Now these are some of the best videos of all time
In the wake of our little conversation thread about the merits of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” video, I thought it might be interesting to talk about what makes a great music video. Also this will give us (by which I mean “me”) an excuse to keep ignoring politics.
I don’t think Beyonce’s video is bad by any means, though I loathe the song lyrics; clearly it served the record well, becoming hugely popular and even sparking a dance phenomenon. And it’s technically very good: nice black-and-white cinematography, clever editing, no hideous hairy-underarm people in overalls miming band instruments on a street corner. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t class it as particularly impressive from an artistic standpoint, pace Kanye.
A video that I consider almost perfect in terms of formal artistic achievement is “The Perfect Drug,” directed by Mark Romanek (song by Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails):
(And here it is on YouTube in case you have trouble with the Vimeo version above.)
It’s gorgeous. I exult in the lushly stylized art direction à la Edward Gorey, the de-saturated colors, the flawless pacing and editing, the musical intelligence that informs the entire work. If Zhang Yimou made music videos, this is what they would be like. It’s visual poetry, perfectly wedded to the auditory poetry of the song (and has any piece of music ever captured the thrill and chill of drug addiction better than this?).
Mark Romanek also directed the video for Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt,” which is brilliant in a completely different way:
While “The Perfect Drug” is formally and technically exhilarating as a piece of filmmaking, “Hurt” derives its power from the material itself. It’s great not because the camera is swooping around or because the film stock has been over-processed, but because the subject matter — Johnny Cash, singing this song, just months before his death — is as moving and powerful and breathtaking as it gets.
The song, of course, was written by our man Trent Reznor, the same guy who wrote “The Perfect Drug.” And it’s a very fine song; “empire of dirt” is one of the all-time great lines. But the thing is, Reznor wasn’t old enough or scarred enough to carry his own material. No doubt he felt every single word of that song, and felt it deeply — depression and self-loathing seem to be his lot in life — but the guy was a 28-year-old rock star living in a mansion and making records in his private recording studio. It’s like, dude, how bad could it be? You almost (almost) wanna smack his little cornstarched goth doll face. (Similarly, Cat Stevens’ “Trouble” is a magnificent track and very moving — as long as you don’t think about the fact that it was written by an 18-year-old pop star.)
But Johnny Cash: now this was the man who could carry that song. Johnny Cash, 70 years old. Johnny Cash, his life racing past like scenes glimpsed through a train window, crowded flashes of youth and joy and bad fuck-ups and too many pills, of June and the babies and the songs and the sickness and suddenly it’s all gone, suddenly it’s almost all gone. Johnny Cash, staring straight ahead at the grave.
Somehow, Mark Romanek got every bit of that on film.
“Hurt” is the only video that has ever made me cry. I don’t mean lump-in-your-throat tearing-up, because that happens to me all the time. I cry over Clorox commercials. I mean that when I watched the video for “Hurt,” I broke down and sobbed like an abandoned child.
That’s a great video.
18 Responses to “Now these are some of the best videos of all time”
-
myiq2xu says:
Let’s see, no men in the video, women’s legs highlighted, costumes, no bling, sexist lyrics. Written, choreographed and performed by a woman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4CyNvEfWoE
September 17th, 2009 at 6:14 am EST -
myiq2xu says:
All kidding aside, this has to be one of the 10 best videos ever:
-
tinfoil hattie says:
But the thing is, Reznor wasn’t old enough or scarred enough to carry his own material. No doubt he felt every single word of that song, and felt it deeply — depression and self-loathing seem to be his lot in life — but the guy was a 28-year-old rock star living in a mansion and making records in his private recording studio.
I know nothing about Reznor, but I think horrific life experiences can deeply scar young people. Depression and self-loathing were my bread & water my entire childhood.
-
sam says:
My criteria for best videos is the same for my best movies: if I’m flipping channels and see Back To the Future is on, the channel surfing ends.
I cannot pass by Christopher Walken walking without rhythm so he won’t attract the worm in Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice.”
-
votermom says:
That Perfect Drug video is so fantastically gothic. It makes me think of The Addams Family or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel.
I couldn’t finish the Hurt video — I started feeling too much grief and bereavement. It’s very powerful.
-
Violet says:
You know, myiq2xu, the Beyonce video actually reminds me of the “Hey Mickey” one. That was the very first thing that popped into my head when I watched it. Stripped down production, neutral background, women bouncing around, insanely popular.
Of course I think most of the people who like the Beyonce video aren’t old enough to remember “Hey Mickey.”
-
Violet says:
#2: are you still rickrolling people?
-
Seth Warren says:
Siouxsie & the Banshees - “The Last Beat of My Heart”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ul7bqFguPgMinimalist perfection.
-
myiq2xu says:
I’m really serious this time - I hope you dance” by Lee Ann Womack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTQfERb9HVk
This one by Kellie Pickler’s not bad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzyV1hm0c18
but this one by Natalie Merchant is awesome:
-
Violet says:
I can’t say I see anything special about the Womack and Pickler videos. Just seem like typical country music videos to me.
That Ophelia video has always made me feel like I’m watching Natalie Merchant’s audition tape. It’s good, but…eh. I find it off-putting.
-
Hammer of the Dyke says:
I find all of these music videos somewhat off-putting. Too much dramatic fluffery means that the artist hasn’t the power to reach me directly and simply. I understand that the musicians are swayed by their own, or other’s, experiences of cinematic grandiosity, but I don’t think that is where it is at, really. Usually, I watch artists in performance, without the silly cinematic exposition. I found the Cash video kind of cheap and tawdry.
-
Nina M. says:
My all-time favorite is Dirty Dream #2, from Belle & Sebastian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8CwoVvffmQ
I was floored by it - perhaps the opposite of the Johnny Cash video, I was overwhelmed with pleasure. It captures my first year of college so perfectly… its like somebody made a short compilation of my fondest memories, circa ‘87-’88.
Silly, genuine kids with (mostly) unisex clothes etc, acting like they’re young people instead of ho’s and bro’s? Check. Kids hanging out in trees and with random dogs? Check. Kids cutting each other’s hair and pouring things on themselves? Check.
Lovely. And so very, very real. But it might be a “you had to have been there” kind of thing.
If I remember correctly, the kids are members of a band (and their friends) who are fans of B&S. B&S sent them a camera and asked them to make a video for this song, and this is the result.
-
Nina M. says:
Also, there’s this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....0&NR=1
Its not the video itself that I like (its okay); its what I imagine happening behind the scenes with the record company. I can totally see some marketing guy watching this and passing a small hippo. Twice. Once as Jarvis slowly ascends the stairs in the chair lift, and again when he realizes that there’s no payoff or punchline at the end.
-
Violet says:
I know nothing about Reznor, but I think horrific life experiences can deeply scar young people. Depression and self-loathing were my bread & water my entire childhood.
Tinfoil hattie, I meant to reply to this and forgot.
I think Trent Reznor’s horrific life experiences occurred entirely in his brain. I don’t mean that in a dismissive way at all, because I can relate. My understanding is that Reznor had a perfectly middle-class, non-horrible childhood, and that his depression is the product of his own brain’s functioning. (No doubt later compounded by his drug addiction, which was probably an attempt to self-medicate the depression, and whee! goes the vicious cycle.) As anybody with depression or other mental difficulties can attest, you don’t need external circumstances to generate great inner pain. This is why I say that I have no doubt that Reznor means every word of his songs and has felt all that shit very deeply.
The cognitive dissonance is for the audience, comparing the singer’s external circumstances (young, privileged) with the emotional catastrophe of his lyrics. So when old, dying Johnny Cash covered “Hurt,” the song made complete sense in a way it never had when Reznor sang it. The gravitas of the singer matched the weight of the song. I think Reznor himself said, when he saw the video, “wow, that’s not my song anymore.” He was right.
-
Violet says:
Of course, Kermit the Frog’s cover puts both Cash and Reznor to shame:
-
simply wondered says:
hey this is great. last time i checked this was some boring-ass (a sorry attempt there to do the ‘down with the youth’ talk)(oops i don’t mean ‘down with the youth’ in that french revolution sort of way, i mean getting down and funky with the young people if you get my sassy jive)(but not in a pervy way) dead ballet dancers and celestial llama-porn site. it has been reclaimed by popular culture and huzzah for that.
imho in the world of the pop video, second to ‘come on eileen’ is the work of michel gondry. fab stuff. -
hilary g says:
violet, do you like any tori amos? just wondering. her videos are only kind of cool but her music is amazing/feminist.
-
Violet says:
Nope, not a Tori Amos fan. Not anti-Amos; just not into her stuff. But I respect her very much: she’s clearly an intelligent artist and I know she’s a strong feminist. It’s just that her style and sound don’t appeal much to me.
