all the "little" gags hidden throughout the video. Some of it was ugly (perhaps intentionally so), but I laughed at a lot of the visual puns sprinkled around. Many jokes went by so fast I'm sure I missed a lot. "Tinkerbelle Al" was a nice touch.

4. CNR -- The best of the Internet Leaks, and still cracks my Top 5. JibJab does a better job with this video than they did with DICYO, and love all of CNR's facial expressions. Very funny video for a very funny song.

3. STOP FORWARDING THAT CRAP TO ME -- Very impressive video. Wouldn't call it "ha-ha" funny, but definitely clever. A lot of work and love went into this, and it definitely does not feel hastily slapped together like some of the other ones here. Almost notched this one in at #2, but...

2. PARTY IN THE CIA -- ...I decided to go for laughs over style. This video matched the energy and spirit of the song perfectly, and actually had a spot-on style for a song about the CIA. The juxtaposition of fun and political torture/murder were brought together seamlessly, just as in the song. At first I thought maybe some of the violence was over-the-top, but then realized that was exactly how it should be. I was really pleased with this video, laughed a lot, and will probably re-watch this one the most out of all of them.

1. PERFORM THIS WAY -- How could I not give this the #1 spot? Even if it was not quite up there with SLN or W&N, it was a fantastic high-concept video that featured some very imaginative costume design and VFX. Only Al could pull off the conceit of his head on a wispy Gaga body, but he did it. As shocking and funny as when he inflated to an 500 lb. Michael Jackson for "Fat".
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sethmartin
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by sethmartin »

Ok sir, I'll go

11. TMZ- I think this is going to be pretty much standard spot for this one. Plympton does have a creative animation style and I'm definitely not knocking him as an artist, but his creative style is just too dissimilar to Al's. Not only that, he never seems to understand the song he's doing the video for. He heard the line "Pics of your flabby behind" and made a whole video out of that. TMZ wasn't even featured, very little paparazzi, why is there a giant slice of pizza in it. It's just an artsy fartsy mess that makes no sense and I like the song too much to sit through the video again.

10. If That Isn't Love- I thought the jokes were ok, even though the character always seems to be doing the opposite of what Al says. My problem with this is that it's too Flash Animation-y that style with the key framed animation is just difficult to watch for me. I wish it had more of a Hanson theme to it. But I did enjoy it for one time. Definitely miles better than the Plympton waste of time.

9. Another Tattoo- Clever idea but gets kinda boring after a while. At least the animation is good. It fits the song and is easy to watch. This guy should have done TMZ and given Plympton the week off.

8. Ringtone- I rated this one higher because the animation is good in it. It doesn't have that crappy fan made after effects/ flash look that some of the other videos have nor does it suck out loud and make you want to return the CD and vomit uncontrollably like the Bill Plympton TMZ, and it at least compliments the song and actually makes it funnier in my opinion.

7. Skipper Dan- I first saw the video before I ever heard the song so when it came out I was laughing hysterically but I think that had more to do with Al's lyrics. I love this song and the concept so I could probably enjoy a video of it made by anyone. (Minus Plympton of course who has taken away a total of nearly 8 minutes of my life I will never get back) I like the video here even though it has that computer animation look. I like the part where the two tour guides mimic shooting themselves in the head. (Which is what I wanted to do during the Plympton TMZ video.)

6. Party in the CIA- I enjoyed this video. Yes it had the computer generated animation look but at least it was fun and moved quickly. Had some good jokes in it. And it was relevant to the song, unlike some of the other videos on the album. (Namely that Plympton POS)

5. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me- Sure it was just the lyrics, but I admire the creator for taking a chance and doing something different with this and creating a beautiful work of art which is entertaining and pleasing to look at and not just the same stupid joke over and over like the Plymptastically bad TMZ. And it is relevant to the song and I love all of the uses of the lyrics. It has style, it is well done and it deserves higher but in a Weird Al video, I actually like seeing Al. But I will watch this again for sure.

4. CNR- I like the Jib Jab style and I like seeing Al and Jon in this. I definitely think Al should have at least been featured in all of the videos like this one. The video is really funny. The only thing I don't like about it is the missing verse. I don't understand why they would have cut a part out for this and made a shorter video but they should have called Plympton to cut out about 3 minutes of his abomination.

3. Whatever You Like- Man I was laughing at this. I love all of the Al references. I love the use of Al's different pictures to make it seem like he's singing the song. The creator of this must have really been an Al fan because there are constant references, parodies, and jokes sprinkled throughout. Out of all of the animated videos, this one seems like the closest to a Weird Al video at least to me. (someone should have taken some advice from this)

2. Craigslist- The reason I gave this second spot is because I am a fan of Liam Lynch and this to me actually feels like a Weird Al video. Yeah, maybe lacking the jokes a bit and it did have a little too much stock footage but at least it's a real music video. It's hard to believe Liam shot this in his garage. I think Al should have recorded himself singing all of the songs in front of a greenscreen and passed them out rather than doing the animation thing. I'm cool with animated videos, as long as they aren't done by Plympton, but I hope their are more live action vids next time around even if they are done by someone else.

1. Perform This Way- Ok some of you have been bashing on this for lack of jokes but I think this video has the most amount of jokes than any other video. Every costume is suppose to be a joke. The head replacement is great and it's not suppose to be seamless. It's loose for a comedic effect. And don't forget the two most important things that make this video great. A. It features some of us as papparazzi and B. It wasn't done by Bill Plympton who unlike this video, failed to feature papparazzi in his video about papparazzi.


So what have we learned kids? We've learned that all of the videos good or bad have their positive moments...except one. Al, please lose Plympton's number.
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Bruce the Duck
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by Bruce the Duck »

Posted this in a different thread out in the rest of the forum before seeing this thread.


I bought the deluxe version on iTunes at midnight because I was too impatient to wait for the DVD. For those of you still wondering, all six previously released singles count towards the "complete my album" purchase, but none of the videos do, which is a disappointment.

Anyway, to review the videos.

Craigslist, CNR, Skipper Dan, and Ringtone were all previous releases, but I'm really glad they were on here because they were ALL way better than most of the new ones.

TMZ - I didn't think it was possible to make a worse video than DDTS, but Plympton tops himself. This was complete and utter garbage. As someone else said, it appears as if Plympton never even listened to the song. I can't believe Al even put this on the album. Either he's too "nice" to tell Plympton it sucks, or Al actually likes this crap. I can guarantee I will NEVER watch this video ever again.

Party in the CIA - Big improvement over TMZ. I like the animation style here. It is extremely amaturish looking, but it's done well.

Another Tattoo - I will have to watch this again in super slow motion to actually see all the tattoos. There was a lot crammed in here, and the animator really added a lot to the song, by making fun of someone for getting tattoos of things that eventually were obsolete or out of style. I'll have more to add about this one after more view.

If That Isn't Love - Again, amateur hour continues, but it is well done. I like that the animator added more of his own jokes in the video besides just the ones in the song.

Whatever You Like - I'm not crazy about the ultra cheap looking animation style, but I love all the little jokes and gags and references to previous Al work. The first time through I spotted references to "My Bologna," "Alapalooza," and "White & Nerdy.". I'll have to see this many many more times to get it all.

Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me - For such an epic song, I was expecting more than just the lyrics on my screen. Kind of lame.

At this point, Al either should drop the whole animated videos thing on future albums, or at least hire only competent animators and take some initiative to oversee the animation. He doesn't have to be intimately involved, but at least previewing storyboards and drafts and asking for changes when necessary.

Ranking of ALL 11 videos released so far.

1. Craigslist
2. CNR
3. Perform This Way
4. Skipper Dan
5. Ringtone
6. Another Tattoo
7. If That Isn't Love
8. Party in the CIA
9. Whatever You Like
10. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me

Total piece of crap not even worth including on the album and not even deserving of a rank spot - TMZ. Bill Plympton is terrible.
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mrmeadows
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by mrmeadows »

Bruce the Duck wrote:TMZ - I can't believe Al even put this on the album. Either he's too "nice" to tell Plympton it sucks, or Al actually likes this crap.
.
Well, Al doesn't have to tell Plympton it sucks. . .he has to make sure he doesn't ask him to do a video for Album #14. And yeah, as lame as the DDTS video was, TMZ makes it look like a masterpiece.

Unless, as you say, Al actually LIKES Plympton's stuff. Then we may have to continue to suffer.
Alinite27
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by Alinite27 »

I really don't see what the big fuss is all about with TMZ. The only problem is that it's only the one joke and then he ignores pretty much the rest of the song. But, I love the after-effects of that one joke. That star is going through life continuously seeing the pic of her flabby behind everywhere. With everyone caring so much about it. I think it captures the essence of the song that Al was trying to put forth. It's hilarious.

1. Whatever You Like
2. Skipper Dan
3. Perform This Way
4. If That Isn't Love
5. Another Tattoo
6. Craigslist
7. Party In The CIA
8. Ringtone
9. CNR
10. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me
11. TMZ
12. Polka Face

BTW, I used the concert video that played behind Al's performance for Polka Face. And basically just put it last because it wasn't created by anybody with a new idea. It doesn't feel right to put it ahead of something an artist created. Will definitely re-evaluate when it comes out in a few weeks.

Also, will edit this post and add more detailed thoughts and over-analysis as I continue to watch the new videos.
Last edited by Alinite27 on Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Apocaloso-88
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by Apocaloso-88 »

1) CNR
2) Perform This Way
3) Another Tattoo
4) Craigslist
5) Ringtone
6) Skipper Dan
7) Party In The CIA
8 ) Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me
9) Whatever You Like
10) If That Isn't Love
11) TMZ

I have to say that I feel like the new 6 videos are those kind of things that I won't watch again so much (except Another Tattoo...). And I feel so sorry for Bill Plympton, cos I didn't really liked his video. I mean, I know he could do something way better than that. I even enjoyed DDTS a lot even if there's something that doesn't seem to work. But this time... Maybe there's something wrong with the timing and editing, cos the idea isn't so bad...

SFTCTM was really cool, but I felt like some jokes are lost. I would have prefer to see this animation in WYL and use that kind of video for SFTCTM.
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OneWAY
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by OneWAY »

Yeah, can't say I like the TMZ video at all to be honest... which is weird because I love the song. Anyway, I just bought the CD/DVD and these rankings were made "spur of the moment," so they might change eventually.

1. Perform This Way
2. Party In The CIA
3. Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me
4. CNR
5. Ringtone
6. Craigslist
7. Another Tattoo
8. Skipper Dan
9. If That Isn't Love
10. Whatever You Like
11. TMZ
8/26/08, 7/15/10, 7/16/10, 7/17/10, 11/5/10, 9/22/11, 9/24/11, 9/25/11, 4/30/12, 10/19/13, 5/19/15, 8/19/15, 8/21/15, 7/16/16, 3/3/18, 3/22/18, 4/20/18, 4/27/18, 6/14/19, 6/15/19, 6/21/19, 9/1/19, 5/31/22, 6/1/22, 9/4/22, 9/30/22, 10/1/22, 10/7/22
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Kevbo1987
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by Kevbo1987 »

Here's my ranking. I'm only commenting on the videos I hadn't seen earlier (i.e. the Internet Leaks).
1). Perform This Way--Great video that continues to grow on me. I love all of the costumes, and this really does feel like an old-school Al video.
2). CNR
3). If That Isn't Love--I see a lot of people are ranking this one pretty low, but I liked it. I thought it followed the song very nicely, and the animation looked very good.
4) Skipper Dan
5) Ringtone
6) Party in the CIA--This was another good video. I liked how the animator carried out the song, and the visuals of the dictators and interrogations were very well-done.
7) Another Tattoo--This was a great illustration of all the tattoos.
8 Whatever You Like--I liked how the animator used Al's name on the various products throughout the video.
9) Craigslist
10) Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me--Kind of a strange concept. I don't know how just showing all of the lyrics can be considered animating a video, but it's still better than TMZ.
11) TMZ--Have to reiterate what everyone else is saying. I find it hard to believe Plympton even listened to the song. The video doesn't follow the song whatsoever. At one point, he even showed the picture of the bare ass on the covers of magazines! Does he even know what TMZ is? If I were Al, I'd ask for a refund on this one.
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by Wizzerkat »

My comments are not detailed because I don't want to think too much at the moment :) My rankings might change as I have only watched all of them once(except the IL):

1. Perform This Way-The only all live action video so it's number 1 unless it's utter crap. It's not. It is not in the same league overall as others Al's done, but I was pleased it was not as bad as I was envisioning.
2. CNR-Love Jib Jab and their stuff usually comes out well.
3. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me-I don't know, I really like this one. For a lyric vid, it's well done IMO.
4. Party in the CIA-I like the style so this one was a pretty good representation of the song.
5. Craigslist-Not bad for being filmed on a guy's garage :) Low budget looks good here.
6. WYL-I like the style and all of the little things added. I like we see AL.
7. Ringtone-Another style I like(liked Supernews) and it was also a good representation of the song.
8. If That Isn't Love-I don't mind this video at all. I just think others are better. I will watch this again. It's cute.
9. Skipper Dan-It's actually decent. I quite like it. I wasn't sure where to put this one.
10. Another tattoo-The style is a little strange for my taste but I don't find this video to be bad. It just isn't as much to my taste. I will watch again to see the tattoos.
11. TMZ-This could have been a great video. It just isn't. Actually, for a piece of art that stands by itself, it's fine. It really is ok. However, for a representation of Al's song, it's ROTTEN. I don't like the style to start with(didn't like DDTS either) so that doesn't help. I would have gotten another person to do this song. I love this song and we should have had a rockin' video that really showed the essence of TMZ.
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mrmeadows
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Re: Video Rankings

Post by mrmeadows »

Poor Plympton...hope he never reads this thread. I wonder if "TMZ" will ever get a ranking above 11. Even Alnight27--who has been the lone Plympton supporter so far--ranked it last. ("Polka Face" doesn't count.)

I think maybe if Plympton did "Another Tattoo" and Augenblick did "TMZ" then maybe things would have worked out better. (Either that, or we'd just be stuck with a crummy video for "Another Tattoo".)
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