Another day, another useless poll. This time the fine folks at MySpace conducted a poll to determine the most influential music video ever. Their very scientific poll was done by gathering data from a whopping 1,000 users, most of whom probably fell into the desired age bracket of ‘My mother doesn’t know I’m on the computer” to “I’m trolling for underage girls.” The fact that these poll takers were given 20 videos to choose from instead of making their own informed choices is the only thing that kept Party in the U.S.A. off the list. Seriously, who conducts a poll for the best/most important/most influential anything and then gives those being surveyed a specific set of things to choose from. That’s like saying “We want to know what your favorite video is out of all those videos, most of which you have probably never seen, but we don’t trust you to come up with your own so here, just mark off a few of these so we can put out a press release about this survey and try to remain relevant.”
While I can find the list that made the top ten, I can’t find anywhere that says what the 20 videos were they had to choose from, nor who made that list. Hell, I can’t even find a single well-known news site that cared about the poll.
I’m not here to make fun of MySpace, anyhow, though it’s always fun to do that. I’m here, as always, to tell you my opinion. Forget all those lists of most groundbreaking videos ever. Forget all the polls about your favorite MTV breakthrough moments. Forget A-Ha’s “Take on Me” and Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”. We’re going to take a look at my favorite music videos of all time. They may not be influential, or super important. These videos did not save the world, make my teeth brighter or kill the radio star. I just think they’re awesome.
Cake – The Distance
What’s not to like? John McCrea’s blue suit, the running man, the people in animal costumes, the Asian guy in the elevator and the entire subtext of the video make for a delightful mix of amusement and bewilderment.
Slayer – Seasons in the Abyss
Every metal cliche crammed into seven minutes, with the bonus of this being a kick ass song. You’ve got historic monuments, crosses, flames, rituals, windswept hair, the band playing in front of pyramids, cheesy effects, extreme closeups and uhh…. men riding camels? Yes, camel riding men. You really can’t go wrong here if you’re looking for your daily dose of Satanic undertones played out to wicked guitar riffs.
Duran Duran – Girls on Film
My inner lesbian called this one Free Porn. I didn’t have to tilt my head to watch this through scrambled lines. It was all laid out right there on my tv screen. I could switch my lustful gaze between the boys in the band and the girls on film. A win-win situation.
White Stripes – Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
There are very few music videos that do anything for me. I think it’s a form where creativity is sort of stifled, as you are limited by time and content; do you tell the story of the song or just do live footage or put out something inconsequential to the lyrics? So when a video strikes me – when the images and the music come together to form what can only be described as a work of art – I’m both surprised and in awe of the director.
Michel Gondry has made an amazing collection of videos (especially Chemical Brother’s “Let Forever Be”). This one in particular actually changed how I heard the song. When I first heard it, I thought of it as a love song, a man who is away and pining for his woman. But seeing this shed a whole new, dark light on the lyrics and gave the song a background and a story I didn’t hear at first.
UNKLE – Rabbit in Your Headlights
This video is unnerving. If you want style over substance, go watch Lady GaGa. If you want something that will make you think or feel watch this.
Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy
While “Rubber Johnny” may be weirder, this is more watchable. Plus, it has evil kids. Evil kids always win.
Phantom Planet – Big Brat
One of their best songs set to a zombie flick. You really can’t go wrong here.
Faith No More -Last Cup of Sorrow
An ode to Hitchcock’s Vertigo, featuring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mike Patton’s disembodied head, lots of cheese and a movie encapsulated in under five minutes.
David Lee Roth – Yankee Rose
Gimme a bottle of anything and a glazed donut….to go! The first 1:43 of this video are pure comedy gold. The rest is a testament to everything that was so right and yet so wrong about Diamond Dave.
Muse – Knights of Cydonia
It’s The Good, The bad and the Shaolin Ugly in a wretched hive of scum and villainy. It’s everything Styx ever wanted to be before Mr. Roboto ate their souls. This, my friends, is epic.
LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out
If not for LL himself, if not for the lyrics, the power, the muscle or the sweat then because the guy who gets knocked out is the husband of the girl who cuts my hair.
Jay-Z – Big Pimpin’
It’s not just that it’s my favorite Jay Z song. This is the ultimate in hip hop videos. Once you watch this, there is no need to watch any other video in this genre. Jay Z does it bigger, better and with more style.
There will be a part two to this, as these are just a sampling of some of my favorite videos from a list that doesn’t include Michael Jackson,Madonna or a girl dressed like a bee.
