Having their own styles, techniques and culture, music videos have come a long way since their inception with the "talkie" (early motion picture synced with sound). The music video serves as so much more than the "accompanying visuals" for a song, with most songs in modernity both spending more money and making far more revenue off the video than any other source. While YouTube no longer serves as the de facto means of distribution, a golden age of music videos, between the early-'80s and the mid-2000s, flooded the public with all-time great music videos often directed by huge-name directors. Here are 5 great, underrated and important music videos you should know about!
"Cradle of Love", Billy Idol (1990)
Performed by English rock artist Billy Idol, "Cradle of Love" is the first single from Idol’s fourth album, Charmed Life. Idol was a leading force of the "Second British Invasion"/Britpunk movement of the '80s, a movement/community which is still actively creating today. "Cradle of Love" is a classic Idol; a fast-paced, New Wave hard-rock melody about doing the deed rebelliously.
The accompanying music video, released the same year, perfectly matches the infectiously manic energy of the song. Directed by David Fincher (Seven, Zodiac, The Social Network), the video follows a young woman pursuing and attempting to seduce a milquetoast businessman throughout a modern apartment, egged on by Billy Idol’s visage singing throughout the apartment’s paintings. The visual effect of the moving paintings is very impressive and a near perfect integration of Idol’s performance in the narrative of the video. Fincher’s addictingly hectic editing and trademark cinematography pair perfectly with Idol’s personal style and character; a character which would go on to heavily inspire Brad Pitt’s character in 1999 thriller Fight Club.
"Instant Crush", Daft Punk (2013)
"Instant Crush" is a single from French electronic band Daft Punk’s fourth album, Random Access Memories, featuring The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas on vocals. The lyrics lament the memory of meeting, falling in love, and the missed opportunity to act on the narrator's feelings; the accompanying guitar and synth create an ethereal soundscape that reflects the often cruel feeling of fleeting love.
The music video was directed by Warren Fu ("I Feel it Coming" by The Weeknd and Dua Lipa’s "Levitating") and produced by Daft Arts. The music video, inspired by fairytale "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", follows the life of a wax museum statue who, unable to move or do anything to achieve it, longs for company from a fellow wax statue. Fu does an excellent job of giving the wax statues personality, life, and emotion through editing while never deviating from reality or compromising their form. The dreamy atmosphere of the video perfectly matches the tone of the song; like a passing memory from a fading life. The final sequence of the video is an excellent emotional climax, combining tragedy and catharsis in a satisfying but distinctly "Daft Punk"-esque manner.
"Coffee and TV", Blur (1999)
Written and performed by the band’s guitarist Graham Coxon, "Coffee and TV" is a single from English rock band Blur’s sixth album, 13. Written about Coxon’s personal struggle with alcoholism, the alt-rock song excellently employs a discordant guitar solo to invoke a sense of unrest and discord.
The music video was created by Hammer & Tongs (Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, creators of "Pumping on your Stereo" by Supergrass and 2005’s live-action adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). The video follows "Milky", a sentient milk carton who spends the video searching for the missing individual posted on it’s side: Coxon. The tone of the video matches the song near perfectly, mirroring the dark undertone of the song coated beneath a relatively upbeat tempo, employing the whimsy of a cute anthropomorphic milk container to explore a scary and chaotic world. The composited effect of Milky over real footage is equally impressive, holding up under even modern standards.
"Dangerous", Busta Rhymes (1997)
A part of American rapper Busta Rhymes's second album, When Disaster Strikes, "Dangerous" is an infectiously catchy hip-hop rap song sampling the beat of Extra T’s "E.T. Boogie" (1982). A song about his crew and his untouchable dominance, the lyrics cleverly incorporate the chorus of a (frankly terrifying) PSA about the dangers of loose and accessible medication to reference his prowess.
Directed by Hype Williams ("Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" by Will Smith and "Gold Digger" by Kanye West), the music video for "Dangerous" is oozing with a combination of '90s rap culture and '80s action movie references. Much of the video is a play on the 1987 action thriller Lethal Weapon, with the actors of the video (Busta and Spiff Star) costumed to look like the films’ characters (Martin Riggs and Mr Joshua, respectively). What makes the video so fun is its playful attitude, best exemplified by the hyper-wide fisheye lenses used for much of the video. Between the infectious beat and the crazy cinematography, "Dangerous" is a definite fun watch.
"Here It Goes Again", OK Go (2006)
"Here It Goes Again" is a power-pop song written and performed by American rock band OK Go, being a single on the band’s second album, Oh No. About falling in love the morning after a one-night stand, the song features an upbeat tempo and wonderfully crunchy guitar. While the song itself is fun, it is the video which took this song (and the band) to stardom.
Famously produced for less than $5,000, the music video (choreographed by Trish Sie) features the four band members enacting a complexly choreographed dance across 8 moving treadmills in one continuous shot. The low-budget charm of the video compliments the style of music: rough around the edges but very fun.
The video was published on YouTube in 2006, just 7 months after the platform was fully released. The video quickly blew up, bringing internet stardom to the band; the success inversely cemented YouTube as a serious competitive alternative to the other existing music video distribution platforms (MTV), paving the way for other massively influential YouTube music videos and the current landscape of music video sharing.
