Beyonce and Lady Gaga Break Out the Big Guns for "Video Phone"

Good news for those who have completely finished their shot-by-shot analysis of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video: The video for Beyoncé's "Video Phone (Remix)" featuring Gaga, off the I Am… Sasha Fierce reissue, was unveiled last night, and like "Bad Romance," it's an almost seizure-inducing parade of cinematic homages and wardrobe changes. From the opening shot — a tribute to the classic slow-motion walk in Reservoir Dogs — it's obvious that "Video Phone" is a clip even our movie critic Peter Travers could love, with references to Flashdance, Grindhouse and Marlon Brando.

Check out hot shots of Beyoncé onstage and off.

The first half of "Video Phone" finds Beyoncé dancing with camera-headed figures that look like 21st century Residents. At the 2:30 mark, a demure Lady Gaga makes her first appearance, and that's when the gunplay with large, colorful plastic weapons begins. At times throughout the Hype Williams-directed video, it seems like Beyoncé is emulating Katy Perry — or at least Katy Perry emulating Bettie Page — and M.I.A.

Lady Gaga's wildest looks: don't miss her most fierce fashion moments.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, the two divas also collaborated on the track "Telephone" off Gaga's own The Fame Monster, due out November 23rd. The deluxe Sasha Fierce is scheduled for release the next day, November 24th. It was Gaga overload last night for fans of the "Poker Face" singer: our onetime cover star also appeared on yesterday's episode of Gossip Girl, performing "Bad Romance."

Related Stories:
• Sneak Peek: Lady Gaga Dances in Red Sequins on "Gossip Girl"
• Lady Gaga Premieres "Bad Romance," Her Craziest Video Yet
• Lady Gaga and Beyonce Team Up for "Video Phone" Video

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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