13 favorite music videos

I'm a music video junkie. When I was 12 I was finally able to watch music videos after bypassing my mom's parental controls (if you put the TV on channel 2 instead of 3, all the channels are one off. At least back in the old days). This was back when MTV showed videos. Nowadays, I have about 8 music video stations, however, the quality is not as up to par as it was back in the mid 90s. You'll note that not many of my choices came from the new millenium. Here are just a handful of my favorites. (If imbedding was disabled, which was the case more than I'd liked, I added the web page.)


1 Bush- "letting the cables sleep"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX3f0iNg4rk

I kinda love Bush (there's a phrase I never thought I'd say, in times of low approval ratings). Even today, the mere mention of Gavin Rossdale will make me drop things. This was a great, well done, beautiful video. Well shot, so much tension... Then there's the twist at the end. I won't give it away. This was the last video that Bush shot and they rarely showed it on TV. Guess it wasn't trl material.

2 No doubt- simple kinda life


So, um, this song is about Gavin. I promise this isn't a trend, although there is one more Bush vid. This video literally shattered the conceptions of conventional marriage, in 4 minutes. I mean, can you see the fury in Gwen's eyes as she smashes those wedding cakes? Then there's the light up BC pack on the wall... Is it wrong that when I take my BC I think of that? Its such a metaphor! As albums go, Return Of Saturn was probably the best for videos.

3 Korn- freak on a leash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K27d7Ut5bXo

This was an easy choice. Korn was once my favorite band, and despite the fact that they are hurting right now I still love them. This was their breakthrough video, and though ADIDAS was a lil better, this one fused a lot of elements together seamlessly (each directed by a different person or team). For one, it uses a great transition point: the bullet, then there's the cartoon kids, the band in the room with the holes, the bullet tearing through everything... And its kinda intense music-wise.

4 Bush- greedy fly


This is the only group with 2 videos on my list. They really strived with their videos. I actually own their anthology. This video was based on the movie se7en, if I'm not mistaken, with a bit of magical realism thrown in with the de-winged angel, the egg, etc. I have a still from this video taped in my diary from 8th grade. Its a sickness, really. The whole thing looks grimy and just, somewhere you wouldn't wanna be, and I like that. Who's to say that something visually stunning has to be pretty?


5 Foo Fighters- everlong

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_nVa9B8wWA

This is another group with a great body of work, even from the beginning when they did a Mentos spoof. This vid was based on a dream Michel Gondry had (a lot of his videos were based on dreams) where he couldn't control the size of his hands. I also have his anthology, and if you like cinematic greatness, I'd advise you get it too. Shout out to Taylor dressed as a chick! Apparently it was because Dave's girlfriend didn't want any women hugging up on him. This is where those "you never see Taylor and Alanis M in the same room" rumors came from.

6 Bjork- hunter


I remember the first time I saw this video. I was like who is this crazy chick? This ish is weird! It was late at night and it... unsettled me. I love how she turns into a bear but tries to shake it away. Our highschool dance teacher loved this song, and for some reason the video fits it perfectly. I mean, its not the route I would have taken with it, lol.

7 Nas- 1 mic


You may notice there are only 3 rap songs on this list. There are 2 reasons for that. 1, I didn't really listen to rap until I started dating boys who listened to rap (old skool excluded). 2, this was the shiny suit era. Yeah, puff N'nem made some good ones, but they don't beat anything I put on this list. These days rap videos consist of crowds, hot chicks, custom cars, a dance, and one random ass camera effect. So there.

Nas's 1 mic was the shit. The video fit the song perfectly. I mean, the alternating between him talking and yelling was set off perfectly within the video. And that screaming lil girl in the video looks like this dude I went to HS with. The images are powerful and well shot. Caint get no better.

8 Alanis Morrisette- you learn


She wears 11 different jackets in this video. I learned that from pop up video, lol. This vid is one of her best. Even better than her remake of "my humps." and certainly better than her naked "I played God in 'Dogma'" video. Its so colorful! I just like the way she's wandering through people's lives. And I think she stole that horse. The parade scene was an homage to another of her videos.

9 NIN- perfect drug


Mark Romanek. Yes. The birds, the big crazy coats, how everything is black but visually striking... He's known for that Gothic, operatic look. The whole thing reeks of vampire.

10 Outkast- bombs over baghdad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-m3ijMMkSY

I was kinda pissed when this video couldn't be shown after 9/11. It was on a list of "sensitive" videos, all because of its title. But I digress. Was this the first video to explicitly show strippers? Leave it to Big Boi.... I love how the video kicks off with a shirtless Dre running with about 100 kids. The colors were crazy for no reason. Big's hair all in the breeze, flowy and ish... That random ass monkey, and the choir. The video is about as spastic as the song, and still perfect.

11 Missy- get ya freak on


Missy came out the box crazy in 97. And she's been crazy ever since. Did you see America's best dance crew? Fanny Pak killlt this song! Anyways, the guy at the beginning is saying something like "we will make you jump and feel good." true. Missy is headless and dancing. She is spitting in people's mouth, which is nasty. She is hanging from the ceiling doing choreography. This video was freaky. Dave Myers put his whole foot in it. Its no wonder that they keep working together.

12 Janet- got til its gone

This video makes me happy(er) to be black. Look at it. Its so beautiful! It was shot in LA, by Mark Romanek, and is set in a lounge in early 60's apartheid S Africa. Insane right? Again, a visually stunning work. Everything looks so muted, like you could get a great photo if you froze it at any moment. Must be an effect he uses... If you put this video on mute and just watched it, I'm sure it would effect your mood. Make you feel deeply... Something.

13 Gnarls Barkley- gogo gadget gospel


"if you wonder what it look like, look at me." you, sir, are a sock. I did not expect that the first time I saw this video. I literally cracked up through the rest of it because the video chicks were damn socks! This is muppet "you got served." this and other videos (there are at least 4 for st elsewhere) were overshadowed by "crazy" but they were equally awesome and different from mainstream videos. I like that the band never takes center in their vids.


*PS: searching through youtube for these videos, you start to realize how stupid people are. I tend to forget, cuz I read inteligent blogs, but they really let anyone have a computer these days, don't they? And they'll argue with you and curse your soul, cuz you don't feel the same about a song as they do. Of because you spelled a word wrong. Or because you breathe. Womp*