Some videos definitely put more impact to the song. Brad Paisley’s “Waiting on a Woman” by using Andy Griffith….Sugarland’s “Stay” (even though I hate the song, the video showed more emotion & impact from the artist)…Reba’s “Fancy”. As much as I hate to say it, Taylor Swift definitely used the video wisely by portraying exactly what the song says.

I remember seeing The Judds old videos where they sat and performed in normal clothing attire to show that they are common folks like the rest of us.

Some videos I never quite understood. Dolly has had some wild & kooky ones. Remember Tammy Wynette doing “Justify & Ancient” with that rock group. Other folks are so predictable with their videos (ie Kenny Chesney).

Some songs don’t need a video as the lyrics and vocals themselves set the mood. Josh mentioned Tim McGraw’s “Red Rag Top”. Jamey Johnson’s “High Cost of Living” is another one.

The one type of video that I hate and I think is down right lazy to just to get the song out is concert & award show videos. Granted I was at the show that Brooks & Dunn filmed “Rock My World Little Country Girl”…but give me a break! Makes ya wonder what performance tonight on the ACM’s will soon be the “new video” of an artist…

A good video *can* add something to a song, but I’m not likely to seek out a video if I don’t already know the song or at least the artist.

My thoughts, exactly on both counts. And while I can listen to music for hours and hours on end, I get bored very quickly watching videos

GARY ALLAN – LIFE AIN’T ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL
Stunning clip, wonderfully highlighting the thematic elements of the song and capturing the mood totally.

BROOKS & DUNN – SOUTH OF SANTA FE
Country meets Sergio Leone… Great video that fits in well with the song’s feel, but creates a narrative that wasn’t really suggested by the lyrics.

GARTH BROOKS – THE THUNDER ROLLS
One of my favourite music videos – pretty much a literal translation of the song’s narrative into visuals, which usually doesn’t work at all, but here works visually. GB clearly relishes putting on the fake whiskers and doing some acting (and this is years before that crazy Chris Gaines monkey business) and it leaves you in absolutely no doubt about the song’s storyline…

I liked “Here Comes Goodbye” (mostly for the line about the doorbell) alot more than I do now that ive seen the video. I personally think Rascall Flatts are kinda video whores, in that they use whatever they can to get into a deeper emotional attachment than the song really calls for. “Here Comes Goodbye” is clearly a straight forward break up song, and they turned into a song about losing a father. And for the record, at the level theyre at, to say they didnt have control over that is a complete cop out.

Now, on the other hand, you have the video to “Whiskey Lullaby”. That, to me, is a song with such great lyrical power, and the video was done very tastefully, so as not to ruin the song, but really put some profound imagery to what was already an incredible song.

While on the subject of Brad Paisley, I think id certainly say his videos have helped put him, and keep him, on top of the pile. Not only for showcasing his sense of humor, but it also showcases the fact that hes a triple threat by allowing us to see him playing the lead parts on his songs. For someone such as him, a video is crucial because we need to see that hes not just a singer, but an all around showman.

Music videos are just like any art. Some are good, some are bad.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case as even Kenny admits he is doing more special effects this year -probably for it sounds like Taylor’s concerts will be absolutely loaded with special effects. Sugarland has big effects too. It’s going to be that to keep the younger generation happy you have to have the effects or let them accept you as you are and risk waiting until they grow up and just listen to the music.