Well, you know me, I'll use any excuse to post something I wrote.
I originally posted this on alt.religion.kibology way back in September.
I must confess, I have been having severe personal problems which have
distracted and deadened any reaction I might have had to the HEARLTESS
EVIL TERRORIST ATTACKS ON THIS GREAT GOD-GIVEN NATION OF OURS. I
personally believe what has happened to America, on a per capita
scale, is trivial compared to what goes on in Belfast, Beirut,
Johannesburg, and Sarajevo.
That said, I spent most of my spare time last week watching those
stations which have become notorious as of late for their repetition
and lack of new developments. No, not CNN and C-SPAN, I am talking
about glorious MTV and VH1. On my television dial, MTV, MTV2 and VH1
are adjacent, so I can flip back and forth endlessly. I tend not to do
this, foir the same reason I don't listen to Top 40 Radio, but because
of this tragedy, these stations had foregone their regular programming
in favor of inspirational messages from celebs and fans interspersed
with videos new and old. It was a great chance to reminisce about the
good old days, when the "M" in MTV didn't stand for "Merde."
Unfortunately, all three stations acted like there had only been
twenty videos produced since 1980. It was nice in a bizarre way how
MTV mixed current hits with older videos such as Eric Clapton's "Tear
in Heaven" and Naked Eyes' "Always Something There to Remind Me." The
problem lay in the fact that the variety of videos, even in this
lineup, was still lacking. I was at first overjoyed to see REM's
"Everybody Hurts," a video probably not aired since 1993, but after
four days of watching videos for hours on end, I vowed that if I had
to watch "Everybody Hurts" one more time, I was gonna puke.
I've always been a music video aficionado; I can tell which videos
used a breakthrough technique and which videos are rip-offs of their
predecessors; I can point out actors who later went on to stardom; I
can pontificate endlessly about music video trends, techniques,
timetables, budgets, and popularity.
I'm not proud.
But this "special" programming got me writing down some of my favorite
video moments. This list is not at all comprehensive. Hell, it's
barely comprehensible. I'd be interested to hear other opinions.
1. Michael Stipe in REM's "Losing My Religion"
Stipey's spastic dancing wouldn't seem dramatic and poignant anywhere
else. I'm not a big fan of REM's videos, most of them are quite
boring, but this was a definite departure both for REM and for music
videos. Imagery from Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" derived from this
video.
2. The choreography in Madonna's "Human Nature"
Madonna's choreography is always different, but this video stands out
for it's one-of-a-kind imagery. In concept and time of release, it was
smack dab between glaring-white New Wave and latex-and-chrome Hip Hop.
3. Madonna and her gay dancing cowboys in "Don't Tell Me"
Hey, I've always said: Bring on the gay dancing cowboys.
4. Comical torture in U2's "Numb"
Look, when I said I wanted to see the Edge tied up, that's not
exactly....
5. The Police standing on those rotating things in "Don't Stand So
Close To Me '86"
Extraordinarily symbolic of the three men: together in action, but
solitary in situation.
6. The timeline in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Watch the rise and fall of middle class Cold War America through one
family's all-too-typical home. Makeshift basement bomb shelter not
included.
7. The classroom scenes of Pearl Jam's "Jeremy"
Using the old frozen-three-sixty shot years before it became the norm.
8. Madonna dancing in front of the burning crosses in "Like A Prayer"
Singing joyfully in front of the destruction of the western world's
most sacred symbol sealed Madonna's fate as an artist and as a figure
of controversy.
9. Michael Jackson doing ethnic dances with the natives in "Black or
White"
Put away your feelings about Michael's personal exploits, and try to
remember that he's made some of the most revolutionary videos in the
history of the medium. Even if it is only because no one else will
have the budget to do whatever it is he's doing for another ten years.
10. The poor little gray dude in Kenna's "Hell Bent"
This clip reminded me of the Eastern European animation I used to
watch on IFC. Modest and simple but stunning.
11. The camera rotating around the magic window in A-ha's "Take On Me"
Kids today with their CG graphics and blue screens. Back in the day
all we had was "The Last Sarfighter" and this video. And we LIKED it!
12. The animated scenes in U2's "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me"
Somewhere, at some time, the dude from Blur saw this and said, "What a
great idea...an animated band..."
13. Stewart Copeland hitting Sting square on the noggin with a balled
up piece of paper in "Don't Stand So Close To Me"
It cut to another scene right before Sting screams "Die, you wanker,"
rises up from behind the desk, Crouching Tiger-style, does a 360
roundhouse, and separates Stewarts head completely from his body. (The
head was recently sold on E-bay in a package that also included that
dude from Def Leppard's other arm.)
15. Everything Devo ever did
Have you SEEN these guys? Jesus Christ. Everything they did twenty
years ago rappers are doing now. Weird suits, unself-conscious
physical distortion, bizarre sets, paroxysmal dancing, its all been
done before.
-Echo
Video forced the radio star to go to the gym...
------------------
*Echo the Pimpstress* ... Proud Owner of Animatronic Edge!
"Sting, you know I love you but you got a hell of a lot to learn about Rock n' Roll." -Bono
"Bono's stuck! I need something to poke him with! I can't get Bono out!!" - Mona
"Just because he's 40, bald and has five kids doesn't mean he's not adorable!"
- Me, before a LONG silence
Bono-Man! An Epic Superhero Adventure!
The Official PLEBA Glossary: Delicious AND Nutritious!
Go l? neach neamhshaolta do dhiosca crua. - May an alien being lick your hard disk.
[This message has been edited by Echo (edited 12-09-2001).]