PAY YOUR WAY IN PAIN

One artist I have always found endlessly fascinating is St. Vincent. The musician, born Annie Clark, embodies an adventurous musical spirit, experimenting with classic pop music sounds by twisting and distorting them to create her own unique vibe.

With "Pay Your Way in Pain", the first single off her upcoming seventh studio album, "Daddy's Home", St. Vincent surprises again by delivering her version of 1970's funk-rock. Teaming up with Jack Antonoff to produce the record, this collection was partly inspired by the recent release of her father from prison for a white collar crime and her complicated feelings about the situation. 

In the music video for the song, St. Vincent takes on a new persona with a blonde bob and wearing a business casual suit, delivering a Mick Jagger/David Bowie swagger while her vocal gives off a bit of Prince at times on the track. Be on the lookout for "Daddy's Home" in May:

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC OF 2014

There was quite a bit of good music during 2014 and it all helped motivate, inspire and excite me each and every day. I happily shared some of my favorites here throughout the year, so these are the rest of my best:

"Rather Be " - Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne

"Don't Tell 'Em" - Jeremih featuring YG

"2On" - Tinashe featuring ScHoolboy Q

"Am I Wrong" - Nico & Vinz



"I Don't Mind" - Usher featuring Juicy J

"Water Fountain" - Tune-Yards

"Cool Kids" - Echosmith

"I Was Gonna Cancel (Steph Seroussi Family Remix)" - Kylie Minogue



"Love Me Harder" - Ariana Grande featuring The Weeknd

"Show Me" - Kid Ink featuring Chris Brown

"Turn Down For What" - DJ Snake & Lil' Jon

THE RETURN OF THE MUSIC VIDEO?

I assumed the music video as a creative outlet was pretty much a dead idea, most especially since the record labels have been slowly vanishing and the companies that are left certainly don't want to be bothered spending too much time and energy making something even remotely artistic. Even the original music video channel, MTV barely show them any more but recently I have noticed some actual inventive, fascinating and visually stimulating videos.

Now, none of these are from mainstream artists as they tend to play it very safe these days (with the possible exception of Lady Gaga). With the advancement of technology, it has made some of these new videos look like they've spent a million bucks but I'm certain it was much, much less.