A lot of people make note of the fact that the Black Eyed Peas music and accompanying videos often feel like advertisements for big corporations. It's a fair assessment, given that the group's high-gloss, multi-ethnic, universal-appeal music seems like it could very well be the brainchild of some marketing team in Manhattan. And the video for their new single looks like a cross between an HP commercial and an Apple commercial, but hey, that doesn't make the music any less enjoyable.
The Black Eyed Peas comeback single, "Boom Boom Pow," is certainly a breathe for fresh air for everyone in the Black Eyed Peas who ISN'T Fergie. While Fergie was out knocking out the music industry with her solo album, the guys languished in the background with not so successful and not so impressive solo projects. (To be fair, will.i.am's "Heartbreaker" should've been a hit. It was hot.)
So with Fergie back in tow, BEP has decided to tackle audiophiles with "Boom Boom Pow." No, it's not the sequel to "Kung Fu Fighting," it's pretty much about music, which is a plus for me. Songs about music work because they're usually easy-to-digest and entertaining. If you shout out the DJ or give a thumbs up to the 808, you're okay in my book. The video pretty much looks like an iTunes commercial with lots of green screen effects, mind-boggling, masked dancers in unitards, and a dreads-free will.i.am. Watch.
The video works for the song, but it gets a little boring watching the seperate setups for each Pea's verse. Fergie's verse was of course the most engaging cause she explodes on the screen. Will.i.am is a decent producer but his onscreen presence is deflated and stiff. Apl is high energy, (he's in fact very underrated in the group) but Taboo no longer seems very extoic. Maybe it's cause he got that Stepford wife haircut? Speaking of, all of the Peas are rocking new hairstyles in this video. Has Rihanna/Cassie syndrome infected the Peas? Celebrities are all about signifying change through their hair these days.
The Peas really should've reworked the "Will.i.am let the beat drop" bit because that's such a high energy part of the song and all we get are the freaky Power Ranger-like types posing. And Fergie's Madonna-esque pilates solo dance was also unecessary. Just dance, bammas.
Overall, this video screams "I'm so 3008!!" at an earth shattering decibel, so the Peas score on that front. This video is what Janet Jackson's "Feedback" should've looked like instead of that crazy, cereal bowl in space garbage that we got.
