My Top 10 Favorite Music Videos of All Time

November 29th, 2008 § 15

Even though my first viewing of 12 Monkeys at age 12 was what opened the door for me as far as film-making went, it was only when I started making little flourish videos in ’04 that I finally walked through it. In making my flourish montages, I always had one simple rule – I had to know what song I was using before I put the video together.

When I did HFFH four years ago, even before shooting it I knew I was going to use that particular track off of the WWE Anthology. Likewise, Void Deck was destined to have Emily Haine’s haunting voice in the background. And one of the reasons Portable Playground took so long to come out was because I had to find that one song that fit – eventually I did, and now I can’t imagine anything other than Sam Roberts’ track playing in its stead.

So I guess when it comes down to it, one could say I’m a music video maker with a very specific subject. And while I don’t consider myself as much of a music-video nut as I do a film geek (more on that next time), it’s a format that I’ve come to be very fascinated with. More than just a series of accompanying visuals to a 3-4 minute soundtrack, a music video provides infinite imaginative possibility in an amazingly short time span – it can be a heartbreakingly simple story of love, a mesmerizing display of eye-popping grandeur, or even an offbeat, twisted perspective that brings about something new entirely. Whatever it is, all great music videos have one thing they share in common: the ability to move us in unforgettable ways. So without further ado, here are the top 10 videos that have done that for me:

#10 – “Always” by Blink-182 (iTunes)

Before my friend Sean introduced me to a whole slew of Indie music in 2005, the stuff I listened to consisted mostly of what was popular on the radio at the time. That, of course, meant that I was a huge Blink-182 fan: I had all of their albums (The Mark, Tom and Travis Show included), and even though Youtube didn’t exist at the time I made a point to find all of their music videos and download them. And while What’s My Age Again and All the Small Things were awesome in their immaturity and Adam’s Song still gets me with its underplayed sadness, my favorite video by them is still the one for Always. The first time I watched it, I thought it was one of the most genius things I had ever seen. As with the song title, the 3-way split seemed to indicate a sense of a never-ending cycle – one that started with rejection, progressed through understanding, and ended with forgiveness. Simple in story, awesome in execution – an instant favorite.

#9 – “The Universal” by Blur (iTunes)

A bit ironic that I would only find out about Blur after I got into Gorillaz… like it or not, you’re going to bump into one incarnation of Albarn some day. From the very first shot with the microphone, through the perfectly timed cuts and camerawork, all the way up to the spot-on Clockwork Orange references, the atmosphere of this video is almost scary with its seemingly-sedated tranquility.

#8 – “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim (iTunes)

The legendary Chris Walken rockin’ out to Fatboy Slim in an empty hotel lobby. ‘Nuff said.

#7 – “Again and Again” by The Bird and the Bee (iTunes)

I know, I know, it’s not the official video by the group. That still doesn’t mean it isn’t one of the most awesome viral videos ever – I bet The Bird and the Bee got more (free!) publicity through this video than they did with that sappy period-piece themed bit. I’ve been a huge Apple fan after moving completely away from Windows, so I guess the fact that this was done completely on OSX only boosts its awesome appeal for me. I can’t imagine how much work must have gone into this… maybe I should go back to playing Breakout instead.

#6 – “Ladyflash” by The Go! Team (iTunes)

My friend Jack has excellent taste in unheard-of indie music, so from time to time I ask him for recommendations, and they always deliver. The Go! Team was one of the first bands he told me about, and I immediately fell in love with their playful, upbeat energy. The free-form, Sesame Street-like, cut-and-paste look of this video is a perfect representation of their musical style, and whenever I’m feeling tired or down I give it a watch and it always gets my day going.

#5 – “Rabbit in Your Headlights” by UNKLE (iTunes)

I know I’ve already written about a Jonathan Glazer video at #9, but I like this video too much to not include it in the list. I’ll admit, the first time I saw it I didn’t know what to think of it… after watching the old man in the hoodie walk through traffic babbling nonsense and twitching incessantly for about two minutes, I turned it off and went back to eating my lunch.

A while later, I stumbled across the video again on Youtube, and having some time to kill I decided to give it a second chance. What transpired this time round was an experience so different from my initial viewing it was scary – I felt for the man’s unheard messages, rooted for him every time he got up, and was completely blown away by the unexpected ending. And while I can’t say for sure what the authorial intent was, the vibe I get from it is one of uncompromising resilience – sticking so true to your vision that you change the very rules that govern you.

#4 – “Eple” by Röyksopp (iTunes)

You might remember Röyksopp from their track ‘Remind Me’, used in the first GEICO Caveman ad that ran back in ’04. The official music video for it is awesome as well, having won the MTV Europe Best Music Video award, among other honors. Nevertheless, when it comes down to pure visual awesomeness I prefer the music video for Eple so much more – it’s the videographic equivelent of those boxes-in-boxes-in-boxes-in-even-more-boxes. If awesome, seamless transitions were scrap metal, this video would be an amusement park… in more ways than one, it seems.

Also, if you’re wondering why the music sounds so familiar, it’s probably because it was used as the music playing during the Mac OS X Panther set-up. After all, ‘Eple’ in Norwegian does translate literally to ‘Apple’, a fitting match if I do say so myself.

#3 – “Classy Penguin” by The Books (link)

In the midst of all these epic, technologically innovative and visually stunning videos comes The Books. Every now and then it takes something raw, unfiltered and sincere to get the message across, and that’s exactly what the music video for Classy Penguin is. Comprised entirely of home videos of The Books members Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong when they were younger, this simple montage is a heart-warming reminder of earlier times when the world wasn’t such a complicated place; when all that mattered was smiling, loving, sharing, acting foolish and being happy.

#2 – “D.A.N.C.E.” by Justice (iTunes)

I’ll say it right now: Justice is the new Rock n’ Roll. As seen in their new documentary A Cross the Universe, the music by the French duo has the potential to start riots with its insane catchiness and masterful rhythm and groove. There isn’t a single bad track on †, and Planisphère is almost Beethoven-like in its composition. As far as music videos go, though, there’s nothing else like So Me’s phenomenal music video for D.A.N.C.E. Every time I see this video I get inspired, and the part at 2.14 where the piano drops down from the girl’s shirt is just one of the many awesome things that bumped this video up to the #2 spot of my ‘all-time-favorites’ list.

Why number 2, though? Well:

#1 – “Let Forever Be” by The Chemical Brothers (iTunes)

If I weren’t mindful of variety, I’d fill this entire Top 10 list with nothing but Michel Gondry videos. Come Into My World is a mind-f**k of spacial blocking, Sugar Water is a masterfully executed experiment in linearity, and Lucas with the Lid Off and Protection are one-take wonders that would put Emmanuel Lubezki to shame. Did I mention that the guy’s genius? He even invented Bullet Time, for f**k’s sake! So when it comes down to just choosing one out of the lot, this video for The Chemical Brother’s 1999 track takes the cake for its face-meltingly awesome transitions back and forth from reality to fantasy, all in symmetry and style. I just watched video again, I couldn’t help it – excuse me while I go pick my jaw up off the floor.

So that’s all for now, folks. Hope you enjoyed the videos, and do keep telling your friends about this site! Wouldn’t want all this extra bandwidth to go to waste, now would we?

Have a favorite music video isn’t listed here? Post about it in the comments section below!

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