Forest For The Trees.

So. This started out as my usual waking up at 12:40pm to my cousin/roommate making me eggs and a warmed up chocolate croissant while I YouTube Aaliyah music videos Sunday afternoon slothing, but quickly turned into me searching for my favorite videos that take place in the woods. (I don't know either, just go with it.) As you may or may not know, I recently did a post about my top roller skating vids and now I am kind of inspired to continue to delve deep into the recesses of my mind/the World Wide Web to continue to bring you some of the best of the best xy and z themed vidjahs. Let's get started!

From the jump, babygirl usually preferred the ill Mad Max vibe. Biker chains, leather, eye patches, cages, post Apocalyptic settings...but in "4 Page Letter" she flipped her "California Love" game on its head and added a vegetative level. Part secret night club (it's called Redemption), part Sherwood forest outpost, part Lord of the Flies, this video is all kinds of dark, wooded futuristic fantasy. That ring of fire seduction dance? Ay yi yiiiiiiii.



Next up. Deborah Cox. The first time I saw this video on the Box, I was like, wait, HOW DID HE GET HERE? She's in some remote postbellum bayou house chilling with her girl all sad and alone and then BAM dude shows up with his biker crew all like, what? We always hang out on this dusty secluded forest road in tight tanks. The backdrop is all weeping willows, verandas, dirt roads, charmingly quaint black folks, misty lush greenery, abandoned one room churches and creaky shacks and even at the age of 12, I was like, hmmm, whoever did the treatment for this is romanticizing a certain something that maybe they shouldn't be...Apparently she's Canadian. She didn't know any better.



Speaking of Canucks, here we have Nelly Furtado (remember when she was the truth?) and the first half of "Turn Off The Light." Mud, spooky trees, creeping dancers and a DJ cutting in the brush. The video then takes a few different artistic paths (all of which I'm kind of into, even if they make no cohesive sense) but up until about the 1:37 mark it's straight up fabulous forestry.



Helen Folasade Adu. No one, and I mean no one, can pull off wooded nymph like this woman. Can you even fathom being lost in the woods (both theoretically and literally) and coming across this vision of beauty and salvation? No, you can't. Don't bother answering. From Wikipedia:

A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing; their amorous freedom sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughters of the Greek polis. They dwell in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, and also in trees and in valleys and cool grottoes.

NAILED IT.



Jumping to the other end of the classy spectrum, we have Jenny From the Block I Would Never Like to Live On. Technically, this takes place in a jungle, but that is just another form of forest so it totally counts and besides, this is one of the most epic pre-millennium videos of all time. GOOD LORD DOES THAT PARTY LOOK LIKE FUN. I think we all can agree, we would have much rather been watching the countdown with La Lopez, under the glow of green lasers surrounded by shimmering dewy rain forest babes (her homegirls, duh) at her (idea of an) Amazon rave. Instead I was in my friend's basement drinking sparkling cider watching MTV secretly hoping that the world didn't end because I was only 13 and HAD SO MUCH LIVING TO DO.

I must say though: a French mani is NOT tropical chic, Jen.



OK, so technically this isn't a classic wooded setting per se, but it is an abandoned and overgrown with vegetation mental institution/kingdom/disco and that's good enough for my purposes so honorable mention for Missy Elliott! (Disabling issue, my b)

I would include MGMT's "Electric Feel" and Crazy Town's "Butterfly" but they both are basically the same thing to me so I won't.

Year End Lists: Punctuality is One of Our Resolutions

OK, OK. We know we promised one album per day. But just like you, we can be lazy, irresponsible and prone to lying. Don't despair though. The guilt was killing us, and we are atoning with two picks each right now.

Ben's Picks:

8. The Black Keys - Attack and Release
The blues rock two piece shows Jack White how it's meant to be done. 2004's Rubber Factory, the only other Black Keys record I'm very familiar with, was a great album of blues jams, but this album, produced by the brilliant Danger Mouse (and it sounds like he brought his keyboards with him!), truly takes the band a step further conceptually. Rather than just blasting you with gritty guitar and drums, this set of songs swirls around you, unraveling more with each listen.

7. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Sometimes divorcing yourself from the buzz works really, really well. This was one of those cases: when this band's name started whipping around the internet early in 2008 I didn't want to know anything about it. Eventually, I heard the record, and I was blown away. It's such a nice record, I can't believe there was all that buzz about these breezy melodies and vaguely African rhythms. This isn't a new trick (see: everything the Talking Heads recorded) but these kids are doing it well on this LP.

Isabelle's Picks:

8. Jazmine Sullivan - Fearless
Philly jawns stand up. This album would be higher up on my list, but there are like three tracks ("After the Hurricane," "Dream Big" and "Live a Lie" could all be better) that I feel hold this record back from flawless greatness. Otherwise, Missy Elliott's protege's album has been on repeat since dropping. "Call Me Guilty" is the best abused woman revenge tune around and of course the first singles "Need U Bad" and "Bust Your Windows" are stellar. My favorite one though, is "In Love with Another Man," which is all emotion, a bittersweet ballad about being unable to move on, even though it's in every one's best interest.

7. Rhymefest - Mark Ronson presents Rhymefest in The Man in the Mirror
Technically not an album per se, but nevertheless, a cohesive and amazing effort from one of my favorite rappers out there. First of all, the "conversations" between 'Fest and MJ are nothing short of perfection and secondly, this tided me over marvelously because Rhymefest's "sophomore" record El Che got pushed back to '09. This mix tape is the ultimate low key party or BBQ record--it revisits every fantastic Jackson tune from his childhood days on, with the added bonus of Rhymefest's straight up genius.