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Post by The Mad Plumber on Jul 24, 2009 14:43:26 GMT -5
Remember music videos? They used to be on MTV and VH1. There are several pointless ones, as well as videos that seem to succeed in nothing more than highlighting the artist's massive ego. Still, I'd like to see what this board's favorite videos might be.
Ray Parker, Jr. - "Ghostbusters"
Not really a great video, but "Ghostbusters" is just such a fun and catchy song. By the way, it's been over twenty years, so I have absolutely no idea who half of those celebrity cameos are supposed to be. I like that the four main cast members participate at the end of the video.
Pink Floyd - "Welcome to the Machine"
This is Gerald Scarfe animation at its most disturbing and surreal. Not really intended as a music video, these are visuals for live performances compiled into music video form. One of Pink Floyd's greatest and most unappreciated songs complemented by an awesome and obscure animation sequence.
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Post by Jack Burton on Jul 24, 2009 17:37:08 GMT -5
Here's a few off the top of my head:
Thriller-Michael Jackson She Was Hot-The Rolling Stones Dream Warriors-Dokken Call Me Al-Paul Simon I Need You Tonight-INXS Sledgehammer-Peter Gabriel Land of Confusion-Genesis Stuck With You-Huey Lewis and the News We're Not Gonna Take It-Twisted Sister Walk This Way-Run DMC and Aerosmith Rag Doll-Aerosmith Bikini Girls with Machine Guns-The Cramps
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Post by Emperor Cupcake on Jul 24, 2009 22:53:53 GMT -5
Yeah, second the Cramps vid. They were always so photogenic.
I don't see a lot of videos now, but I used to tape loads of them when "120 Minutes" was still on MTV. Ones that stood out for me were Peter Murphy's atmospheric "All Night Long," the equally atmospheric clip Anton Corbijn made in 1988 for the early-80s Joy Division song "Atmosphere," and Nick Cave's rather spooky "Loverman" (where he and the band were all hypotized) and "Do You Love Me" (which was shot in a Sao Paulo bar and where you get the briefest glimpse of the Nickster in drag). Oh, and Alien Sex Fiend's "Now I'm Feeling Zombiefied" is really cool too.
I'm sure I'll think of loads of other ones.
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Post by Bix Dugan on Jul 24, 2009 23:15:52 GMT -5
1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. They had that "no-shake" camera following that dude around a party. Plus, it was the first I saw the lead singer with the now-shaved head, his personality seeming completely different than previous videos. All dark and stuff.
The "Zombiefied" video worked so well on Beavis & Butthead.
Pretty much any of those really bad videos worked on B&B, just like MST!
The best was a "Journey" video.
Butthead: "And then there's THIS guy..."
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Post by Hellcat on Jul 24, 2009 23:30:00 GMT -5
I didn't have cable during MTV's heyday, so these days I like to catch up on the videos I missed by watching VH1 Classic. I really enjoy Metal Mania, even though they tend to repeat a lot of the same videos over and over. I have a few favorites.
"Round N Round" - Ratt. I get such a kick out of Milton Berle's cameo. "Dream Warriors" - Dokken. I always enjoy the part at the end, when Freddy Kruger wakes up from his nightmare, scared out of his mind and muttering, "Who were those guys?" "Rock Of Ages" - Def Leppard. I have to laugh every time I see Joe Elliott waving that big sword around, because in my head I hear Joel's line from Cave Dwellers: "Made this in shop class. It's a letter opener."
I'm sure I'll think of others.
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Post by The Mad Plumber on Jul 25, 2009 18:49:15 GMT -5
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
This made no sense to me when I was a kid. I didn't know what "Mary Jane" was or why Tom Petty was trying to dance with a corpse. Now that I'm older, I understand the metaphor better and I think it's quite a clever take on the whole thing.
George Harrison - "Got My Mind Set On You"
This was before I knew who George Harrison or the Beatles were. Furthermore, I didn't realize that this was a cover version. So, given Harrison's Indian influences and this song not being written by him, I would assume this probably is not a song he would prefer being remembered for. There are two different music videos for this song, and I feel this one is just far more fun.
By the way, when I said that Parker's "Ghostbusters" video wasn't all that great, I just realized it's a masterpiece compared to ...
Bobby Brown - "On Our Own"
Dear God, I've forgotten about the late-80s/early-90s. I like this song, but he looks ridiculous. The New York scenes and the cameos seem so disconnected with the whole damn thing. If it weren't for the video "billboards", the video could be about any movie. As far as movie vehicle music videos go, Parker's was a gem while this just goes with the rest.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 25, 2009 19:51:05 GMT -5
Parker's Ghostbusters video is fun, but the song was better when it was called, "I Want a New Drug".
I grew up on '80s MTV, so there are tons of videos that I love. One of my goofy favorites is Toto's "Africa". Take a non-photogenic band, and have them play on a set made up of oversized library books. Apparently everything catches fire for some reason. Right.
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Post by Chuck on Jul 25, 2009 19:59:23 GMT -5
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Post by Bix Dugan on Jul 25, 2009 22:12:32 GMT -5
I Ran by A Flock of Seagulls is the epitome of early videos.
You can see the camera in the mirror, even.
Crude, but effective.
(Air guitars wicked solo)
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Post by stevehadcrackers on Jul 25, 2009 22:29:39 GMT -5
I love every Hall & Oates video for all the wrong reasons. They're either just kind of boring or mind-bogglingly bad. It always looks like they spent more time on Daryl's hair than the actual video. "Private Eyes," "Method Of Modern Love," and "Jingle Bell Rock" are probably the best of the worst-- youtube them, they do not disappoint. Great music, awesomely bad videos.
Un-ironically, I think Don't Come Around Here No More by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Ashes To Ashes by David Bowie are amazing. And I think Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal is up there with Thriller as his best. I'm partial to Cyndi Lauper's She Bop video; it's very new wave. Talking Heads' Road To Nowhere is fantastic too and displays the wonderful insanity that is David Byrne. Take On Me by A-Ha, Like A Prayer by Madonna, and Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol are all up there as personal favorites too.
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Post by Diet Kolos on Jul 26, 2009 0:13:03 GMT -5
Look at Annie Lennox. Hear that harmonica. This video just oozes cool.
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Post by Jack Burton on Jul 26, 2009 16:18:40 GMT -5
Anything by Tool. Not a fan of their music per se, but their videos are amazing.
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Post by Mod City on Jul 27, 2009 15:20:11 GMT -5
MTV used to be a great way to kill an afternoon. Now it just sucks. Completely. A few cool ones that I remember: • You Could Be Mine - Guns N' RosesEven though I didn't like this song as much as most people, the video was sheer summer blockbuster promotion magic. Loud and cool to look at. • Nemesis – ShriekbackI'll second Emperor Cupcake's affinity for 120 Minutes. Great, great show, and this ended up on it every now and then. • Bastards Of Young – The ReplacementsI didn't get how cool this video was until well after it was out of rotation on MTV. Just a speaker blasting away. It's been so long, I'll have to do some more research. If you can't find something on YouTube, www.mtvmusic.com has tons of free videos from various eras online.
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Post by davidbeegah on Jul 27, 2009 22:28:07 GMT -5
One of the best videos to come out of the 80s IMHO...
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Post by glowgirl004 on Aug 7, 2009 23:49:02 GMT -5
Free as a Bird - The Beatles. If only because it's fun to pick out all the Beatles references in it. Bedtime Story - Madonna. The video's weird as hell, but the graphics and animation are just amazing. Shiny Happy People - REM. Because the video is shiny and happy and just goes with the song so well.
LMAO I used to love when Beavis and Butthead would make fun of music videos. I remember Butthead complaining that one of the Scat Man's videos looked like the stuff playing on tv screens at the department store.
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