# Really good music videos

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 9, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568 "2008-04-09T04:10:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/1 "2008-04-09T04:10:21Z")

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What are some really good music videos? I don’t just mean “the video to a song you really like” but one where the video itself as well as the song is just great.

There is obviously Aha’s [Take On Me](http://youtube.com/watch?v=-P_TV-gierM) that raised the bar for music videos when it came out in 1985 and won MTV’s “Best video of the 1980s” award on New Year’s Eve 1990…

One I’d recommend is Siouxsie and the Banshees’ [Face to Face](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4y6M2AeQ00) from the Batman Returns soundtrack. GORGEOUS video.

What are some others you’d like to share?

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**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/2 "2008-04-09T04:23:40Z")

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Tom Petty has done a number of very good videos. My favorites:

[Don’t Come Around Here No More](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7gWzWqJu1k) (Alice in Wonderland setting, with TP as the Mad Hatter)

[You Got Lucky](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m7EkhhX8vE) (Post- Apolcalyptic setting, and my favorite video of all time)

[Into the Great Wide Open](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-gVVGD7j3E) (starring Johnny Depp)

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**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/3 "2008-04-09T04:24:33Z")

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The most awesomest video of all time: [Knights of Cydonia](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV1bRfLHA3A) by Muse

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**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/4 "2008-04-09T04:28:23Z")

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Meat Loaf’s videos are usually better than the songs.

Likewise Mariah Carey.

Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby, One More Time” sure made Catholic school look good. But, then, I’m a guy. YMMV.

Prince’s “When Doves Cry”.

Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”.

Sting? The Police? “Wrapped Around Your Finger”. The one with all the candlesticks.

Yes, I am an old geezer.

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**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/5 "2008-04-09T04:36:08Z")

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Daft Punk’s Around the World

Orbital’s The Box

Orbital’s The Saint

Orbital’s Halcyon

Deep Forest’s Sweet Lullaby

You can see the Orbital videos on his [official site](http://www.loopz.co.uk/), under the video catagory.

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**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/6 "2008-04-09T04:36:15Z")

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[Mr. Brightside](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BnwLf88t_Wc), by The Killers. Wonderful!

Dispatch never did a music video for [The General](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BnwLf88t_Wc), but their live performance here is excellent.

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**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/7 "2008-04-09T04:48:54Z")

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I always liked:

[Criminal](http://youtube.com/watch?v=uTpvjNn2BUM) by Fiona Apple. Very creepy video and I love the slow panning shots on all the weird stuff like the stuffed animal with the phallic nose and the car. Also, I wish I owned the house that they’re hanging out in. And it has a TV that comes up out of the floor.

[Black and White Town](http://youtube.com/watch?v=NRir5AyF6dQ) by the Doves. That video really does fit the song very well because it captures the sense of boredom and frustration of the lower class British kids trapped in a dead end town. I love the way the video “climaxes” at the end with the two girls kissing and the boys fighting each other.

[The Rest Will Follow](http://youtube.com/watch?v=XHkf2H43Rak) by And You Will Know Us By Our Long Pretentious Fucking Name, I mean, The Trail of Dead. I think the song sucks, but the video is badass. I mean, it has Zeppelins, Bravehearts, nuclear bombs, a black knight, a quasi-Communist workers’ movement…did they realize how unintentionally ridiculous this video is?

[Your Life Is Now](http://youtube.com/watch?v=oj6O-HD0SlI) by John Mellencamp. And not just because my sister and I are in the video, either. (She’s holding the plate at :10 and I am carrying the cross in the parade at 0:58.) I think the video fits the song really well. Some radio versions of this song, for some reason, have a guitar solo instead of the violin solo. That pisses me off. Why did they do that? John Mellencamp is the man.

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**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/8 "2008-04-09T05:00:42Z")

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Regina Spektor strikes me as an artist who has consistently good videos. Check out [reginaspektor.com](http://reginaspektor.com). Especially look up “Us”, “Fidelity”, and the second version of “Better” (a field full of Reginas!)

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**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/9 "2008-04-09T05:11:40Z")

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[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMMQqE9x6i4)

[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyJbIOZjS8)

[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j39ABZyzek)

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**Author:** ![Pollux\_Oil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/858c86/32.png) [@Pollux\_Oil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pollux_Oil)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/10 "2008-04-09T05:17:56Z")

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Whenever somebody asks this, my first response is [Hell Bent, by Kenna](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owS1coeoWEc). It’s a great song, too.

Tool does some pretty awesome videos too, my personal favorite is the one for [Schism](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhjG47gtMCo&feature=related).

I’m also a fan of the video for [Perfect Drug](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0s5UOVsMDg) by Nine Inch Nails.

A sillier video that I love is for [Want You Bad](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEvozNlL8V0) by The Offspring. It’s not exactly a cinematic masterpiece by far, but my enjoyment of it went up tenfold when I realized that Shane from Survivor was in it. 😃

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**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/11 "2008-04-09T05:19:17Z")

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_Paranoid Android_, Radiohead  
_Sabotage_, Beastie Boys  
_Triumph_, Wu-Tang Clan

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**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/12 "2008-04-09T05:46:22Z")

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Innuendo by Queen

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**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/13 "2008-04-09T05:49:10Z")

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My favorite has always been “Smack My Bitch Up” by Prodigy.

It is NSFW, and you can watch it [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNrhmbc0y_8) if you have a Youtube account.

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**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/14 "2008-04-09T05:52:49Z")

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Chemical Brothers:  
[Let Forever Be](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmpxsk3dHaA)  
[Believe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_IkUysQASQ)

Beck:  
[Girl](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13iLkTrDlbI)

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**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/15 "2008-04-09T05:56:31Z")

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[QUOTE=Terminus Est]  
The most awesomest video of all time: [Knights of Cydonia](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV1bRfLHA3A) by Muse  
[/QUOTE]

That was something else. We need more videos like that.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/16 "2008-04-09T06:48:29Z")

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[Just](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=R5X7HKxpiQA) - Radiohead  
[Sweetest Thing](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1wfv3lJs5qE) - U2

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**Author:** ![exclamation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/858c86/32.png) [@exclamation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exclamation)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/17 "2008-04-09T06:55:15Z")

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Fatboy Slim’s _Weapon of Choice_. Christopher Walken dancing? HELL YES.

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**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/18 "2008-04-09T07:00:36Z")

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Paul Kelly (an Australian singer-songwriter who is a legend over here but barely known elsewhere) with [God Told Me To](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptzrY7JuG_4). An amazing, but very dark, one-shot video.

In the interests of full disclosure, I had some minor involvement in the creation of this video, but I honestly think it’s one of the coolest clips I’ve seen in a long time. And it won the Inside Film award for Best Music Video. Yay!

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**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/19 "2008-04-09T07:07:55Z")

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I must concur. That video for Knights wins, hands down. I didn’t even pay attention to the song. Just the riffs and watching that video is all i needed.

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**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568/20 "2008-04-09T07:20:00Z")

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[The Ghost of You](http://youtube.com/watch?v=7sJqEccwliQ), by My Chemical Romance.

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-good-music-videos/444568.md?page=2)
