Music Videos
Symphony in Black (1935), dir. Fred Waller
Billie belts the blues
Jammin' the Blues (1944), dir. Gjon Mili
The greatest goddamn musical of all time - and no one knows it
Miss You (1978), dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Sharing a microphone but Mick gets two
Can't Stand Losing You (1978), dir. Derek Burbidge
As desperate but not yet as threatening as "Every Breath You Take"
Heart of Glass (1979), dir. Stanley Dorfman
Summer single in spirit, but released in dead of winter
Rock With You (1979), dir. Bruce Gowers
Wearing wings of laser
Fish Heads (1980), dir. Bill Paxton
Fish heads, fish heads, roly-poly fish heads, fish heads, fish heads, eat 'em up, yummm
Whip It (1981), prod. Gerald Casale
Wonderful how simultaneously literal & random this video is
.PNG)
Once in a Lifetime (1981), dir. Toni Basil, David Byrne
"My God! What have I done!"
Give It To Me Baby (1981), dir. Nick Saxton
Inhaling with eager anticipation
Billie Jean (1982), dir. Steve Barron
City humming in the near distance as the path lights up below
Hungry Like the Wolf (1983), dir. Russell Mulcahy
Primal scream
Every Breath You Take (1983), dir. Godley & Creme
Meet the Police
Thriller (1983), dir. John Landis
"This film in no way endorses a belief in the occult"
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (1983), dir. Ed Griles
Cyndi Lauper takes a page from A Night at the Opera
You Might Think (1984), dir. Charlie Levi, Jeff Stein, Alex Weil
Soap opera
When Doves Cry (1984), dir. Prince
Sitting by the sea of doves' tears
Louise (1984), dir. Steve Barron
Videos may have been the last recourse for black & white after the 70s
Don't Come Around Here No More (1985), dir. Jeff Stein
Honey, I Shrunk the Carroll
Cry (1985), dir. Godley & Creme
Mr. T, mid-morph
Life in a Northern Town (1985), dir. Tim Pope
"And the morning lasted all day, all day..."
Take On Me (1985), dir. Steve Barron
Even after emerging from the comic book, she never pays her bill
Walk This Way (1986), dir. Jon Small
Tear down this wall!
Sledgehammer (1986), dir. Stephen Johnson
I miss claymation
Never Gonna Give You Up (1987), dir. Simon West
Spoiler alert: this screen-cap is of Rick Astley
Bad (1987), dir. Martin Scorsese
The King of Pop, back on the block
Man in the Mirror (1988), dir. Don Wilson
Free Mandela
Straight Outta Compton (1988), dir. Rupert Wainwright
Harassing the cops right back
Like a Prayer (1989), dir. Mary Lambert
Madonna makes her confession (sort of)
Express Yourself (1989), dir. David Fincher
Bad Maria as Big Brother
Rhythm Nation (1989), dir. Dominic Sena
X marks the beat
Nothing Compares 2 U (1990), dir. John Maybury
Her face carries the video; no need for arty inserts
Vogue (1990), dir. David Fincher
Doesn't mention Veronica Lake in litany of stars, but looks like she's channeling her here
Enter Sandman (1991), dir. Wayne Isham
The monsters under his bed are real...
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991), dir. Samuel Bayer
Well, it doesn't smell like Old Spice
November Rain (1992), dir. Andy Morahan
The Church of Slash
Come As You Are (1992), dir. Kevin Kerslake
I need a fix 'cause I'm goin' down...
In the Closet (1992), dir. Herb Ritts
Like silhouettes from The Nightmare Before Christmas
Jeremy (1992), dir. Mark Pellington
Into the belly of the wicked wolf
Nuthin' but a "G" Thang (1992), dir. Dr. Dre
"Ready to make an entrance, so back on up..."
Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married? (1992), dir. Stephen & Timothy Quay
MTV used to play stuff like this
Passin' Me By (1993), dir. Sanji Senaka
Will rubbing his head give him good luck too?
Heart-Shaped Box (1993), dir. Anton Corbijn
Klanskids, old Jesus-popes, and hanging fetuses cavort in candy-colored nirvana
Keep Ya Head Up (1993), dir. Dave Dobkin
The "things are gonna get easier" refrain sounds both wistful & determined
Supersonic (1994), dir. Mark Szasky
Gliding across an oasis of sky
Closer (1994), dir. Mark Romanek
Still-death
Sabotage (1994), dir. Spike Jonze
Like every home movie action film I made as a kid, right down to spliced-in explosions
Black Hole Sun (1994), dir. Howard Greenhalgh
Mere minutes before the anti-rapture
Buddy Holly (1994), dir. Spike Jonze
Kitschy nostalgia for kitschy nostalgia
Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You (1994), dir. Stephen & Timothy Quay
Death's head at the door
Brooklyn Zoo (1995), dir. Diane Martell
So says ODB
Army of Me (1995), dir. Michel Gondry
Say hello to the dentist
Waterfalls (1995), dir. F. Gary Gray
The other Waterworld of 1995
Scream (1995), dir. Mark Romanek
A message from his little sister
On Your Mark (1995), dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Reminds me of dreams I've had where city & country exist back-to-back
Gangsta's Paradise (1995), dir. Antoine Fuqua
How often do stars of movie appear in accompanying video? It helps make this one.
The Universal (1995), dir. Jonathan Glazer
Britpop channels Kubrick
Her grave so lonely that even Paul forgot where he'd gotten the idea
High and Dry (1996), dir. Paul Cunningham
Radiohead definitely dig burning cars
1979 (1996), dir. Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Nostalgia for the time they thought they couldn't wait to leave
Drop (1996), dir. Spike Jonze
.sdrawkcab dedrocer saw oediv cisum eritne sihT
Killing Me Softly (1996), dir. Aswad Ayinde
A future multitasker
Tha Crossroads (1996), dir. Michael Martin
The old soldier fades away
Virtual Insanity (1997), dir. Jonathan Glazer
The grotesque leaks into the chic
Kowalski (1997), dir. Steve Hanft
Preparing to pierce the vanishing point
The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) (1997), dir. Hype Williams
Blink and you'll miss the glasses pulsating (or Puff Daddy, for that matter)
Karma Police (1997), dir. Jonathan Glazer
Game, set, but not yet match
This is Hardcore (1998), dir. Doug Nichol
The demons urge her take a bite
Do the Evolution (1998), dir. Todd McFarlane
Son, someday all this will be yours...if we aren't all dead yet, of course
Baby One More Time (1998), dir. Nigel Dick
The roller coaster career started with a schoolgirl's daydream
Praise You (1998), dir. Spike Jonze
Great things have small beginnings
My Name Is (1999), dir. Phillip Atwell
The beginning, actually
Freak on a Leash (1999), dir. Todd McFarlane
Graphic novel meets its graphic demise
All is Full of Love (1999), dir. Chris Cunningham
Programmed for pleasure and therefore pain
Coffee & TV (1999), dir. Hammer & Tongs
Who knew Kick the Can was a blood sport?
Let Forever Be (1999), dir. Michel Gondry
Dames dance into the digital age
Learn to Fly (1999), dir. Jesse Peretz
The Tenacious Dopes get nabbed
Untitled (How Does It Feel) (2000), dir. Paul Hunter
Interesting use of offscreen space
The Real Slim Shady (2000), dir. Phillip Atwell, Dr. Dre
"And Dr. Dre said...nothing you idiots, Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement!"
Californication (2000), dir. Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
The design concept of this video is so cool
Get Ur Freak On (2001), dir. Dave Meyers
Can't keep your eyes on the road when you're jammin'
Weapon of Choice (2001), dir. Spike Jonze
Who knew?
You Rock My World (short version - 2001), dir. Paul Hunter
Making his last appearance for a fellow late legend
Mad World (2001), dir. Michel Gondry
Seems like Gondry always has the bird's eye view
Star Guitar (2002), dir. Michel Gondry
Sensorially evocative, mathematically precise - Gondry in a nutshell
Hurt (2002), dir. Mark Romanek
"You are someone else/I am still here"
The Hardest Button to Button (2003), dir. Michel Gondry
They are traveling light
Toxic (2004), dir. Joseph Kahn
Playing Poison Ivy
Lazy Sunday (2005), dir. Lonely Island
"You can call us Aaron Burr from the way we're droppin' Hamiltons"
I Write Sins Not Tragedies (2006), dir. Shane Drake
These wedding guests were using Brand X. But now, with Smilex...
Shoes (2006), created Liam Kyle Sullivan (director unknown)
Imelda Marcos meets Based God
Here It Goes Again (2006), dir. Trish Sei & OK Go
Shades of Groucho & Harpo
You Know I'm No Good (2006), dir. Phil Griffin
Deeply passionate, easily bored
Linus Sings The Police (2007), uploaded chalkdrinker
The timing in this clip is pretty well-executed
Chocolate Rain (2007), uploaded TayZonday
YouTube esoterica at its most astoundingly bizarre (yet catchy)
Daft Hands - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (2007), uploaded FrEckleStudios
Brilliant and kind of insane
Crush on Obama (2007), uploaded BarelyPolitical
With her in his corner, how could he lose?
"Thriller" in Philippine prison (2007), uploaded byronfgarcia
Jailhouse Pop
Yes We Can (2008), prod. will.i.am
Most idealistic U.S. electoral politics had been, or will be, for some time
"Hey Jude" kid (2008), uploaded kladblog
He nails the Beatle mannerisms, like leaning into the mic & bowing at the end
Going On (2008), dir. Wendy Morgan
Through the doorway, and what she found there (will have to wait for another day)
Disturbia (2008), dir. Anthony Mandler, Rihanna
Prison chic
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) (2008), dir. Jake Nava
Just try and put a ring on this
One Less Lonely Girl (2009), dir. Roman White
The boy wonder in his Ellen Page phase
Literal version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (2009), dir. David A. Scott (original video, 1983, dir. Russell Mulcahy)
Funny captions, but original video is the real curio: "If..." meets "Village of the Damned"?
Bad Romance (2009), dir. Francis Lawrence
He may need a cigarette too
Runaway (2010), dir. Kanye West
This bird has flown (so I lit the fire)
Firework (2010), dir. Dave Meyers
Never actually knew what the lyric said till I saw this video
Barack Obama Sings Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen (2012), uploaded baracksdubs
Imagine different eras: FDR cut to Andrews Sisters, Nixon to Joplin, etc...
Everybody's Shining Today (2012), dir. María Angélica Fernández, Jaime Grijalba
It's hard to sleep when a lyricist's in your bed
Remember How We Forgot (2013), perf. Shane Koyczan, Hannah Epperson
Mixes disillusionment with inspiration, with emphasis on latter
To This Day (2013), prod. Giant Ant
Love the different animation styles employed throughout
Stupid Child (2013), dir. Jaime Grijalba
Ready for my close-up, Mr. Grijalba
No comments:
Post a Comment