Armond White presents recent music videos @Lincoln Center on 7/28

Love or hate his criticism (and I usually run 50/50), I've been to three or four of his annual reviews and always enjoy them and him. Besides, I never see the stuff on TV (probably the only one tonight I've caught will be "99 Problems"):

http://nypress.com/18/30/film/ArmondWhite.cfm

http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/programs/7-2005/nyvideofest05.htm

Not just movies but countless tv commercials and music videos have taken from The Conformist. Most are style without substance, but the best can be seen in my annual music-video presentation for the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Video Festival. (Showtime is Thursday, July 28, 6 p.m. at the Walter Reade Theater.) This year’s program, titled “Music to the Eyes,” highlights recent unique collaborations of music artists and video directors. Not snobbish high art, but what The Conformist typified: vibrant, visual pop.

It’s a chance to see what was the single best film of 2004—-Mark Romanek’s uncensored version of Jay-Z’s 99 Problems. I’ll tell why and also introduce two awe-inspiring animated fantasies by Fred Deakin of the pop group Lemon Jelly and the design group Airside (Come Down on Me and A Man Like Me), which really deserve to be called The Incredibles. Plus, rare Bjork, poignant Morrissey and a millennial surprise. It will be a musical White night.

—A.W.