Does Kanye West's "Heartless" emit "cover me!" pheromones? There's Idol winner Kris Allen's acoustic version that, shall we say?, sealed his victory; there's the Lady GaGa live concert cover, along with Ace Hood's "Ruthless" take on the number... The "Heartless" melody and lyrics must strike fellow musicians as somewhat of a non-fit in the dreary, AutoTuned oeuvre that was 808s and Heartbreak, begging for modification. Or else everyone just can't get enough of that effing song.

I'll be the first to say, "Heartless" lends itself to several genres; and The Fray's latest cover -- as an aching, earnest pop-rock ballad -- takes on a solid life of its own. The Fray first covered "Heartless" at Live Lounge,  which begat other fantastic covers, such as Leona Lewis' cover of  Snow Patrol's "Run" (get out the tissues and download that now), but has since released a proper single and music video.

As you might expect, the music video is an extremely bleak and lonely affair: a lovesick schoolboy doodles in his math notebook, and a forsaken, bleeding heart trudges in a defeated journey to nowhere, which instantly recalls Gnarls Barkley's video for "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" as well as Spoon's "Everything Hits At Once" video.

I didn't quite expect this song to work with kids as subjects, but the solitary, cerebral aspect of doodling is somehow painfully sad here - and the video becomes lovely, if a bit disturbing, when doodles morph into elaborate and nightmarish theme-park monsters...

+ Watch Kanye's version of "Heartless" after the jump! And by the way, Kanye approves. Phew.

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Denver's Meese take their name from founding brothers Patrick and Nathan Meese, not from multiple mooses (although I believe technically those are called "moose"). Along with Mike Ayars (guitar) and Ben Halay (drums) -- formerly of rival band For The Holiday -- the brothers have become some of the Mile-High City's favorite local rock stalwarts.

After years of paying their dues as frequent openers for fellow Coloradans The Fray, Meese are on the verge of busting out of their cozy Denver scene and into the big, bad mainstream. Their first major label release, Broadcast, is due out at the end of this month. Armed with a rising tide of irresistible pop gems, like "Tell Me It's Over" and "Next In Line," Broadcast looks like Meese's ticket to the big time. Get to know the band on "The 5," sit back, and watch them rise.

In the same way that it's understood that soap operas will have absurd story lines, people expect music videos to be over-the-top dramatic. Bands are generally in the business of communicating really big feelings, and super evocative music videos certainly help to accomplish that goal. And while a person can only handle so much slo-mo and so many sunset mountainsides, it's those unchecked melodramas that really stick in our minds, spawning everything from torrid one-night stands to Scott Stapp's career.

Last week Cage's "I Never Knew You" reminded us just how much a well-executed video can quicken the pulse. As usual, that got us to thinking... Which other videos reach down your throat, grab you by the heart and hand pump it until you think you're gonna pass out? What are the most compelling videos of all-time? In Buzzworthy's slightly comprehensive list below, you'll find the gut-wrenchingest, unflinchingest (and sometimes cheesiest) videos in recent history, so get close to the Kleenex. This list is not recommended for the infirm or the elderly.

The Cheesiest
+ Creed, "With Arms Wide Open" -- It's hard to believe that this video is actually for real. Watching it again now, I keep expecting a "Wipe that s$#* up" overdub to kick in and relieve the insane self-indulgence. Notoriously wack frontman Scott Stapp literally dodges asteroids at sunset and stands on a mountain with his arms spread, as the cameras circle, as if carried by slow motion eagles.

+ Chicago, "You're The Inspiration" -- Can I get away with describing this video as "difficult to watch?" Handily out-sapping those inscrutable Japanese karaoke videos, it's easier to eat a whole brick of cream cheese than it is to watch this video all the way through. That being said, definitely watch it.

The Saddest
+ Soul Asylum, "Runaway Train" -- The '90s invented that thing where tough-looking dudes enjoy music by standing around looking really sad and tuned out. It's no Toni Braxton "Un-Break My Heart," but this Soul Asylum video does help the grungers get into character with a sad slideshow of missing children.

+ R.E.M., "Everybody Hurts" -- Hold on! Stop! Everybody hit your breaks! Get up! Get out of your cars! Come on! Put on your little hats! Come on, do it! Dooo it! Come onnn! Little hats! Put your hands over your hearts! Sad break! Saaad break! Awww! (See also: Radiohead's amazing "Just").

The Scariest
+ Depeche Mode, "Wrong" -- Chicago will clog your arteries, but Depeche Mode will stop your heart. This terrifying video combines the edgy uncertainty of Radiohead's "Karma Police" with the supernatural creepiness of UNKLE's "Rabbit In Your Headlights," and comes out with one of the most disturbing videos I've ever seen.

+ The Fray, "Never Say Never" -- An everyday urban cityscape becomes a furious war-zone in The Fray's metaphorical new video. The violence of the uprising represents -- wait for it, wait for it -- the pain of a break-up! DRAMA!

The Darkest
+ Pearl Jam, "Jeremy" -- If you've been taking your MTV regularly like you're supposed to, you know that Pearl Jam recently released a never-before-seen director's cut of "Jeremy," with a much more explicit finish. See what all of Eddie Vedder's diabolical glares were really leading up to in one of grunge's darkest anthems.

+ Kanye West, "Flashing Lights" -- Don't be fooled by the muscle car, the thong-clad bikini girl or the Miami sunset. Don't be fooled by the cheery title, either. In this dead-serious drama, former Playboy playmate, Rita G, isn't stroking Kanye's ego... She's dispatching it to hell.

The Sexiest / Most Cinematic
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Ace Norton, who directed the new Fray video, once said "Give me a bucket of blood and a camera and I'm good to go!" Hell of a motto. One that inspired Fangoria (America's horror magazine since 1979) to describe him as "Someone who truly fits the description of Terrifyingly Gnarly."

So, what is the dude who directed Aesop Rock's zombie-fied "Coffee" video doing behind the reins of The Fray's "Never Say Never," a plaintive piano ballad packing the following awww-inducing lyrics:

"You're the queen of everything/ As far as the eye can see/ Under your command/ I will be your guardian/ When all is crumbling/ Steady your hand."

Basically he's turning their next-gen Coldplay into a suburban apocalypse. Norton uses the fall out around a neighborhood disaster as a metaphor for falsetto-singing frontman Isaac Slade's aching heart. Sparks explode from crumpled cars as panic-stricken civilians sprint down smoke-filled streets among soldiers and cops.

Slade walks calmly through the carnage, ignoring the pouring rain and danger, looking for the woman (played by Gary Unmarried's Jaime King!) who brought his world crumbling down as he pleads with her, "Don't let me go!"

"Never Say Never" sounds super dramatic, right? Well, that's because it is.

I don't wanna shatter any illusions here, but if you're looking to a professional blogger for advice on anything romantic, you have some serious thinking to do. That's why I'm handing this Valentine's Day post off to a pro. John Vesely, aka Secondhand Serenade has more magnetism in one frosted tip than the whole rest of the Internet combined. Can the Internet play piano and sing with its eyes closed? No. It doesn't even have feelings (or eyes). All it can do is make a heart out of a bracket and a three. Weak. John Vesely was born to tell you he loves you. Stick with him. Here's a special Valentine's Day message and a crazy romantic love-playlist from the man himself:

I've always been a lover, not a fighter which is why I love this time of year. And one of my true loves is obviously music. So to come up with a list of long songs/videos is no problem for a guy like me. It's the time of year where you hear songs you may have heard 100 times before, but you suddenly realize they have a special meaning or remind you of someone close to your heart. So hopefully you can take a look at the videos I decided to go with, and let it remind you of whoever may be that certain someone for you.

+ Jason Mraz, "I'm Yours" - A simple song and a simple video. Both are undeniable.
+ The Fray, "You Found Me" - The video showcases both a great band and a beautiful city.
+ Thriving Ivory, "Angels on the Moon" - These guys are good friends of mine. They went all out on this video.
+ Plain White T’s, "Hey There Deliah" - One of the biggest songs and best videos of a few years back.
+ Katy Perry, "Thinking of You" - I love her retro style, which is overly evident in this video.
+ Kanye West, "Love Lockdown" - Kanye is always evolving and this is a colorful, left-of-center display of his art.
+ Justin Nozuka, "After Tonight" - He's a great new young talent, which is clear as day in this, his first video.
+ R. Kelly, "Real Talk" - Because the video is just as real as the song.
+ We The Kings, "Secret Valentine" - Travis's hair turns me on.
+ Augustana, "Sweet and Low" - I love how the song was written it was written very personally.

Wow ... Thanks, John!!

Want more Valentine's Day playlists? OK. I got those, too. Do you love me yet? Please...?

+ V-Day Playlist: Let Me Count The Ways (Dashboard, Bright Eyes, Beyonce, etc)
+ V-Day Playlist: Love SUCKS (Alanis, Ashanti, Incubus, etc)
+ V-Day Playlist: Celebrity Wedding Songs (Lonestar, Marvin Gaye, Edwin McCain, etc)

<3<3<3

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Ne-Yo's new "Go On Girl" video -- some have said it's the male version of "Irreplaceable," which makes sense since Ne-Yo co-wrote it -- is more than just a little straightforward -- it's nothing but Ne-Yo in a shiny vinyl jacket and salacious shots of totally built video chicks. It's not exactly what we'd expect from a break-up ballad video, but still, it makes good use of the old black, white and grey video standby.

Watch more of our favorite (more or less) black and white videos by Prince (sorry, but you can't touch "Black Sweat"), John Legend, The Fray, Beyonce, and, of course, Michael Jackson, after the jump...

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