MTV Video Music Awards: Our Picks (VIDEOS)

The VMAs are back, and we have our fingers crossed for another Kanye Moment, but for now, we'll focus on what this event is all about. Choices have been made that aren't easy to ignore -- most egregiously Arcade Fire's interactive "We Used to Wait" video getting no recognition. But we're not here to mourn the neglected. We're here to judge what's been given us, and judge we will. Note: we're not looking at the quality of the songs here, or artists even, but on the main event -- the video themselves. Though it doesn't hurt if the song doesn't grate on our ears.

Take a look, and let us know your favorite in the comments:

Best Pop Video: Katy Perry, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"

Yes, we live in a world where Adele, Britney Spears and Pitbull are nominated in the same category. But lucky for us, we don't have to make that touch choice, thanks to Katy Perry's refreshingly poppy "Last Friday Night." Perry in headgear plus guest appearances by Hanson and Kenny G make this video pop gold in our book.

Also nominated:

Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
Britney Spears, "Till the World Ends"
Bruno Mars, "Grenade"
Pitbull f/ Ne-Yo, Nayer, and Afrojack, "Give Me Everything"

Best Rock Video: Foo Fighters, "Walk"

The Foo Fighters make everyone in this category -- excepting The Black Keys -- look incredibly lightweight, probably because there needs to be a separate category for anemic rock. Watching the anger rise inside Dave Grohl as he sits in traffic is enough to convince us. Ending with a classic 90s jam session scene makes it a no-brainer.

Also nominated:

Cage The Elephant, "Shake Me Down"
Foster the People, "Pumped Up Kicks"
Mumford & Sons, "The Cave"
The Black Keys, "Howlin' For You"

Best Hip Hop Video: Lil Wayne, "6 Foot, 7 Foot"

This is a category where we actually saw something redeeming in many of the videos, whether it be the jerky effects on Chris Brown's "Look At Me Now" or the backstage pass on Lupe Fiasco's "The Show Must Go On." Ultimately, the contrasting black-and-white opening and explosion into color on Kanye West's "All Of The Lights" almost hypnotized us into choosing it, but Lil Wayne's homage to "Inception" won us over with its surrealism, especially once Cory Gunz shows up.

Also nominated:

Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, "Look At Me Now"
Kanye West f/ Rihanna and Kid Cudi, "All Of The Lights"
Lil Wayne, "6 Foot, 7 Foot"
Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"

Best Female Video: Beyoncé, "Run the World (Girls)"

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" starts strong but loses steam. Beyoncé, on the other hand, keeps a solid theme throughout -- girls running the world -- and has no problem convincing us of it.

Also nominated:

Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
Katy Perry, "Firework"
Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"
Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"

Best Male Video: Cee-Lo Green, "Fuck You"

Cee-Lo Green's "Fuck You" to his former life is satisfying to anyone who had a less-than-ideal social life growing up. Cutting the vulgarity with a sugared Motown feel is pure genius.

Warning: This video contains obscenity.

Also nominated:

Bruno Mars, "Grenade"
Eminem f/ Rihanna, "Love the Way You Lie"
Justin Bieber, "U Smile"
Kanye West f/ Rihanna and Kid Cudi, "All Of The Lights"

Best Collaboration: Nicki Minaj and Drake, "Moment 4 Life"

Kid Cudi's 30 second appearance on "All Of The Lights" was almost enough to sway us, but the truest collaboration of the bunch has to be Nicki Minaj and Drake locking eyes in "Moment 4 Life."

Also nominated:

Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, "Look At Me Now"
Kanye West f/ Rihanna and Kid Cudi, "All Of The Lights"
Katy Perry f/ Kanye West, "E.T."
Pitbull f/ Ne-Yo, Nayer, and Afrojack, "Give Me Everything"

Best Music Video With a Message

We're pretending this category doesn't exist.

Video of the Year: The Beastie Boys, "Make Some Noise"

Tyler the Creator eating a cockroach is a tempting choice here, but The Beastie Boys' star-studded party in the streets on "Make Some Noise" gives us the kind of party only they can pull off without being annoying. Elijah Wood, Seth Rogen, Chloe Sevigny, Ted Danson, Kirsten Dunst, and many, many more come along for the ride.

Also nominated:

Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
Bruno Mars, "Grenade"
Katy Perry, "Firework"
Tyler, The Creator, "Yonkers"

Comments

[moonflowerjewelry]

09:15 AM on 08/29/2011

This is on the front page... why?

When MTV was new, it was music videos 24-7. No schmaltz. By the early 1990's the non-music crept in. It's been over ten years since I even attempted to FIND a video on either MTV or VH1 - at that point is was at a ridiculous hour of the morning that nobody with a job has a right to be watching television.

It's no longer socially relevant, if it ever was. Of course, I still miss Nirvana.

[zekolama]

08:41 AM on 08/29/2011

Who wants to watch of bunch of second and third rate talents lip syncing to CD's!

[zekolama]

08:22 AM on 08/29/2011

The VMA's are a useless event any more and should die a quick death. Music Videos have little or no significant cultural impact now. Nobody watches or cares about them anymore. They are mostly and afterthought. And the joke is that they are hosted by MTV which does even show music videos anymore.

The VMA's are now nothing more than a glitzy publicity and promotional event for the music industry. It has no real impact anymore on chart success or the buying public.

[newwavershoegazerx]

03:34 AM on 08/29/2011

I have always wished the VMAs were more about the actual artistry of the videos instead of what singer/musician is popular at the time. They rarely cross. The VMAs have been a joke for a loooong time. I'm so glad I was able to watch MTV as a creative 9 or 10 year old shortly after it began, when there wasn't a "formula" to music videos yet. Without it, I may not have become a photographer...or a walking 80's music encyclopedia, but that's another matter.

[whomod]

03:03 AM on 08/29/2011

SPAM!

[Contact1972]

02:03 AM on 08/29/2011

Oy-did Adele win anything? Hope so.

[Electric Evil]

01:11 AM on 08/29/2011

Flagged - Spammer

[bearchao]

01:17 AM on 08/29/2011

Spammer

[Bud Budha]

11:35 PM on 08/28/2011

Does MTV show videos anymore? When channelsurfing I just see these dopey teen preganancy shows and the Jersey Shore crew picking up American girls in Italy. What happened to da music???

[Contact1972]

02:03 AM on 08/29/2011

They really need to stop calling it music television.

[HellBank]

10:14 PM on 08/28/2011

I skipped going to VMA this year; even going as 'press' it's kinda boring.

[browneyeshy]

09:32 PM on 08/28/2011

Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." I love the part when the percussion vibrates the water in the glasses (like in Jurassic Park), but the ninja dancer is absolutely mesmerizing. Great song and amazing talent. Puts Perry to shame.

[Contact1972]

02:04 AM on 08/29/2011

Adeles entire album 21 is amazing.

[x1cness]

03:37 AM on 08/29/2011

I don't know how that dancing had anything to do with the video and/or the lyrics of the song.

[Hollywooddeed]

09:17 PM on 08/28/2011

Not that it's a bad thing, but does Beyonce ever wear pants?

[IbrahimSapien]

08:51 PM on 08/28/2011

At the relatively old age of 31, MTV means absolutely nothing to me now, and hasn't since about 2000, when MTV shifted from covering diverse styles and ranges of music, and instead became dominated by children-targeting pop junk like Britney Spears. Things have only ever gotten worse since then. Great music is still being made, but you won't find any of it on MTV.

[austerlitz1805]

08:35 PM on 08/28/2011

I didn't realize there were so many 12 year-olds on HuffPost. I am kind of disgusted they would cover this.

[Reality30303]

08:02 PM on 08/28/2011

Beyonce deserves nothing. She needs to learn to read, write and speak.

[ThundercatsHoooo]

07:55 PM on 08/28/2011

Katy Perry's music is a crime against humanity. If she wins any award over Adele it will just confirm how irrelevant MTV really is when it comes to music.