Top 5 Most Memorable Music Videos
This week marked the 30th Anniversary of MTV. Although I didn't watch its original launch at midnight (I was just six and we didn't have cable then), I did spent a healthy amount of my weekday afternoons and summers filling my head with every mindless and numbing piece of entertainment that was to be found on MTV. I'm sure my parents are just ecstatic after reading that last sentence, but it was the truth (and I'm almost certain that they knew it, too). Take a look at what MTV looked like upon it's initial launch back on August 1, 1981, starting at the 4 minute mark (just after the Pat Benatar video):
They were a bit rough around the edges, and it's glaringly apparent: they looked just as uncomfortable as I'm sure most of them probably felt as they aired their first broadcast. But their concept was novel and the channel grew in popularity with the youth in the 1980s. For over two decades they had a profound effect on the music industry and popular culture, where practically every music video premiere was always viewed as a MUST SEE. So, in honor of its landmark anniversary - and for the unfortunate death rattle that's been evident for several years now - I've decided to list my Top 5 Most Memorable Music Videos that aired on MTV.
1. Michael Jackson | "Thriller" | 1983
A seamless blend of music and filmmaking, "Thriller" was mind-bending. At 14 minutes long, it had outrageous choreography, exquisite storytelling, movie-quality make-up and special effects. A majority of the video was fantastic, but when it reached the end where Ola Ray, Jackson's unnamed girlfriend, is pursued by a horde of zombies breaking into the house, it scared the living hell out of me. I admit these images are still burned into my memory and have profoundly affected me - probably the source of my disdain towards most horror movies to this day.
Film Geek Footnotes:
An amazing technological feat, "Take On Me" gave its viewers pure escapism. I love this video because it did exactly what a movie did, but in under five minutes. While 10-year-old me didn't care about the "love story" element, I most certainly would have been first in line to enter a virtual comic book world! Over 25 years later and the video's visual effects still hold strong looking just as good as they did the first day it premiered on MTV. Some of the wardrobe choices and hairstyles, however, are another matter entirely.
Film Geek Footnotes:
I've always had a mild fascination with stop-motion animation. The time, dedication, and attention to detail it takes to snap one frame and then move an object just a hair boggles my mind. In May of 1986, MTV was on the verge of turning five and Peter Gabriel released his first single, "Sledgehammer." What it provided was a an abundant, overflowing supply of fresh images that no one had see yet at that time. A feast for the eyes as well as the imagination, the music video featured an assortment of stop-motion animation as a singing Gabriel sat in the foreground; the directors' vision literally danced around his head throughout.
Film Geek Footnotes:
Music videos never seemed limited or restricted to the box in which I watched them. The greater the vision of the director, the greater the music video (as long as it was executed well). Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" opened my eyes to what filmmaking could really be, making the viewer second guess what he or she was actually looking at - is the floor really moving or is there something else at play here? - all while taking a exorbitant amount of risk in hopes of more airtime. This video introduced me to Jamiroquai and also convinced me to purchase two of their CDs. Not a bad racket, this music video business. On the other hand, don't ask me to explain the bleeding chairs at the end, 'cause I'm just as clueless as you.
Flim Geek Footnotes:
It only seemed appropriate that I try to find at least one music video that debuted after the turn of the century. In 2001, MTV was still a force to be reckoned with among America's youth. I love this video because of its unpredictability. Director Spike Jonze broke the mold with this video, featuring the ever-popular Christopher Walken dancing and flying to the music, throughout an empty hotel. To be completely honest, it seems rather silly. But that's what makes it so enjoyable.
Film Geek Footnotes:
The Runner-Up List
It was extremely difficult for me to choose only five music videos and my list quickly ballooned to over three pages when I first started to compile what I was able to pull from memory. I eventually whiddled down the list, and what you see above is the end result. However, I felt it necessary to provide you with a list of the 10 runner-ups (plus one more for good measure) that just barely missed making the final five.
They were a bit rough around the edges, and it's glaringly apparent: they looked just as uncomfortable as I'm sure most of them probably felt as they aired their first broadcast. But their concept was novel and the channel grew in popularity with the youth in the 1980s. For over two decades they had a profound effect on the music industry and popular culture, where practically every music video premiere was always viewed as a MUST SEE. So, in honor of its landmark anniversary - and for the unfortunate death rattle that's been evident for several years now - I've decided to list my Top 5 Most Memorable Music Videos that aired on MTV.
1. Michael Jackson | "Thriller" | 1983
A seamless blend of music and filmmaking, "Thriller" was mind-bending. At 14 minutes long, it had outrageous choreography, exquisite storytelling, movie-quality make-up and special effects. A majority of the video was fantastic, but when it reached the end where Ola Ray, Jackson's unnamed girlfriend, is pursued by a horde of zombies breaking into the house, it scared the living hell out of me. I admit these images are still burned into my memory and have profoundly affected me - probably the source of my disdain towards most horror movies to this day.
Film Geek Footnotes:
- While music videos cost around $100,000 to produce in 1983, this video was shot on a then-unprecedented budget of $500,000.
- When the zombies begin to rise from the graveyard, the film's makeup artist Rick Baker can be seen as the zombie coming out of the mausoleum.
- John Landis made the film because he saw it as a great opportunity to bring back the theatrical short: "I saw it as a chance to resurrect a genre that had once been a Hollywood staple. Music videos were new in 1983, and MTV was just two years old."
An amazing technological feat, "Take On Me" gave its viewers pure escapism. I love this video because it did exactly what a movie did, but in under five minutes. While 10-year-old me didn't care about the "love story" element, I most certainly would have been first in line to enter a virtual comic book world! Over 25 years later and the video's visual effects still hold strong looking just as good as they did the first day it premiered on MTV. Some of the wardrobe choices and hairstyles, however, are another matter entirely.
Film Geek Footnotes:
- The unique animation for the music video incorporated rotoscoping - an animation technique where live-action footage is traced-over frame by frame to give the characters realistic movements. Approximately 3,000 frames were rotoscoped, which took 16 weeks to complete.
- The music video shares similarities to the 1982 science fiction movie Tron, in which it was inspired.
I've always had a mild fascination with stop-motion animation. The time, dedication, and attention to detail it takes to snap one frame and then move an object just a hair boggles my mind. In May of 1986, MTV was on the verge of turning five and Peter Gabriel released his first single, "Sledgehammer." What it provided was a an abundant, overflowing supply of fresh images that no one had see yet at that time. A feast for the eyes as well as the imagination, the music video featured an assortment of stop-motion animation as a singing Gabriel sat in the foreground; the directors' vision literally danced around his head throughout.
Film Geek Footnotes:
- Aardman Animations - the creative team behind Wallace and Gromit - provided claymation, pixilation, and stop motion animation that gave life to the images in the video.
- Peter Gabriel laid under a sheet of glass for 16 hours while filming the video one frame at a time.
- This music video took home the most awards (8) in one night at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards.
Music videos never seemed limited or restricted to the box in which I watched them. The greater the vision of the director, the greater the music video (as long as it was executed well). Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" opened my eyes to what filmmaking could really be, making the viewer second guess what he or she was actually looking at - is the floor really moving or is there something else at play here? - all while taking a exorbitant amount of risk in hopes of more airtime. This video introduced me to Jamiroquai and also convinced me to purchase two of their CDs. Not a bad racket, this music video business. On the other hand, don't ask me to explain the bleeding chairs at the end, 'cause I'm just as clueless as you.
Flim Geek Footnotes:
- Director Jonathan Glazer describes how the four walls move on a stationary grey floor with no detail, to give the illusion that the floor is moving.
- While there are places within the 4 minute video that could easily be seen where a "cut" would take place, the entire music video is still seen as one continuous take.
It only seemed appropriate that I try to find at least one music video that debuted after the turn of the century. In 2001, MTV was still a force to be reckoned with among America's youth. I love this video because of its unpredictability. Director Spike Jonze broke the mold with this video, featuring the ever-popular Christopher Walken dancing and flying to the music, throughout an empty hotel. To be completely honest, it seems rather silly. But that's what makes it so enjoyable.
Film Geek Footnotes:
- Christopher Walken was trained as a dancer in musical theater prior to his acting career.
The Runner-Up List
It was extremely difficult for me to choose only five music videos and my list quickly ballooned to over three pages when I first started to compile what I was able to pull from memory. I eventually whiddled down the list, and what you see above is the end result. However, I felt it necessary to provide you with a list of the 10 runner-ups (plus one more for good measure) that just barely missed making the final five.
- Beastie Boys | "Sabotage" | 1994
You can't beat Spike Jonze's throwback homage to 1970s Cop Shows. - Van Halen | "Right Now" | 1992
The only time I remember Van Halen honestly be socially conscious. - U2 | "Where The Streets Have No Name" | 1987
A small gathering of 30,000 U2 fans in downtown Los Angeles. - Green Day | "Basket Case" | 1994
Mental illness is only a state of mind for Billy Joe Armstrong. - Genesis | "Land of Confusion" | 1986
Political puppets, Ronald Reagan and Genesis. A winning combination! - Weezer | "Buddy Holly" | 1994
"Happy Days" Weezer smash-up - another Spike Jonze masterpiece. - Foo Fighters | "Everlong" | 1997
Dave Grohl and crew do a hilarious send up to The Evil Dead. - Chris Isaak | "Wicked Game" | 1989
One of the first videos that I distinctively remember wanting to have cable in my room. - Guns N’ Roses | "November Rain" | 1992
These guys did everything on a grand scale, including this epic. - Pearl Jam | "Jeremy" | 1992
Teenage suicide awareness that was thrust upon my generation and scared the censor-board. - The White Stripes | "The Hardest Button to Button" | 2003
Brilliant-but-headache-inducing editing. A monumental achievement! Probably one of the last music videos I recall catching my attention, and it was probably see on MTV2.
Comments
Post a Comment