In tribute to the late, great Adam Yauch I’ve decided to
compile a quick top five of my favourite music videos of all time. There have
obviously been hundreds of brilliant promos since video reared up, unwittingly
and ultimately killing the radio stars of yesteryear, however this is a
celebration of those that managed to perfectly capture a song visually.
Number 5: Beastie Boys – Sabotage
MCA may no longer be with us but thankfully The Beastie Boys humorous and
energetic videos always will be. Sabotage is the best of the lot, building up
the tension before launching into the fence kicking attack of the first verse.
Fast, action packed and perfectly spoofed with fake moustaches it’s an LA cop
chase that crams all the best bits of a film into an adrenaline fuelled three
minutes of awesomeness.
Number 4: Eminem – Stan
Another white boy rapper famed for his outlawed comedy
videos, Eminem went dark and disturbing with 2002’s Stan. Shot with low saturation and differentiation levels, it’s a rain
drenched autobiographical tale of a crazed fan, driving himself and his
pregnant girlfriend ultimately to death in his crazed pursuit of Eminem’s attention.
Distressing and painful it explores the obsessive culture of fandom, so often
trivialised, for its agonizing and often tragic nature.
Number 3: Social Distortion – Machine Gun Blues
A seven minute epic perfectly detailing the story told in
the song. Set in 1930’s America, it’s wonderfully shot and stylish, just easing
with cool. Mike Ness effortlessly pulls off the gun wielding anti-hero, keeping
his tommy gun stored in his guitar case, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.
Retro, superbly directed and with an endless supply of ammo its pure punk rock
heart and soul: Don Corleone with a Les Paul and what’s not to love about that.
Number 2: Johnny Cash – Hurt
A video that will always hold poignancy and sentiment as it
was filmed just seven months before Cash’s death, and three months before that
of his wife June . The opening bars reflected through Christian imagery before
revealing the essence of Cash’s cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic, an old
man remembering through music. Shot at the House of Cash museum in Nashville,
the derelict and diminishing building seemed a perfect metaphor for Cash’s own
fading health. Frail, emotive and vulnerable it serves as an echo or epitaph to
lost youth and memory. Truly a goose
bump inducing, room silencing masterpiece.
Number 1: Replacements – Bastards of Young
If ever a music video captured what it’s like to be a
teenager this is it, and it couldn’t be simpler. Shot in black and white, the
picture slowly zooms out from a booming record player to reveal a bored
teenager, sat on his bed, smoking and playing Tim. The climatic crescendo of
the track itself is mirrored by the finale, where the punk lashes out, kicking
his speakers over and leaving the room. A picture-perfect representation of
anger, frustration and youth, it exemplifies the genre and captures feelings
like no million dollar video ever could.
You can keep Michael Jackson in space and Lady Gaga in prison; this is why music videos are awesome.
