5. Royksopp – Remind Me
It is a testament to the music video when I love it, but don’t really like the song. The video for Remind Me looks like the illustrations for a “How To” book brought to life. I find it very clever and could watch it over and over again.
Röyksopp – Remind Me – The most amazing home videos are here
4. dc Talk – Jesus Freak
Maybe a touch campy by today’s standards, but the Jesus Freak music video pushed out the boundaries of, what was at the time, Christian opinions regarding music that were way too conservative. Adding to the controversy is the fact that it was directed by Simon Maxwell, who also directed the video “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails. I know many-a-Christian who blew a gasket over this.
Though it’s over ten years old, I still watch it from time to time. It’s a great video for a great song and one of the few places where you can see front man Toby Mac not dressed in “urban apparel”.
DC Talk-Jesus Freak – These bloopers are hilarious
3. Micheal Jackson – Smooth Criminal
Not so much a music video as a meta-movie, if anybody tells you that they don’t like the song and that they didn’t find the video entertaining… they are lying. Originally part of the Moonwalker movie, the extended video runs for almost 9 minutes and tells a story of sorts. This is MJ at his best.
A little know fact: the shoes that keeps Micheal and his dancers from tipping over in the infamous “leaning” scene was actually invented by MJ himself. He took a patent out on the design to make it official. Fun.
2. Johnny Cash – Hurt
When I first heard that Johnny Cash was going to cover a Nine Inch Nail song (the second reference to Trent Reznor on this list) I could help but wonder how he was going to pull it off. I saw the video before I heard the song and it just stayed with me. It’s perfect combination of stock Cash footage and symbolism fit seamlessly with both his arrangement of the song and the lyrics themselves. For me, this transcended from a mere music video to a piece of art.
1. Elton John – I Want Love
And speaking of art… I Want Love by Elton John is not only my favorite music video of all time, but I’m pretty sure it’s the greatest song of all time. This song would be a key track on the soundtrack of my life and the video goes an amazing job in communicating the lyrics. The version of the video I’ve posted here has brief interviews with both Elton John and the director of the video talking about the inspiration behind filming.
October 30, 2009
Media