30 May 2009

Crazy Cryin'.

Yesterday, while lounging and watching VH1s Top 20 countdown (I know, the shame, but I tried to make it interactive by guffawing at the TV) I saw a video with Alicia Silverstone in it ("Her Diamonds" by Rob Thomas - pretty/angsty/forgettable.) Anyways, it reminded me of two other videos with her that made an impression on me in the oh-so-angsty and grungeful early-90s: "Crazy" and "Cryin'" by Aerosmith. Both are great for a kick if not a little indulgent but the former in particular: it's romantic and sexy what with the ditching school in a convertible, the dusty country roads, and the irreverance of the young girls that were the main characters of the videos, not just video hos...like I said, Silverstone, young Liv Tyler and the kind of meta-production of it definitely made an impression on my impressionable 11 year-old self. Also, the fact that my parents adamantly prohibited watching MTV, VH1, and BET, music TV of any sort so I was most definitely "sneaking it" when I watched, thereby heightening the experience. Ha.

I could get into a whole diatribe about how exploitative the industry is towards women (though I think it's gotten much more balanced in the last couple of years, more a accepting, honest meritocracy than a glass box to climb into if you want to be a popular female musician) but there's no need to waste more words on an already apparent truth. With that, here they be, mateys: