You sit down at your computer to listen to some music and just happen to stumble upon a brand new music video. It starts off with a girl walking from a warehouse-like building to a deli. The girl catches the interest of a butcher and then the screen is filled with glimpses of rain pouring onto the streets, blood dripping from blank walls and seemingly endless rows of pictures hanging to dry. It all seems normal enough until the butcher is standing in the rain outside the girl’s apartment just watching for her. He continues to stalk her and even ends up sneaking into her bedroom and lying next to her. Near the end of the video, the two are violently making out with each other while gallons of blood are being poured on them.

Maroon 5’s new music video for their song, “Animals”, has been receiving a lot of buzz for its attempt at being edgy. Performing sexual acts while covered in something else’s blood may be considered edgy but it is more mentally scarring than anything.

What ever happened to watching a video and not having to feel like bathing in holy water afterwards? It seems like nowadays every time an artist releases a new music video there is a competition for who can scar their audience the most. There has been a spike in nudity and absurd actions being performed in the nude in music videos and videos in general.

“I’ve really noticed a bunch of musicians that do things out of the norm. Like Maroon 5 is definitely not the band to release these kinds of things,” senior Amball Ravi said.

Recently, Nicki Minaj also came out with a music video for her song,”Anaconda”. The song itself is about buttocks, so naturally I was expecting for them to be in the video. What I was not expecting was for Nicki Minaj and all her backup dancers dressed in just enough cloth to avoid censorship while they twerked for a good three minutes.

Lady Gaga is known for being out there and edgy. Her big mark in the music industry is her edginess and willingness to express herself. She wears avant-garde outfits and participates in eccentric activities. However, she has used the attention brought on her to give recognition to good causes. She has become a role model for kids and teens who are bullied in life.

“I like the message Lady Gaga is trying to send. She actually has had results from her craziness,” Ravi said.

In order to stay relevant, artists need to be in the public eye. Be it good or bad, attention is attention, and it is what makes them successful. But they have to realize that what they do is seen by everyone. Sure, their actions may be aimed towards teenagers and young adults, but they aren’t the only ones that see these things. There are younger kids who watch these videos and get the wrong ideas of how to behave or what should be considered normal in society.

In the process of being artsy and respected in the music industry, artists are just making fools out of themselves. After the week or two that their video is in the limelight, they are forgotten. The big impact they wanted to have is nonexistent but the ridiculousness of their videos will live on for years.