Partying. You’ve done it. I’ve done it. But what is it? Pliny the Elder said that partying was the act of going to a party. Of course, he also thought that dog-headed people existed so it is best to take his assertions with a grain of salt.

Anyways, partying is an important part of music. A lot of music is made to party to and a lot of music is made about partying. Today on Twosday we will be looking at two music videos about partying.

The first is Tik Tok by Ke$ha. Let’s take a look.

This video is about going to a party. I think it also starts with waking up after a party. It’s about living a party-based life.

The video opens with Ke$ha waking up in a bathtub after a party.

It isn’t clear if the bathtub is in her house or if she just ended up in someone’s bathtub.

She rides her ridiculous gold bike down the street to the delight of some shitty kids.

Naturally some duder tries to pick her up.

She isn’t having it, though. She does not want to go to the kind of party that duder would go to.

She wants a real man. A man like this:

Clearly he knows how to party.

They cruise.

Finally she arrives at the party. It is the kind of party where everyone throws their hands in the air in a carefree manner.

It seems fun.

For some people, though, parties are not events that you go to. Partying is something that you do anytime and any place. One such man is Andrew W.K.

This song is about not about partying as fun, but as a duty. The comic Overcompensating has a theory about this:

“And the angel Andrew WK did party until it began to anger God, and God was furious.

And so like God said unto the angel Andrew WK, “if you like to party so much, why don’t you go to Earth and partying is all that you will do.” And Andrew WK did smile, for he thought this would totally rock.

And so the angel Andrew WK was sent to earth to live among the humans and party.”

That’s pretty cool. (Please note that whole quote is from Overcompensating. All the best stuff on this blog is a quote.) All true, too. I mean, just look at how purposefully these men are partying.

Sometimes Andrew W.K. will just be standing by himself and will start partying so hard that a huge neon sign will appear behind him.

Parties. Man.

-PTD

Welcome to Twosday here on Another Flavor! Twosday is the day where we look at two music videos with something in common.

I am very enthusiastic about words and phrases. In high school I started saying “whatevs” so much that it was a real problem. I almost had to go to a special school. I try to keep my slang constantly updating, sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully. I’ve never been able to work “boss” into my vocabulary, but I was extremely successful with “radical”. I also like to make up words or adapt existing words for new purposes.

Some examples:
Hup: To hop up. For some reason it also means to take a shower.
Crate: A mispronunciation of great.
The deep: A nickname for Home Depot.
J’escuse: As in “J’escuse, I just need to get by.”

I think a lot of musicians feel that way as well. The lyrics of songs are a great way to promote new phrases and muse on their meanings. I believe this due to the videos for Bizness by Tune-Yards and Rolling in the Deep by Adele.

Let’s start with Tune-Yards and Bizness:

This song asks the question we all have on our minds, “What’s the business?” According to urban dictionary (I’m not linking to it because I just realized how offensive its name is) the business can mean a lot of things. It can mean something good, “This chili is the business!” It can mean hassling, “Stop giving me the business.” It can even refer to a business, “The business is losing money hand over fist.”

Tune-Yards wants to get to the root of this baffling conundrum. After attending the best schools money can buy…

She realized that the business cannot be explained using mere human words. Only the sheer power of interpretive dance can answer the question, “What’s the business?”

Yeah.

Okay, from an in depth analysis of the meaning of phrase we come to the invention of a phrase from whole cloth. Rolling in the Deep by Adele:

What does rolling in the deep mean? In the lyrics it sounds like a complete non sequitor:

We could have had it all. Rolling in the deep.

You’re gonna wish you never had met me. Tears are gonna fall. Rolling in the deep.

These lyrics don’t give us a lot to go on. I believe, though, that rolling in the deep means having a lot of money. I mean like a lot. Like, building a spaceship type of money. Let’s take a look.

The extremely wealthy tend to have a lot of glasses, as shown here.

They also are taken to altering their surroundings with money. Here we see Adele contemplating building a whole new, all white city.

I assume that will be her city for day time and at night she will inhabit an all black city.

There are also a lot of shots that show the downside of being extremely rich, namely the loneliness.

Doesn’t it remind you of Xanadu?

Man, rolling in the deep is depressing. That really is the business.

-PTD

Aren’t you bummed that the second Airplane! movie wasn’t called Airplanes!? I’ve been thinking about airplanes because I am going on a flight today. As a people, we are scared of flying. I certainly am. Flying is an extremely dangerous way to travel. The only ways to travel more dangerous are by train, by motorcycle, by bike, by foot, and by car. But that’s it. Oh, boats are more dangerous, too. Did you know that you are more likely to die in a plane crash than to be killed in a shirt factory fire? Chilling.

Car-related side note: In Chicago after a snow, it is traditional for people save their precious parking spot by blocking it off with lawn furniture. People who are new to Chicago get really excited about this tradition and decide to partake of it immediately. They don’t understand the rules, though. In case you are one of these people let me lay it down for you and see if you can pick it up.
1. You must have shoveled the spot out. This is the most important! If all you did was block some of the falling snow with your car, you may not save your spot.
2. You only get to save it for a day. Maybe two, but probably not. Shoveling out a spot once does not reserve it for the whole winter.
3. People are allowed to steal your lawn furniture. Sorry, it’s just a fact of life.
I hope these rules allow you to fully enjoy dangerously driving around on slippery roads at 10 miles an hour over the speed limit!

Okay, back on track. So, I know deep down that flying isn’t dangerous especially compared to driving. I’m still frightened about it. This Burt Reynolds quote really explains it, “My movies were the kind they show in prisons and airplanes, because nobody can leave.” When you are in an airplane, there is nowhere for you to go. You can be in Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite situation: You know something bad is going to happen and there is nothing you can do about it. Now, I know I should be approximately 400 times more scared when I’m riding in a car, but I’m not. I imagine that I could just hup out the window at 70 miles an hour and roll to safety. This is why I always recommend practicing jumping out of speeding cars on the freeway. You won’t regret it.

Anyways, this trapped feeling shows up in music videos. Did you know that Another Flavor is a blog about music videos? And that on Twosday we talk about two videos with something in common? Well, now you do. You’re welcome.

Today we’ll be looking at the video for Britney Spears’s Toxic and Foo Fighters’ Learn to Fly. Let’s start with Toxic.

First off, isn’t Toxic a great song? It really is.

Spears is addicted to her man. She needs him. But she’s on a plane because she is a flight attendant from 1960s space:

So what can she do? She’s gotta grab some random dude and drag him into the bathroom.

She has no choice. She’s trapped. That’s what happens when you get on an airplane.

Unlike Spears’s harrowing story of unfulfilled sexual desire, Foo Fighters warn us of the dangers of drinking non-alcoholic beverages in their video for Learn to Fly.

I’m not sure how I feel about this video. I’m not a huge fan of men dressed as women in fat suits.

Disgusting. Fat people are not inherently funny! Neither is cross dressing!

This video does show the trapped feeling of being on a plane well, though. Almost everyone drinks drugged coffee.

This leaves the alcohol-only members of Foo Fighters to save the day. Normally, you’d be able to call for experts in a disaster situation, but when you are in a plane you only have the people you took off with. This is what is so terrifying. Just look at Lost! Imagine having to spend 6 seasons with whoever happened to be on a plane with you! Crazy.

If I don’t die in a fiery wreck, I’ll be back tomorrow with more music video goodness!

-PTD