25. Rob Zombie
Dragula
Rob Zombie dressed in his demonic
Charles Manson makeup and one hell of a costume bawls out his intense
lyrics with this semi-horror music video of "Dragula". This is not only
one of Zombie's best songs of since he went solo with the catchy lyrics,
booming guitars, and just thunderous vocal ability but the video is also
very cool with intense shades of blue and red as he and his minions ride
in a hell mobile of a sorts through fire as his wife Sheri Moon dances in
zombie garb alongside other demons from hell. This became truly one of
Zombie's most colorful and coolest.
24. Michael Jackson
Beat it
With a throwback to the old fifty's gangster films and with a throwback
to "West Side Story", Michael Jackson creates one of the
most catchy songs and one of his best music videos. As gangs along the
neighborhood begin swarming through the streets preparing
for a large gang war, Jackson, upset at the oncoming war puts on his
signature red leather jacket and goes to the war to stop the
fighting and gets them dancing. I like when that happens. Sure, I mock
this video, but it's one of the best ever made with an excellent
guitar solo by Slash of Guns and Roses, the usual incredible choreography
in which the entire gang war dances, and then there's the
energy presented here with Jackson's charisma he once had.
23. Evanescence
Going Under
Evanescence is a band I could never get into heavily though I appreciate
their Goth rock abilities and their lead singer Amy Lee's
incredible vocal ability. My love and crush for Amy Lee aside, this is a
really good video, not for it's originality only but for the
statement Lee makes about how her fans are rabid and almost creature-like
clawing and scratching at her as she attempts to
entertain them and live up to what they see of her. The lyrics which speak
of Lee's feelings of being drown beneath the fame, fortune,
and nonstop fan cheers gives us a glimpse into the band's task at hand. We
watch Lee immersed in water symbolizing her feeling of
being drowned beneath the fans as she thrashes at a former lover and how
he hurt her. A song with a resonant message followed by a
video with a clearly resonant message that memorable for being so morbid.
22. The Pretenders
Brass in Pocket
The video that Lenny Kravitz ripped off in "See you again", and Alicia
Keys ripped off recently in "You don't know my name", rocking
front woman Chrissy Hines plays a simple waitress for a rundown cafe whose
dream man walks into the restaurant with his friends.
So, smitten by him, she looks forward to his next visit fixing herself up
for him attempting to catch his attention while she swaggers
seductively around the cafe hoping to catch his attention. With a catchy
chorus, upbeat rhythms and simple storytelling, the lyrics
are up front giving listener's her thoughts and feelings for this man and
Hines wears her heart on her sleeve as she brings about
feelings for her mysterious customer whom she hopes to catch the eye of,
and she succeeds but alas it isn't meant to be as he
leaves with his friends while she looks out the window watching him drive
off, lovelorn and heartbroken awaiting his return. This
poignant video is a lot of fun to watch as in only five minutes we're
involved in a story.
21. Beastie Boys
Fight For Your Right (To Party)
Ah, the beasties boys, one of the only white rappers that have been
accepted within the hip hop community though "Fight for your
Right" is a bit more of a rock edge. Ripped off by many artists including
Gwen Stefani and Eve in "Let me Blow your mind", this video
is just hard to top. As a young man hosts a party for his friends where
all is boring and sluggish, the three beastie boys enter the
room and crash the party with their friends amping it up more with their
anti-establishment anthem about rebelling and partying. Come
on, don't pretend you don't know the words to this song, because I know
most of the lyrics. With most of the thugs ravaging everyone
and ruining the party, the three rappers scream the lyrics while they
incite a pie fight ala "The Three Stooges" where everyone is hit in
the face including the young man's parents who walk in much to their
surprise shocked and wide-eyed at the carnage that has just
ensued. It's an excellent story with great antics and chaos and one of the
best videos ever made.
20. Twisted Sister
We're not gonna take it
"What are you gonna do with
your life?!" Mark Metcalf from "Animal House" screams channeling his
character Niedelmeyer, to which his son replies, "I'm wanna rock." Then
bursts Twisted Sister blowing the father out of the house as the wild,
gritty anthem to teenagers everywhere begins. Deemed controversial from
the usual stiff conservative groups for its call to violence when in
actuality it was just a song to rebellion never intended to incite violent
behavior, we watch Metcalf's characters young kids turn into twisted
sister as they gang up on the him screaming and knocking him all over the
house. In a really funny sequence we watch the father getting smacked over
and over the members of Twisted Sister smash through the door one by one.
The video is powered by the foot stomping anthem to youth and music sung
by the already twisted Dee Snider. Listen as lead singer Snider begins
screaming quotes from
"Animal House" in the ending of the song as Metcalf's character is blown
from his house. It's truly a funny exciting video helped by Metcalf's
acting ability.
19. White Zombie
More Human Than Human
Rob Zombie is the closest these days to a rock legend, not Kid Rock or
Fred Durst as hard and blatant as they try, no, Rob Zombie is a musician
with a booming vibrating and loud voice that just roars like a lion from
the gates of hell. Zombie, a hardcore horror fanatic and director of
"House of 1,000 corpses" achieved great success with two careers, his
career with White Zombie an excellent band that later disbanded and then
Zombie achieved superiority with excellent solo career which allowed him
to expand his horizons. In this video White Zombie lead the charge in a
traveling circus of freaks as they astonish onlookers with their
attractions. The gritty and fuzzy direction followed by the black and
white and sometimes psychedelic video rocks as White Zombie plays in a
train compartment rocking out hard with the booming "More Human Than
Human" bursting through the screen. Clearly a memorial in the good days of
White Zombie and one of the best videos I've ever seen.
18. Madonna
Ray
of Light
Spokeswoman for the "religion" of Khaballa, the legendry Madonna creates a
really interesting and sometimes rad music video called "Ray of Light", a
song whose lyrics I was never really able to decode, but regardless the
video is really cool. With really cool time lapse photography filming the
average everyday life, the mundane has never looked so extraordinary. Oh,
and Madonna looks funny
dancing to the time lapse photography whilst we see people shopping and
cars driving on the road with the speeding of the pictures through the
process of the film technique. Though I wouldn't call myself a fan of
Madonna's after watching her films, I like this video a
lot and it makes way for some intentionally spiritual but great imagery of
the world being seen through Madonna's scope. |
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17. 2Pac and Dr.
Dre
California Love
In an ode to "Mad Max", 2Pac, one of the most influential and charismatic
rappers of all time, and one of my favorites, teams with Dr. Dre in this
epic, thrilling, and rather exciting take on "Mad Max" as 2Pac and Dr. Dre,
dressed in great armor and clothing rap in front of a large mob of
onlookers in a stadium ala "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" where they show
off their skills to a group of rebels and warriors who await their
arrival. Later in the video, Dre and 2Pac are chased by a band of thugs in
a very high speed chase scene in the desert dodging a kingpin and many
other menacing characters. 2Pac known for his unlimited charisma, set a
precedent and became the archetype for charismatic rapper manages to
outshine Dr. Dre in sheer rap skills where the two are given solos. As Dre
finishes his solo 2Pac bursts with explosive lyrics, in your face energy,
and adds to the song. Though the ending of the video made no sense
whatsoever, "California Love" is one of the best songs to come around in
years and conveys 2Pac's appeal and Dre's presence.
16. Red Hot Chili
Peppers
Californication
Presented in the format of a video game we watch the members of Red Hot
Chilli Peppers battle and travel through the landscapes of California.
California natives, their song "Californication" is a commentary on the
society in California, a society in its own of Hollywood filmmaking, older
women getting plastic surgery, poverty, and porn while lead singer Anthony Keadis slips in some of his own references to his favorite artist Leonardo DaVinci. Presented in the template of a video game, each of the band
members go through the course of California riding down bridges with a
snowboard, Anthony Keadis running through collapsing buildings, riding
through the highway on a fast car and much more to the great tune of
Californication all ending with a great closing shot of the
members huddled together like video game characters.
15. Smashing Pumpkins
Tonight, Tonight
The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the best alternative rock bands to come
out of the nineties and couldn't be lumped in with everyone else simply
for their sheer originality and odd appearance, but their music was great
from songs like "1979" to "Bullets with Butterfly Wings", no two songs
ever really sounded alike, especially when talking about "Tonight,
tonight". This impressive rock song
backed with an orchestra and sometimes sounding like Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir", about growing up and losing your precious youth
recalls the classic silent films "From the Earth to the Moon" shot by shot
with the young couple being marooned on the moon with
aliens as the husband kills the aliens with his umbrella, meanwhile they
fall into the sea and are greeted by Poseidon and his
mermaids. Meanwhile, Billy Corgan and his band sing atop clouds like
angelic ghosts. "Tonight, Tonight" is their best video and an
ode to classic silent films with a bittersweet but memorable song.
14. The White Stripes
Fell in Love With a Girl
MTV burned this out when it first premiered and is a landmark video debut
for this great group. Innovational and conceptual music
videos are hard to come by these days in the line of manufactured rock
bands, so when one rock band comes along that's really
original, I go ape wild. The White Stripes are one of them. In this truly
original video we watch an entire video in the form of colored
Lego blocks, even Jack and Meg White who we see run up a hill and play
drums. The video is rather hectic in its form, but it's also
very original. With the catchy tune of a boy conflicted with his emotions
for a girl he's in love with, Jack and Meg succeed in creating
an incredible video that's not even related to the source material but is
sure a lot of fun to watch over and over. Not to mention the tune
is catchy.
13. John Lennon
Imagine
Even years and decades after John Lennon's death, his spirit is still very
much alive in the young generation and old generation. From
his prolific songs in the legendry band "The Beatles" to an equally
praised solo career, John Lennon created a haunting and mellow
music video starring he and his wife Yoko Ono. The video opens with heavy
uses of white as we witness John and Yoko walking
through a hedge maze until finally they go to their home. In the video,
Yoko and John stand in an empty room, as John begins playing
his piano, Yoko begins opening the shades as he sings his bittersweet
melody about love, life, happiness and the current state of the
world. Lennon's anthem to peace is timeless and still remains resonant in
this day and age as the world engages in a terrible war.
12. Incubus
Megalomaniac
Not a band I could ever get into; in their entire career they've had three
songs I've loved, and "Megalomaniac" is probably one of the most
ear-shattering rock songs to come around in years. With a song hinting at
a certain president, and a certain Iraqi dictator, "Megalomaniac"
expresses the feelings and emotions for these people, and dares to strip
them of their superiority complex and
becomes one of the coolest protest songs that is so subtle within its
symbolism though it never actually mentions names. The video is even more
eerie as we witness a range of scenes steeps in symbolism including an
animated composite figure of Hitler, and two other politicians (whom were
never revealed) as they raise their arm in the Nazi stance over a crowd of
onlookers, a figure resembling uncle Sam getting his legs eaten, and,
possibly one of the most heavily symbolic and eerie images, an American
family drinking oil like it's water as it enters their system corrupting
them, obviously touching on the Iraqi war and the oil disputes. Though
they didn't directly come out and admit it, with a chorus like "Hey
megalomaniac, you're no Jesus, you're no f--king Elvis", it's easy to
figure out who they're singing to.
11. Britney Spears
Slave 4 U
When it comes to Britney Spears' "music" I'm one of the first out of the
park to bash this wannabe singer with a bod. Sure, her voice sounds
terrible, and she's got talent like I got money (none), but her video
"Slave 4 U" was actually very clever and one of the best directed videos
I've seen in years. With masterful editing and numerous cuts, "Slave 4 U"
was a great video featuring Britney Spears and a bunch of sweaty dancers
suffering from a heat wave ravaging a city, so in an attempt to invoke
rain, they begin dancing... hell, that's what I would do! With this very
dance-able, very catchy, and well made song, "Slave 4 U" is one of the
best with a very good dance sequence (though notice Spears hardly does any
dancing), some memorable scenes including a dancer licking Spears, and of
course Spears dressed in a really hot outfit emphasizing her looks. Though
as hard as she tries, Spears will never be Madonna, but she still has made
a very memorable music video like Madonna has many times before. Now,
then, what has Spears done lately that was memorable...? Uh...uh, there
was...never mind. Let's move on.
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10. Micheal/Janet
Jackson
Scream
This outlandishly high-budget video is possibly one of the most
nonsensical videos ever made, but within the senseless mood of the video,
there's also a bit of appeal. In one of the coolest teaming's in years we
watch brother and sister Micheal and Janet Jackson, both music legends in
their right come together for a really funky, rockin', and catchy song
that expresses their great vocal abilities, sense of style, and amazing
dancing abilities including the really good dance number in which the two
dance in sync with one another. It's a sight rarely seen between the two.
With it, we grow a new sense of fondness for the two talented artists and
we're left in a daze from the random yet stylish and sleek sequences
involving the two playing smashing clay vases, watching television, and
playing video games.
8. Van Halen
Hot for
Teacher
Every boy's fantasy is manifested in this excellent video and rocking
tune, It's a raucous ode to the really hot female teachers all the boys
had in school during their childhood and always fantasized being with.
Starting off in a dreary black and white sequence demonizing the first day
of school as the geeky Waldo prepares to board the bus, it then goes into
color as we watch the transformation of school go from monotonous, to
exciting as the new hot teacher steps onto the classroom stage in a slinky
outfit. Along with an excellent song that rocks hard and a great range of
scenes, there's also some great editing done, we watch Eddie playing a
kick ass guitar solo while walking across a row of desks, and, the
funniest scene of all, the uncoordinated Van Halen brothers dancing to a
musical number. One of Van Halen's best songs, one of Van Halen's best
videos.
6. Money for Nothing
Dire Straits
The eighties, as terrible a decade it was, made way for some of the most
groundbreaking and innovative music videos ever made and Dire Straits'
"Money for Nothing" is a prime example of innovation and creativity. In
this classic video comprised almost solely of computer animated
characters, this features two moving men watching television complaining
about the music video artists: "Look at them yo-yos, that's the way to do
it, they play the guitar on the MTV, that ain't working, that's the way to
do it, money for nothing and the chicks for free". Though low-tech by
today's standards it cost a load of money to make as Dire Straits sings
their song of dedication to the average working man. He's said to have
taken the idea for the song after hearing two moving men complaining about
how easy the music video artists have it; and the lyrics are so funny and
so true even today, Dire Straits set the way for many of today's modern
computer animated videos.
4. We Are the World
What's there to say about a song that features the singing talents of
nearly fifty artists? Telecast around the world simultaneously, this
beautiful and powerful song about helping one another features some great
melodies sung by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael
Jackson, Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper, and Stevie Wonder to name only a few.
The video began numerous imitators with artists grouping together to sing
for a cause and was later spoofed in a clever funny sequence in "The
Simpsons". This paved the way for uniting music artists to come together
for one cause, and the song is very well performed. Neat game to play
while watching the video: point out as many music artists as you can.
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9. Dee-lite
Groove is in the heart
Dee-lite never had another hit after this great video that combines the
feel of the sixties with the funkadelic music of Motown, and while the
early nineties saw some of the worst music ever made, this enjoyable ode
to the sixties era from Dee-Lite is pleasing to the eyes and ears for any
music fan. Perhaps one of the rare credible one hit wonders who deserved
to have another hit, we watch a groovy and funky video with psychedelic
neon colors, a lava lamp background, the lead singer dressed as a go go
girl dancing in front of the camera, and one entertaining, catchy, and
dance-able song worthy of pumping up loud and dancing to during parties.7. Coldplay
The
Scientist
One of the best modern bands of music has a lot of conceptual artistic
music videos that spew creativity and "The Scientist" is probably their
best example to date. With a video that goes in a constant backwards
sequence, the song "The Scientist" tells the sad story about a man wishing
he could go back in time to keep from finding the sad things life has to
offer him. Meanwhile we watch front man Chris Martin sing the mellow and
poignant song as the entire video goes backwards setting the way for a
very sad heartbreaking and rather unexpected climax. It's said he recorded
the video forward and had to learn to sing the song backwards and when it
was filmed, it was looped backwards and voila. One of their best truly
interesting and fascinating videos to date.
5. Take on Me
Ah-Ha
This innovative music video which paved the way for videos from Incubus'
"Drive", and Shakira's "Temptation Tango" features a story within a song
about a woman who falls in love with a comic character and is sucked into
his world where he attempts to save her from villains. This bittersweet
video is set to Ah-Ha's incredible song "Take on Me" and became one of the
best music videos ever made as we watch the hero of the comic book
battling the villains, racing and falling love with her panel by panel.
Watch for the homage to "Altered States" as the lead singer bounces
against the walls of the video heroine's apartment struggling to remain
whole as he switches from drawn to human over and over. Still one of the
coolest videos to date.
3. The White Stripes
Seven Nation Army
The White Stripes perfected the three chord songs, but three simple cords
never rocked this hard before with a song that slows down and revs up
constantly; the Whites Stripes top their previous hits with this electric
and incredible song about the gossip regarding the two band members'
relationship and serves as a message to his fans who have turned into
gossipers. Meanwhile, the video that plays is a dark and incredibly
directed set of sequences in which each scene unfolds into another. Much
of the scenes portray Jack and Meg in a sort of god-like demeanor striking
awesome poses as they both chime out "Seven Nation Army", one of their
hardest rocking songs of all time.
2. Metallica
Enter
Sandman
Metallica, one of the best rock bands ever formed creates one hell of a
montage of nightmarish sequences set to one of the most kick ass songs
ever made. "Enter Sandman" is a song the taps into horror through
nightmares and gives us a video which delves into the psyche of a small
child who is experiencing the worst that music videos have to offer;
something the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies lost a long time ago. In an
array of nightmarish sequences we're given a glimpse into elements that
make up a nightmare; snakes in the bed, falling down a building, the dark,
waking up in the middle of nowhere and being chased by a phantom truck,
this masterfully directed video shows its great sequences that come in
sync with the music perfectly.
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