I'd like to draw some parallels. Here's some examples of some pop music that can still be dark, titillating, subversive even. These are some artists I think are doing that little extra something beyond just auto-tuning their vocals and posing for the camera.
Compare that Natalia Kills video to this one:
Yes, one is pop music and the other is extreme metal, but they both have an artistic value, no? One is using a dark and twisted version of Alice in Wonderland to talk about the disillusionment with relationships and being happy, while the other turns the tables on the meat industry (Cattle Decapitation are known proponents of vegetarianism).
Here's a few others I like:
This is sexy as hell, but also really dark for pop music. Reminds me a lot of when Portishead first came out. Nihilism, stoicism, sex and love? Check.
Now compare to this:
Yes, I've posted this video already, but I like the Lynchian-Lost-Highway/Radiohead-Karma-Police vibe of both videos as a contrast.
Now this:
Lady Gaga is some sort of hybrid between Madonna and Marilyn Manson. Listen to those lyrics again. Now think about the imagery used in the video and tell me she doesn't share some creative genetic material with this:
And:
Florence and the Machine are basically worshipping at the altar of Annie Lennox by way of the Lost Boys. While the video isn't really special, their sound and her lyrics are. Often full of angst, unrequited love, loss, death and suicide. Not bad for harmless pop, right? Since I'm comparing pop to rock/metal, instead of using a Eurthymics video, I'll use another band which is similar (in fact, it'd be kinda cool to see this group cover a Florence and the Machine song like Drumming Song, for instance).
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