# What is the most boring music video you've ever seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579 "2004-02-28T04:32:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/21 "2004-02-29T07:16:40Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > I suppose out of context the video for “Leave It” is fairly tame, but at the time there were something like 20 different versions of the video, all done on computer, so it was groundbreaking at the time, and a nice little gimmick to keep you glued to the TV (to insure you could say “I saw ALL the versions of the YES video!”) I remember being excited about trying to see all the versions, but once it dawned on me that each version was practically identical except for a few minor substitutions, I got bored with the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/22 "2004-02-29T13:44:41Z")
The video for Bright Eyes’ _Lover I Don’t have To Love_ is done as a karaoke video. Literally. There are all these meaningless shots of people walking along the beach etc. while the words are highlighted as they’re being sung. It’s a nice idea, but really boring to watch. > [@](#): > > _originally posted by Big Bad Voodoo Lou_ > The song is called “Maps,” and it surprised me that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs chose it for a single. I haven’t heard their current album yet, but I own their EP, and all five of the songs on there are full of raw, raunchy rock and roll energy. I would have expected really wild, arty, sexy, sweaty videos from them, but I admit “Maps” leaves me a little cold. I’ve got the album, and the first EP. _Maps_ is probably my favourite song (followed by _Art Star_. It’s not like their other stuff, but it’s so gorgeously honest and raw. I can’t comment on the video, though. You should get the album; it’s very good, and most of the songs are of the raw raunch mould. Only _No Modern Romance_ and _Y Control_ have that more introspective sound. ---
**Author:** ![Patr100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Patr100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patr100)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/23 "2004-02-29T14:29:31Z")
One that is supposed to be “entertaining” but just makes me switch over is “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel. Never liked the song, which doesn’t help, though some of his earlier solo stuff was good. It just seemed a waste of a lot of hours of jerky still frame animation. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/24 "2004-02-29T14:45:00Z")
Pavement made a video (don’t remember the song title) that was a bathtub filling up with water. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/25 "2004-02-29T15:03:59Z")
Sorry, you’re all wrong. The most boring video is _Bastards Of Young_ by **The Replacements’** off the album _Tim_ which consisted of nothing but a black & white shot of a stereo speaker. Genius in its own way and a kick-ass song to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/26 "2004-02-29T16:08:39Z")
Darn you, **Hodge**! That’s the video I came here to talk about! ---
**Author:** ![gooti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gooti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gooti)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/27 "2004-02-29T20:33:28Z")
> [@Skwerl](#): > > That’s Maxwell, I think. I believe it was just called “Love Song” but I might be wrong. According to some VH1 specials, that video’s dead sexy and gets tha ladiez in the mood. D’Angelo…not Maxwell. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/28 "2004-02-29T23:18:53Z")
“Cry” by Godley & Creme. It’s just close-ups of faces singing the song, slowly fading from one face to the other, and filmed in black and white. It’s insanely boring, IMHO. I remember when Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” video came out with the CG morphing faces, some critics compared it to “Cry” and claimed “It’s already been done, and been done _better_!” :rolleyes: The slow wipes from face to face isn’t the same thing at all, and it isn’t even interesting to look at. I concur that most concert-type videos are a snooze, too, but I will admit a fondness for Van Halen’s “Jump.” No story or special effects, just the band performing and goofing off, but it looks like they’re having fun and is fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/29 "2004-02-29T23:58:22Z")
Sinaed’s “Nothing compares to you.” Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/30 "2004-03-01T00:06:12Z")
> [@Lisa-go-Blind](#): > > Darn you, **Hodge**! That’s the video I came here to talk about! Yep, **Hodge** stole my video too. 🙂 Man, I can’t wait til I get home and can dig up some Replacements… ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/31 "2004-03-01T00:21:50Z")
> [@Gr8Kat](#): > > …but I will admit a fondness for Van Halen’s “Jump.” No story or special effects, just the band performing and goofing off… While were on the subject of stealing posts. 🙂 Both _Jump_ and _Start Me Up_ by the Stones. I always picture the backstory being something along the lines of “Ok guys, our video budget is $12.37. We’ll roll camera, you lip-synch.” ---
**Author:** ![Skwerl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Skwerl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skwerl)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/32 "2004-03-01T01:11:53Z")
[QUOTE=FilmGeek] The Yeah Yeah Yeahs video. I don’t know the name of the song but it goes “they don’t love you like I love you” about 6 billion times. Boring song, boring video. [QUOTE] I actually kind of like this video. The singer seems to act some emotion into it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/33 "2004-03-01T01:44:14Z")
“The Robots” by Kraftwerk. You get to watch four Kraftwerk-looking mechanical manequins move their arms and heads around. Thankfully, they didn’t use the album version of the song, which runs over six minutes. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579/34 "2004-03-01T19:29:57Z")
I remember that Maxwell video, and I remember an Entertainment Weekly sidebar article about the video claiming it was was somehow about the viewer (through the viewpoint of the camera) performing oral sex on Maxwell. WTF? The writer also claimed that the song and video were so great and so sexy that we didn’t mind one bit. Speak for yourself. Yeah, pretty much any concert performance video, especially all the interchangeable ones by 80s hair bands, are damn dull. Poison and Bon Jovi spring to mind. There was a video for a bland country song called “Dreamin’” that was just the band, who I don’t remember the name of, playing the song in various locations in what looked like some state park. The lead singer would stroll around and make gestures that he had obviously seen hundreds of times in other videos, he reminded me of someone singing in front of their mirror at home. To make it worse the whole thing was shot on video, making it look even cheaper, This was getting played quite often on the cable country music channels about two years ago. The record label must have really had no faith in the group if they wouldn’t spring for shooting on film for an already super-cheap video. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-boring-music-video-youve-ever-seen/231579.md?page=1)