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I feel like I’ve been wandering through the wilderness for a long time, just following the path, one foot in front of the other, on my way to some unknown destination, marching from one guidepost to the next. It wasn’t always like this. I used to forge my own path; I used to ignore the guideposts; I used to skip. I want to skip again. I want to see beyond the path.

This awakening has been brewing for a while now, but it was kicked into high gear recently when a friend started sharing videos of old Hip-Hop artists who released new songs. Watching those videos, it was like they hadn’t missed a beat. They put their talents on the shelf for a bit while they tried some new things, and when they pulled them back down, it’s like they never put them away.

I’m currently on a long run of back to back to back shows and it’s starting to drain my soul. Not long after watching those videos, I was on a long drive to the next gig, listening to creative people talk about their latest creative thing on a podcast – the closest I’ve allowed myself to get to creativity in years – and realized creativity is what I’ve been missing most. A while ago, a friend asked me to make him a beat for something he’s working on, like I used to do for the Wedding and Highlight videos I used to make, and I mostly brushed it off saying I didn’t do that anymore. I decided on that drive to take a stab at it, and after working on the beat for the day, I felt instantly better. I had ventured off the path a bit.

It hasn’t been long since that small creative venture, but I haven’t really stepped off the path since then. My kids were watching Piece by Piece tonight and loved it, which inspired me to put it on and as I watched, I was awakened once again. Watching Pharrell tell the story of his journey of creativity through such a creative framework reminded me of how I used to see the world, and the joy that music and other art that uses music to enhance itself brings to me even still.

I had a million thoughts running through my head as I ran through the path I had walked to get to this moment. I had to get them out. I had to do something. I had to write it down. So here we are… on this old blog that nobody even reads anymore because all the old blog readers are dead and I’m not even on Facebook anymore … as I write about music videos and movies that just inspired me to do something creative.

Without further ado, I give to you the first “Favorite Video Friday” in over 12 years. Who knows when I’ll post something again, but hopefully it’s not another 12 years.

LL Cool J – Murdergram Deux ft. Eminem

This is the video that started the journey: two icons of Hip-Hop dusting themselves off and showing why they’re icons. The beat is amazing, the hook is hypnotic, and these two haven’t lost a step in the years since we last saw them rap. It’s brand new, but it made me nostalgic.

Foo Fighters – The Teacher

The Foo Fighters were forced to have a comeback of sorts after the loss of their friend and bandmate, the great Taylor Hawkins. Much like the Foo Fighters were the way for Dave Grohl to come back from the death of his friend and bandmate, Kurt Cobain, this album is the way they processed their most recent loss and it shows through every track. There is pain in every lyric and every chord. This video is a great tribute to Dave’s mom, who he lost shortly after Taylor. I don’t expect you to watch all 10 minutes (even though it’s probably the best track on the album), but it perfectly encapsulates the journey I rambled on about at the beginning of this post. Looking back on my recent life feels like watching a video run through a neural net.

Pharrell Williams – Piece by Piece

Of course I had to include the feature track from the soundtrack of the movie that inspired this post. Pharrell knows how to write a hit, and this time he brought all his friends from his journey along with him in Lego form. I dare you to watch this video without having a smile on your face.

Sometimes you just gotta dance.

The Black Keys – Lonely Boy

This guy is my new favorite.

Cee Lo Green – Cry Baby

Jaleel White kind of bugs me (yes, that’s Urkel), but Cee Lo has the uncanny ability to make the unlikable cool. His voice sounds like someone talking through a warm glass of liquid dark chocolate.

Madeon – Pop Culture

This post was one video away from being another lip sync post, but I had to share this video. Bonus points for using Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks, Party Down).

I take it back. This guy is my new favorite.

I was always on the fence about Jimmy Fallon when he was on SNL. He just didn’t do it for me some of the time, and some of his characters were a little annoying, but he also produced some of my favorite characters (I guess Jimmy Fallon was kind of a microcosm of SNL as a whole). Plus, he was always giggling. So when it was announced he would replace the great Conan O’ Brien as host of Late Nite, I was more than a little skeptical.

Then it was announced that The Roots would be his house band and my whole world flipped, turned upside-down. I’d like to take a minute just sit right there … sorry. As I was saying, with one announcement, little white, Nomaaaa-shouting Jimmy Fallon gained street cred. One of the best concerts I’ve ever been to was an OK Player show where The Roots backed a bunch of MCs on the OK Player label in Baltimore. If Jimmy was smart enough to get The Roots to back him, I’d give him a chance.

Now, just as Jimmy did with his own image, I present to you 3 music videos in which he makes lame songs pretty damn cool.

Fallon was always at his best on SNL when he had a guitar in his hands.

There are so many things I like about this: ?uestlove on kazoo, Fisher Price Xylophone, Piano Flute, Quest playing the Guiro with an afro-pick, kazoo duet finale … The Roots just gave Carly Rae Jepsen street cred.

Okay, so I’d never call the Reading Rainbow theme lame, but the only thing that would make this any cooler would be a cameo by LeVar Burton … and maybe Troy crying in the corner.