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It's Monday again, and time for another round of music video critiques. Christina isn't here this week, so Jackie and Martina are flying solo. This week they take a look at an older video from Semi Precious Weapons, and then they take a look at the new video from Taylor Swift.

Semi Precious Weapons

BIO: (from allmusic.com)

Semi Precious Weapons is the creation of Chicago born gay/ambisexual singer/songwriter Justin Tranter, a charismatic frontperson with a long history of outrageous performances. Tranter fell under the spell of Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid when he was a boy, and after seeing Courtney Love and Hole perform, his course was firmly set. He wanted to be a rock star. Realizing he wanted to write songs, as well as sing them, he begged his parents to get him a piano and taught himself to play. He went to a music and arts high school where he studied classical and pop piano, before moving on to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Being a practical man, he studied the business side of the music business, as well as songwriting when he was at Berklee. While getting his degree he founded Musicians With a Mission, a scholarship fund for GLBT youth education. He also put out his first solo album, Scratched, a piano based album that turned the conventions of pop songwriting inside out with its dramatic flair.

After graduation he moved to New York and put together his first band. They were going to be the house band for an off Broadway play called Rockstars NYC, but the show only ran for three weeks. Still, Tranter's over the top performances started a buzz. His second album, Tear Me Together was meant to push emotional buttons with depictions of the extremes of love and hate, life and death. The album cover art featured Tranter's "dead" body being dragged out of a bathroom and people either loved it or hated it. But Tranter knew the value of a good visual, and the record's notoriety help increase his underground profile.

Tranter finally decided he wanted a full-tilt rock band. Bassist Cole Whittle, his college roommate knew drummer Dan Crean,and the producer of Tear Me Together introduced them to guitarist Aaron Lee Tasjan. The minute they played together something clicked and they all had the same ideas about rock's power to outrage people. The band's sound borrows from glam, garage, punk, and new wave funk, but it's distilled into their own high-octane Molotov cocktail. After their first gigs in 2004 they landed a high profile manager, former Marc Bolan/T. Rex publicist B.P. Fallon. He brought Tony Visconti, legendary for his work with David Bowie, to a gig and he offered to help produce an album for the band. We Love You was originally released on their own label, Precious Records, and was produced by the band with the aid of Mario McNulty (T. Rex, Laurie Anderson) and Visconti. The album was financed by Tranter's booming jewelry business. (Urban Outfitters and Hot Topic have moved over 100,000 necklaces designed by Tranter featuring the band's guns and heart logo. He also designs high-end gold and diamond skulls for Barney's.) The first video, for "Magnetic Baby," showed Tranter making out with girls, which upset some of his longtime gay fans, proving his point that rock can still outrage people if it's done right. We Love You brought offers from many major labels, but the band ignored them in favor of Razor and Tie, who will allow them to continue to chart their own decadent path. The album was released nationally in September of 2008.

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Taylor Swift

BIO: (from allmusic.com)

Taylor Swift became one of country-pop's brightest (and youngest) faces in 2006, when the 16-year-old vocalist released her first album. Although new to the American public, Swift had been performing since early childhood, taking inspiration and encouragement from her opera-singing grandmother. She sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a Philadelphia 76ers game at the age of 11; the following year, she began practicing her guitar skills for several hours each day, only stopping when her fingers began to bleed. Swift's parents realized their child's dedication and began making regular visits to Nashville, TN, where Swift would perform casually and meet with songwriters in the area. The family then decided to move from their native Pennsylvania to an outlying Nashville suburb, which accelerated Swift's career.

While performing at the intimate Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Swift caught the eye of music industry veteran Scott Borchetta, who signed her to his newly formed label. Swift joined the roster at Big Machine Records and released her debut single, "Tim McGraw," in August 2006. The song drew upon her experience as a lovelorn high-school student, a theme that Swift revisited throughout her self-titled debut album. Released in late 2008, Taylor Swift catapulted the young songwriter to stardom, spawning a handful of hits (five consecutive Top Ten singles, a new record for a female solo artist) while earning multi-platinum sales. Swift also received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, an award she ultimately lost to Amy Winehouse. Two subsequent EPs -- Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection and Beautiful Eyes -- helped maintain Swift's popularity while whetting public demand for her sophomore release, Fearless, which arrived in November 2008.

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MYSPACE

LAST FM

CMT

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