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Memorable music videos
lordromford
Posts: 7,828
I don’t know if entertaining music videos are even a thing these days, but I was thinking about how back in the day, the video to a song was often a big driver in the sales of the song.
It got me thinking about memorable videos - and how sometimes the videos are more memorable than the song itself. Some videos were ahead of their time, some funny, some just plain entertaining - even when the song they were attached to was not very good at all!
So please post any music videos that you remember that you found interesting/funny/revolutionary or whatever...
I’ll start with a few...
First up, possibly the most famous music video of all time:
https://youtu.be/sOnqjkJTMaA
https://youtu.be/sOnqjkJTMaA 0
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Another famously popular one:
https://youtu.be/djV11Xbc914 0 -
Ahead of its time:
https://youtu.be/OJWJE0x7T4Q 1 -
This one is fascinating to me. Made up of clips from all of their previous videos and mashed together by internet genius Cyriak:
https://youtu.be/Q3EEaPj-5qs 0 -
Any more?0
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Duran Duran- Girls on Film (unedited version)7
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Haha! My sister always wondered aloud why that part of her Duran Duran video was a bit corrupted. Almost like it had been watched, rewound and rewatched over and over without her knowing...DaveMehmet said:Duran Duran- Girls on Film (unedited version)
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Here’s another famous one:
https://youtu.be/SXWVpcypf0w 1 -
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Absolutely, artists will still make entertaining music videos in order to go viral and spread their music/reach further. Its still a large part of the music industry. Their version of entertaining may differ from yours however.lordromford said:I don’t know if entertaining music videos are even a thing these days
Not much has really changed, there is still a huge variety of music videos from just the artist/band performing the song, something totally unrelated to the music or using the video and song together to create a story/message. The only main change is how music videos are consumed, mostly through Youtube and social media, instead of getting airtime on TV.
One music video that I find very memorable from recent years, is Childish Gambino's 'This Is America', a very powerful piece of using the music video as an art form to make a statement and reflection on his feelings on the current state of America (as per the song title).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY
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I appreciate that - I’m aware that, because I’m just not that into music from the last few years, I’m a little out of touch with how music is marketed, consumed, etc. It was partly why I was wondering. (Also partly because of all the videos posted on the “underrated songs” thread.)Addickted4life said:
Absolutely, artists will still make entertaining music videos in order to go viral and spread their music/reach further. Its still a large part of the music industry. Their version of entertaining may differ from yours however.lordromford said:I don’t know if entertaining music videos are even a thing these days
Not much has really changed, there is still a huge variety of music videos from just the artist/band performing the song, something totally unrelated to the music or using the video and song together to create a story/message. The only main change is how music videos are consumed, mostly through Youtube and social media, instead of getting airtime on TV.
That Childish Gambino video is interesting. I can see why you find it memorable.1 -
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Just to bring it back to more lighthearted stuff, OK Go are probably the best example of a band whose videos are better than their songs. This one made them famous:
https://youtu.be/dTAAsCNK7RA
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In complete contrast to what I posted above @lordromford it doesn't get much more silly, overdramatic and fun than this (it takes a while to see why but when Jimmy Barnes appears at around 2:20, you'll see why). Both the song and music video are ridiculous and I love it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvrZJ5C_Nwg
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Ashes To Ashes
The coastal scenes were filmed at Pett Level, East Sussex, in May 1980. The video featured several 'faces' from the Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden.
https://youtu.be/HyMm4rJemtI 6 -
The Ok Go video that lordromford posted was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this thread.It was one of the first music videos to go viral and was a huge boost to their success at the time.
the difference now is that thousands of videos and clips “go viral” every day. But that was one of the early examples.0 -
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Thomas Dolby's Hyperactive really pushed things visually for the early 80s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmGxh1FhtxE
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Massive Attack (Unfinished Sympathy) and The Verve (Bitter Sweet Symphony) street walking videos are both superb, especially considering it’s such a simple idea.2
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Rolling Stones, Tumbling Dice. Wasn’t that the first one to be aired on British TV ((TOTP) ? - correct me if I’m wrong on that0
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I can’t seem to find anything to support this but my memory of it was the Stones gave the BBC the offer to be the first to air the song but they had to play the video as well, something that hadn’t been done before because of union issues. A deal got done and the video was shown. Rather than the just getting the single, I bought Exile on Main Street, probably the greatest album ever.letthegoodtimesroll said:Rolling Stones, Tumbling Dice. Wasn’t that the first one to be aired on British TV ((TOTP) ? - correct me if I’m wrong on that
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Memorable videos from my youth:
Madness - Baggy Trousers (airborne saxophonist)
Madness - House Of Fun (Monty Python-esque "women" dance routine)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes
A-Ha - Take On Me (combining animation and live action)
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Moving into the 90s and 2000s I'm struggling to think of too many ...
Tool - wonderfully weird, surreal, arty videos, often animated/stop-go animation e.g. Prison Sex; Sober; Schism
Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows0 -
Ones I remember back in the day when video duke boxes were the rage in pubs......
Wild Boys - Duran Duran
Hour Glass - Squeeze
We'd be together tonight - Sting
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I thought about mentioning Madness videos as they were something I looked forward to on Top of the Pops if I knew they’d brought a new song out. I would’ve chosen Wings of a Dove as their most entertaining video, but I guess Baggy Trousers was what gave them a rep for making amusing videos!Briston_Addick said:Memorable videos from my youth:
Madness - Baggy Trousers (airborne saxophonist)
Madness - House Of Fun (Monty Python-esque "women" dance routine)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes
A-Ha - Take On Me (combining animation and live action)
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Moving into the 90s and 2000s I'm struggling to think of too many ...
Tool - wonderfully weird, surreal, arty videos, often animated/stop-go animation e.g. Prison Sex; Sober; Schism
Queens Of The Stone Age - No One KnowsAnd I posted MJ, A-ha and FGTH at the top of the thread if you fancy watching them again!0 -
Wasn’t this the one where Simon LeBon was attached to a waterwheel and got dunked every time it went round?golfaddick said:Ones I remember back in the day when video duke boxes were the rage in pubs......
Wild Boys - Duran Duran
Hour Glass - Squeeze
We'd be together tonight - Sting
Big ‘Mad Max’ vibes going on?1 -
Yes, that's the one. At one point the camera rotates with him so you have the feeling you're on the wheel too & going to get dunked yourself.lordromford said:
Wasn’t this the one where Simon LeBon was attached to a waterwheel and got dunked every time it went round?golfaddick said:Ones I remember back in the day when video duke boxes were the rage in pubs......
Wild Boys - Duran Duran
Hour Glass - Squeeze
We'd be together tonight - Sting
Big ‘Mad Max’ vibes going on?1 -
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Lemon to a Knife fight by The Wombats is a masterpiece in story telling. As the video moves on you get a different view of what might be happening until the big reveal:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nNh51G84WZY
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Ooh, I like that. That’s good.Stig said:Lemon to a Knife fight by The Wombats is a masterpiece in story telling. As the video moves on you get a different view of what might be happening until the big reveal:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nNh51G84WZY1 -
Long before the days of big budget music videos bands would occasionally make a promo film to accompany one of the songs.
This is over 60 years old, but is still one of my top 10 records ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgbcyfJgfQ 0
https://youtu.be/z9CRvCmJUnI
https://youtu.be/z5rRZdiu1UE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBShN8qT4lk
https://youtu.be/r-rgIPIkCl4
