Music Videos!

Thriller was relaesed in January 1984 and became the signiture song for Michael Jackson. Ashley Lasimone, of AOL's Spinner.com described the song as

"the groove of its bassline, paired with Michael's killer vocals and sleek moves" as having had "produced a frighteningly great single."

The video was a 14 minute video. It created a dance craze for the popular culture of the time and named a watershed moment in the music industry because of the intergration of storyline and music.

"In a serene 1950s setting, a teenaged Michael Jackson and his unnamed girlfriend run out of gas in a dark, wooded area. They walk off into the forest, and Michael asks her if she would like to be his girlfriend. She accepts and he gives her a ring. He warns her, however, that he is "not like other guys". A full moon appears, and Michael begins convulsing in agony — transforming into a horrifying werecat, growling at her to "GO AWAY!" in the process. The girl screams and runs away, but the werecat catches up, knocking her down and lunging at her with his claws."

The video was directed by John Landis who was known for his comedies such as The Blues Brothers (1980) and horrors such as An American Werewolf in London (1981). One of the reasons I feel this storyline worked was because the 80's was the beginning of 'the teenage era.' Teenage Horror movies such as; Nightmare On Elm Street (1988) Prom Night (1980) and Teen Wolf (1985). Ot was a popular genre for this age group and could relate and 'enjoy' a video such as 'Thriller.'

Whenever this song is played people of all ages know how the chroegraphy goes, once the chorus starts they make their hands into claws and walk side to side. However it was not just the dance that was popular but the red jacket that Michael Jackson wore became iconic and is usually the outfit people go for when dressing up as the singer.

Although the song and video was hugely popular and praised there was some negative reviews.
The National Coalition on Televison Violence stated that the video was "too violent". The Los Angeles Times quoted Dr. Thomas Radecki, chairman of the NCTV, as saying,

"It's not hard to imagine young viewers after seeing 'Thriller' saying, 'Gee, if Michael Jackson can terrorize his girlfriend, why can't I do it too?'

Regarless of this the Video went on to win 2 Grammys and continues to be shown on music channels today - 2012.

LMFAOs video 'Party Rock Anthem' was released in January 2011 and is a parody of the 2002 horror film 28 Days Later. Like Thriller, Party Rockers has incorperated a storyline towards the video.

"The opening caption explains that Redfoo and SkyBlu both fell into a coma due to "excessive party rocking", and that their single was released the following day. Following the caption "28 DAYS LATER", both Redfoo and SkyBlu are seen in a deserted hospital, waking up from their coma in a style similar to that of Cillian Murphy's character in the original film."

The video features the Australian dance style the Melbourne Shuffle and The Running Man throughout, incorporating elements of US-style hip hop. The widespread success of the song and video clip has further spread the popularity and adoption of the Melbourne Shuffle to a global audience, as well as its adaption to other dance cultures, such as US hip-hop and breakdancing.
Director Mickey Finnegan described the concept:

"The concept of the video, there's been an epidemic, the world has gone crazy, as soon as the song came out, everyone got possessed and all they want to do is to shuffle, everyone is a shuffler.

I picked this video because I feel this video is a good representation of our generation. For example through the dance movements and also the clothing. In todays generation wearing bright colours, slogan tops and animal prints can be seen in high street stores and catwalks. They even have a website where their fans can by clothing look a likes.

http://www.partyrockclothing.com/

Their name is an Internet slang abbreviation for "Laughing My Fucking Ass Off". Which due to texting, Twitter and Facebook is being used in our everyday language along with other abbrevations such as LOL (Laughing out loud).
In a questionnaire by Hannah DeClerk (http://www.kansan.com/news/2009/nov/19/q-redfoo-lmfao/), she asked the question; How would you describe your music? They replied;

"The goal of our music is to have every sound to rock the crowd. It is like party rock. Girls get crazier and people have more fun"

Although they are still becoming known in the music industry they recently performed at the SuperBowl with Madonna. They performed during her song 'Music' which contained a mash-up with "Party Rock Anthem" and "I'm Sexy and I Know It."