(Illustration by Zimbio)It sometimes seems as if today's most visible pop stars are in an arms race of provocation, all of them battling to bait controversy like the original shock star, Madonna. Sometimes, these acts move beyond the superficial (i.e. pantslessness) and into thought provoking territory, and occasionally, they're shocking to the point of unacceptability. There was a little bit of everything, these year. Also be sure to check out the year's best videos, as well as the sexiest.
M.I.A. - "Bad Girls"The music video for M.I.A.'s "Bad Girls" was by no means her most controversial clip (that video that portrayed the mass execution of redheaded males probably wins on that front). But the Romain Gavras-directed piece raised a fair number of eyebrows, with its depiction of Middle Eastern women drag racing in leopard print burqas. Though some critics praised the video for drawing attention to women's rights in Saudi Arabia, where women are prohibited from driving, others were uncomfortable with "stereotypical" depictions of Middle Easterners.
Lil Wayne - "My Homies Still"The cartoonish music video for "My Homies Still" wouldn't have registered on the controversy scale had it not been for some truly unfortunate timing. The clip includes scenes in which the rapper rhymes from a movie theater audience, seated among skeletons. It debuted on 106 & Park on July 17, 2013, just three days before James Holmes allegedly killed 12 moviegoers and injured 58 at a midnight screening of
The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado.
No Doubt - "Looking Hot"Melina Matsoukas' "Cowboys and Indians" themed music video for No Doubt's "Looking Hot" was on the web for all of a day before the band pulled it over accusations of racial insensitivity. The video was essentially a stream of pretty but woefully problematic Native American stereotypes, with frontwoman Gwen Stefani playing an Indian captive at the hands of vicious cowboys (bandmates Tom Dumont and Adrian Young). For more on the controversy, including an explanation of the issues at hand and the band's apology,
click here.
(via DailyMotion)Lana Del Rey - "National Anthem"
Anthony Mandler's epic video for Lana Del Rey's "National Anthem" could have been one of the year's most controversial videos, had it not been handled with such expert care. The video explored one of America's most mythologized relationships, presenting Lana Del Rey as Jacqueline Kennedy to A$AP Rocky's John F. Kennedy and alluding to the violence that would rip them apart. Mandler seemed to know he was dealing with sensitive subject matter, as he told
MTV News, "Anytime you're dealing with the American Camelot of the Kennedys, you're dealing with a packed powder keg."
Flaming Lips feat. Erykah Badu / Amanda Palmer - "The First Time I Saw Your Face"Erykah Badu did not feel comfortable with Wayne Coyne's concept for the video for her collaboration with The Flaming Lips, "The First Time I Saw Your Face," so she enlisted her sister Nayrok to film the nude scenes. After the video premiered, Badu took objection to the video's "desperation and poor execution," apparently disgusted with close-up shots of her naked sister spluttering through glitter, fake blood, and something that looked dangerously like another bodily fluid. After an
impassioned back-and-forth with Badu over Twitter, Coyne then recorded another version with Amanda Palmer, although it should be noted that they did not end up dousing her in glitter, fake blood, or weird gooey white stuff in the video. Watch it here.
(Vimeo)Die Antwoord - "Fatty Boom Boom"South African renegades Die Antwoord consider themselves too underground to open for the likes of Lady Gaga, apparently, but aren't above using her name and image to generate press. The pair rather misogynistically skewered the pop star in their video for "Fatty Boom Boom," although ultimately the shots of Yolandi Vi$$er dancing around in blackface were more controversial. Gaga responded to the diss with via Twitter: "i fink u freaky but you don't have a hit. hundred thousand tickets sold in [South Africa]. i guess its not a good idea to tell someone you're a fan."
Domo Genesis and Tyler, the Creator - "Sam (Is Dead)"
All told, the music video for "Sam (Is Dead)" is probably one of Tyler, the Creator's least controversial contributions to 2012, and probably his most mature. But the war-themed clip still features a triple murder, execution style, and a sequence in which he and his Odd Future cohort's bloody, lifeless bodies are strewn about a field. On anyone else, this would be a classic shock grab.
Frank Ocean - "Pyramids"Director Nabil Elderkin shaved a couple of minutes off the full album version of
Frank Ocean's second
channel ORANGE single to create this druggy, dark clip, which includes nudity, freaky demon strippers, and a lot of shots of Ocean riding a motorcycle without a helmet. Oh, and
John Mayer sporting some serious chains. That guy's face is pretty controversial in and of itself. Watch it here.
(YouTube)Chris Brown - "Don't Judge Me"Chris Brown's videos are probably the least controversial thing about him, as most of them are just exhausting bids to make him look cool. But there's something ridiculously cheeky about a man like Brown, who has proved consistently unrepentant in the three years since he was arrested for assaulting Rihanna in a rented Lamborghini, releasing a video for a song called "Don't Judge Me" in which he portrays himself as some kind of smouldering hero who saves the world. Not to mention it totally rips off
Armageddon.
Pussy Riot - "Punk Prayer: Mother of God, Drive Putin Away"In July, three members of Russia's anonymous performance art collective Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison over a "punk rock protest" they staged at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Snippets from that protest were spliced in with footage from another church to create the music video for "Punk Prayer: Mother of God, Drive Putin Away," which alludes to church ties between the church and the KGB and urges the Virgin Mary to become a feminist.
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