Crystal. Maybach. Diamonds on your timepiece. Jet planes. Islands.Tigers on a gold leash. We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in your love affair~Lorde

Royals by Lorde seems to be the kind of song that everyone wants to cover, and some of them are damn good. I’ve pasted in a couple of the best ones below.

Meanwhile, sixteen year old New Zealander, Lorde, has a runaway hit on her hands. A song reputably written in half an hour in response to the wealth and shallowness of the Hip Hop Industry, has a simple pared down video directed by Joel Kefali and featuring Lorde’s school mates.

The video is a depiction of ordinary teenage life, limited to a few scenes of two young men getting about their very unglamorous business. Lorde features in short, interspersed flashes, singing some lines (there is a US version and an international version), and that’s about it!

Does it work? Well its got that spare, barely-choregraphed, home movie thing going for it, but I doubt that’s been enough to truly satisfy the palate of the sophisticated music video consumer. No dancing. No imagery directly connected with the lyrics and guys with zits (the latter is enough to make me like it! Love a dose of reality).

With nearly 130 million views on YouTube, it’s certainly been seen by a bunch of people. Fortunately the song is so good, my feeling is that the video neither enhances nor detracts!

Here’s the US version:

And here’s the Florda State University Capella Version:

And the Ali Brustofski version with Savannah Outen, Andrew Garcia, Caitlin Hart & Josh Golden

And lastly … the Pentatonix

Which one do you like best?

Done my hair up real big beauty queen style High heels off, I’m feeling alive ~Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey … so much written about her. So many opinions!

No one could possibly dispute though, that she has a spectacular voice. And as my blogs are about specific song videos, I’m not going to get into the whole “how dare she reinvent herself under a new name and abandon her original fans” – or some such twat! (though for the record I can’t possibly see why it would matter if she did. Just shows she’s smart and committed).

I think what really miffed some fans and critics is that she wasn’t a starving New York musican who done good but a girl from money, who used her means to help her achieve her goal.

Del Rey likes a certain kind of look to her vids and this one is no exception. Sepia toned, smoky, filtered and aged, she goes heavily for nostalgia and tragic romance. The clip is said to reflect the pain and sadness of not being able to spend your life with the person you love, and depicts suicide. It is a beautiful mood piece but like many clips, its real narrative is a little confused and takes a back seat to sultry set pieces of Del Rey and her actress friend, Jaime King.

In spite of that, viewed in isolation, the video clip is quite moving and lovely. However, if you’re familiar with Del Rey and her work, it may well be passed off (as some critics have) as being just another moody magazine spread of the singer in an array of diaphanous gowns. She does love girly and lacy! I dig her voice and her “thing”. She’s said to be going for a bad ass Nancy Sinatra look, and though I catch echoes of that, it is hard to see Del Rey as anything other than a true romantic.

Thumbs up for the sound and the look of Summertime Sadness, thumbs sideways for the clarity of the storytelling.

Here’s the clip, directed by Kyle Newman and Spencer Susser, Director of Photography: Morgan Susser, Editor: Spencer Susser, Producer: Tova Dann, Starring: Jaime King & Lana Del Rey

But even better is this vid of her version of Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra

As many of you will know, I write across genres and age groups. But publishing a picture book has always been a secret wish. Thanks to Adrianne Fitzpatrick and Books To Treasure Publishing, that dream has finally been realised. I’m delighted to share with you the full cover of my picture book entitled, SERIOUS SAS AND MESSY MAGDA. Below that are some of the internal ullustrations. Rachel Brigden has created such fun pictures for the book!

You can buy the book online through the usual outlets; including FISHPOND, BOOK DEPOSITORY, AMAZON UK, AMAZON, and the publisher themselves. It’s a perfect gift for any young family.

click to enlarge both