Haven’t watched music videos in years, probably since '90. A-Ha’s Take On Me was always my favorite, though. Definitely one of those “ahead of it’s time” videos in terms of both content and imagery.
If I were to pick only one, I’d have to pick “The Perfect Drug” by NiN. I’ve never seen a better one.
If I got to pick a few more, I’d add " Strange little girls" by Tori Amos, " Pure Morning" by Placebo, " Look Who’s Perfect Now" by Transister, " Open Your Eyes" by Goldfinger, " “Shame” by Stabbing Westward, " Side" by Travis, " Living on the Edge" by Aerosmith, “Girl from Mars” by Ash, “Defy you” by The Offspring, “Walking in my shoes” by Depeche Mode, and, even though it’s the only song I truly like by them, “One” by Metalica since it brings back early memories of MTV.
I thought I was the only Aerosmith fan around (or the only one who’d openly admit to luuuuurving them),Arizona.
What’s the name of that one video where the two singers/band members(??)are made of Legos? That video rocks…but only because it’s kind of wierd to watch.I like wierd things.
IDBB
Try the video that Johnny Cash made for his “Hurt” cover. I consider it highly excellent.
Fell in Love with a Girl by The White Stripes.
I was also going to mention Cryin’ by Aerosmith.
I second that. Some of those reality / unreality shots really are unlike anything I’ve seen.
Minimalist videos rawk:
“Bastards of Young” by the Replacements. Nothing but a shot of a speaker that slowly zooms away, then the speaker gets kicked over by an angry pnk at the end of the song.
“No Surprises” by Radiohead. A head shot of Thom Yorke, then we see water slowly creeping up over his head. The water remains there for a long time while Thom keeps inging, looking exhausted. One shot, no edits. Very creepily effective.
The was one by the group Eleven (directed by Spike Jonze) of a man on fire running down a street in slow motion. He took like 15-20 second of actual uncut footage and stretched it into 3 minutes. I don’t remember the name of the song though.
“REM” stands for Rapid Eye Movement; it’s the fluttering movement your eyelids make when you are dreaming.
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This is true, however R.E.M. did not have this meaning in mind when they chose it.
As others have said, it was a completely random choice following a night of brainstorming (Twisted Kites was another of the more popular choices of that brainstroming session).
They wanted a name that didn’t conjure an image of the band’s sound, and particularly in the early days, they specifically said that they did not want R.E.M. to mean ‘rapid eye movement’ in the context of their band.
It was a completely meaningless, random name.
All of Bjork’s videos are amazing, but I love love love Oh so quiet because it is just so happy (and she dances with a mailbox!), Bachelorette is neat, and Pagan Poetry all for the full view of her dress drool
I also think that the video clip for Elephant Love Medly is quite possibly the cutest video clip in the whole world
A-ha “Take on Me” is my all time favourite video.
Others that deserve mention:
U2 - The Sweetest Thing
Barenaked Ladies - One Week
Toby Keith - Who’s Your Daddy
Guns N Roses - November Rain
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Blues Traveler - Run Around
Outcast - Mrs. Jackson
Robbie Williams - Let Me Entertain You
Blink 182 - pretty much any of their videos
Anybody remember the name of the song/video that was so popular in Europe for the '98 World Cup? That was a great video.
“Cup of Life” by Ricky Martin I think is the one you’re thinking of,catnoe.
fizgig–THANKS!That’s IT…the only part of the song I could remember was 'and it bears repeating now…". That video is awesome.
The “Cry” video by Aerosmith is also pretty damned cool.
IDBB
No, the song I was thinking of was an instrumental. The teams were represented by children painted in the national team colors. You saw the kids walking, running and riding a bus to their meet. When I find it I’ll let you know, it’s driving me nuts now.
By Dario G? Carnival de Paris, maybe?
Dario G would be my guess too.
Useless trivia: Dario G is not a faceless Italian DJ, as the name might suggest, but two British remixers who support Crewe Alexandra. Crewe’s long-serving manager is Dario Gradi, hence the name.
Journey’s Separate Ways is definitely my favorite. 2 grown men fighting over a sultry mannequin and playing air instruments. Wow.
Seriously, though, my favorite videos are the ones that have great choreography. When they play, I can’t help but watch, even if I’ve seen them a hundred times.
Beat It by Michael Jackson is still awesome. Too bad MJ’s turned into a freak of nature because he once had it going on.
Vogue by Madonna. It is irresistible to watch this video and not try and imitate the arm moves.
Bye, Bye, Bye by 'nSync and You Drive Me Crazy by Britney Spears because they are so high energy and the songs are catchy. This is the type of music created specifically for video.
And then anything with Shania Twain because she is so drop dead gorgeous you can’t help but look at her.
Anyone seen any of Bently Rhythm Ace’s clips?
them from gutbuster: eskimos dancing
they also ahve another one entirely in reverse which is pretty cool
similairly
Pharyde: runnin’
Le Rhythms DIgitales; Hey you whats that sound. - a dude walking round ith a casio keyboard zapping peopl into oldschool garb and who start dancing adown the street
prodigy: voodoo people is fantastic
startrekkin’
Since I have posted this thread, I have downloaded most of the videos mentioned and am very pleased with the results. So much so that when confronted with a research paper for English of my own choice I chose how music videos have evolved and their effect on society. Does anybody know any good cites I can use on that topic by any chance? Maybe a web site that shows a timeline of landmark videos or something like that?
A fourth hand for Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice. I DARE anyone to watch it without grinning and shaking their money maker just a teensy bit. Walken is God.
Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight, Tonight holds a special place in everyone’s heart, don’t it?
Tool’s videos are consistently amazing, including the overlooked Stinkfist and of course Prison Sex / Sober.
Yet another vote for a-ha’s “Take On Me” being the archetypical video.
I’m very fond of the Talking Heads’ “And She Was” video as well. Then there’s Peter Gabriel’s stop-motion videos - someone’s already mentioned “Sledgehammer,” but “Big Time” and “Digging in the Dirt,” and to a lesser degree “Steam,” are in the same style.
A case could be made for Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week.” As one of the band members says, “We had silver dancing devil-girls, motorcycle stunts, and we got to drive around in the General Lee. This is everything I ever wanted when I was eight!”