A couple weeks ago, Billboard altered their formula for ranking music on the charts. Now views from YouTube will go towards a songs overall position. This change has shot Baauer's "Harlem Shake" to the top of the charts for the past two weeks. My hope is that this change would make music videos relevant once again. The excitement of a music video premiere from Michael Jackson, Missy Elliott or anything from MTV's Making the Video, was an integral part of the whole experience. Now, it seems as if music videos are an obligation instead of the vehicle for further expressing the artists' vision. This is why L'Orange's video for the single "Alone" featuring Blu was so invigorating. With creativity to spare, this noir-styled video chronicles two people living in parallel universes which are hours apart. The video has an avant-garde feel, but it is open to interpretation and accessible. Hopefully we can see more of director Ashton Blessing's work in the near future and will definitely look forward to hearing the rest of L'Orange's LP, The Mad Writer, available now on Bandcamp.
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