Martha, My Dear: ILM's All-Time Video-Poll Results Thread

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-martha.jpg

I'll start counting down tomorrow around mid-day. Fifteen Thursday, 15 on Friday, and then the Top 10 either on the weekend or Monday, whichever people prefer.

Huge thanks to Viborg in collecting nominations and tabulating results. Turned out to be much more time-consuming than I expected.

MTV seems like a good place to start. We didn't get it in Canada, but I've learned that it launched a couple of months before I turned 20. The first time I saw it was when I visited a university friend in Rockford. We probably had MuchMusic up here by that time, but I'm not sure. There were more votes for old-school, early MTV videos than I expected.

Yes!

There were more votes for old-school, early MTV videos than I expected.

- many voters would have grown up on them
- younger voters here probably have a more historical perspective than their peers
- there were fewer videos then and everyone saw the same ones, whereas the viewership of later videos probably split along genre/fan lines

All of that, and a lot of people past a certain age just completely lost interest in them, even if they maintained an interest in the music. I saw new videos out of necessity: when I made my mad scramble at the end of each year to get a year-end list together, I caught up via YouTube (I rarely stream). I'd always see good ones, and few made my list.

I have no idea whether they retain any marketing importance right now (or if they did pre-COVID). Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Selena Gomez did not get a vote in this poll--they didn't even get a single nomination between them.

Björk! Björk! Björk! Björk!

^^^ he believes in beauty

xxp Real lack of taste when no one appreciates boob rockets

Björk! did extremely well, but I think I have a different conception of beauty (the thing I look for most in a video). I was able to lift a couple of images I liked, but with two of the three, it was a challenge. Beauty to me is the Fresh Prince's "Summertime" video, which got almost nothing in the way of votes.

Fresh Prince's "Summertime"

shit, should've voted for that

Did not vote for this, as I am not an informed voter and all of my picks would have been from the years 1988-1996. Still very much excited for this roll out. Preemptive thank you to all who organized.

I really wanted to join in with this, have loved the idea of a video poll since it was first proposed years ago, but circumstances just meant I couldn't get up the energy to root around and watch stuff. Will follow along with the results, though.

^ this plus it seemed like a huge undertaking and there is a lot going on in life at the moment. my ballot would have been all 80s anyways with the addition of Spoon's "Inside Out."

will enjoy the rollout and the work put in

I have an ongoing playlist on YT of my favorite music videos of all time here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTeVyV-FXsF93y3AyJh9lEJefAO6QCo7c

summertime was a late cut for me

are we really only rolling out 40 of these??

the p-funk poll rolled out 150 songs lol

I just wouldn't have the time or the energy. And even though 45 people voted, being an all-time poll, the votes are typically scattered far and wide at a certain point--which is just beyond #40. There's one video that got 2 votes and just finished out of the Top 40. Inside, one video got 4, nothing else less than 5, moving up to a high of 19 (not the #1, though).

I have an ongoing playlist on YT of my favorite music videos of all time here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTeVyV-FXsF93y3AyJh9lEJefAO6QCo7c

― kurt schwitterz

Aha - "Nolan Thomas - Yo' Little Brother"! I was trying so hard to remember the name of this one so I could vote for it, and there it is on your list. Was it even nommed?

I also feel robbed by the fact that this video was not part of childhood.

Maybe after the initial rollout, Clem or viborg could post some additional 'Bubbling Under' vids?

"Yo Little Brother" is the best sequel to "Let the Music Play" possible.

(xpost) Just working on a list for #41-100 now. I was actually wrong--almost all the videos in the #41-60 range got 5 or 6 votes, just not as many points.

Our family had a well-worn recording of Friday Night Videos from 1984 that's burned into my brain and remains classic to this day. 'Yo Little Brother', 'Rockit', ZZ Top's 'TV Dinners', etc. It was largely weird and creepy stuff and I loved it so! I should poll those specific videos some other time.

Oh and naturally I forgot to vote in this poll. Drat.

I voted despite very provincial and scattershot knowledge — didn’t have cable growing up and still probably haven’t seen a lot of things that were ubiquitous; the first three Directors Label DVDs established canon for me (and I’m guessing will be well represented). I watched maybe 20 noms I hadn’t seen and did vote for a few of them, plus various faves old and new discovered mostly on YouTube.

Get this: my parents didn't get cable until 2000. Growing up, I depended on Friday Night Videos and my friends.

"Yo Little Brother" is the best sequel to "Let the Music Play" possible.

“Yo’ Little Brother" is great fun tho, I’d never heard (of) it before

Night Tracks on TBS was often more fun to watch than MTV in the '80s. They played much more dance music and black music. It came on at midnight Friday and Saturday nights and ran all night. I remember parties when we would just put that on and it was great entertainment.

that would be “Give Me Tonight”, no need to look further

― celebrating ten years of constant posting (breastcrawl)

I don't consider "Let The Music Play" and "Give Me Tonight" separate singles: same fabulous electrogroove.

Where does "Do You Wanna Get Away" fit in? I guess the groove is less electro and more straightforward, but there's still some freestyle elements.

"Do You..." is closer to period dance music.

It's definitely my least favorite of the three

yep, formula running down

Shannon was so big in Miami that LTMP's third single earned airplay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSaOxK_kTKU

I hope nobody minds this digression, but the Shannon talk reminds me that Miami had a freestyle station before the legendary Power 96, namely WHQT Hot 105. That was where you heard Shannon in 1985 (I was a high school listener). In about the summer of 1986 the two stations traded formats, with Power 96 assuming the freestyle sovereignty all the way to the end of the era.

I have some physio at 10:40, but I'll post the first couple before I leave--I'll pick up again around 11:30.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-40.jpg

40. “Jocko Homo,” Devo (1977)
56 points/6 votes
Director: Chuck Statler

Images were much harder for me this time than with previous polls I've done. Neil Young and Yo La Tengo were easy. The two film polls (discounting an early one, when I didn't put any thought into them), road films and political films, even when I hadn't seen something, I had a reasonably good sense of the film to pick something that worked. (I remember not having a clue about the John Landis film Into the Night--that was the rare exception.)

There are a lot of videos among these 40 I'd never seen before. And--I'll say stuff like this periodically, and it's never directed at people who voted for them--there are a number I don't like. So I'm sure with some of them, if it's a video you love, you won't care for the image; I'll have missed whatever it is that makes the video memorable for you. (I would skim those videos quickly, but I didn't have the patience to watch them all.)

i kinda dig that they're gonna be thumbnails with youtube UI included

I hope nobody minds this digression, but the Shannon talk reminds me that Miami had a freestyle station before the legendary Power 96, namely WHQT Hot 105. That was where you heard Shannon in 1985 (I was a high school listener). In about the summer of 1986 the two stations traded formats, with Power 96 assuming the freestyle sovereignty all the way to the end of the era.

― Josefa,

Excellent post. Hot 105 exists as the adult R&B station; these days I occasionally tune in for the quiet storm show.

(xpost) That was something that looked good to me, and I figure 97% of video viewing now happens on YouTube anyway; the two have basically verged. (I have one Vimeo image for the one Björk video I couldn't get on YouTube here.)

And, of course, not cropping that stuff out was easier, and also keeps the original ratio there.

Verged = merged...

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-39.jpg

39. “When I’m with You,” Sparks (1979)
57 points/4 votes/one #1 vote
Director: Brian Grant

Devo restoration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk1DNzg0LWs

sorry i'm bad at remember how not to embed lol

I suppose the first two define the earliest days of video--be as weird as possible. I very much doubt that Brian Grant and Chuck Statler, when they directed these, ever thought anyone would be looking up their names in 2022.

(Not a big Devo fan, but I did vote for "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize," primarily because of how much I love the song.)

Back in an hour.

Ah, sorry I missed that--that version looks much cleaner. (The not-clean version does look more primitive, though, which is apropos.)

i hadn't seen either of these but they're fantastic, particularly the sparks video

Damn, I meant to include non-embedded links in the info...I'll start doing that when I get back.

i didn't realize i'd seen the music video for "jocko homo," but now i'm realizing that i saw it as part of a short film called 'devo-lution,' which i saw during college at an ann arbor film festival. it's an incredible amount of fun, and the "jocko homo" part is definitely the highlight. would've voted for it if i'd known it was a free-standing video

Shannon was so big in Miami that LTMP's _third_ single earned airplay.

📹

I hope nobody minds this digression, but the Shannon talk reminds me…

seeing Sparks tomorrow, never seen this before. thanks, Clemenza!

"Jocko Homo" was one of the first videos I saw as a kid, probably on the pioneering CityTV program The New Music, which predated MTV. It's amazingly grotesque, even from the perspective of the 70s, but I prefer the faster album version of the song too much to vote for this version.
Though I'm a Sparks fan, I hadn't heard "When I'm With You" till this year. I voted for it just for Ron's smile.

I forgot about the Sparks ventriloquist video. It's a bummer how much 80s Russel Mael looks like Tucker Carlson.

Wow, I voted for both of these. I was the #1 vote for Sparks. A somewhat strategic boost!

Interesting too that the countdown begins with two brother acts!

First two placings suggest a really fun rollout, I'm here for this

That Devo doc containing the "Jocko Homo" video is, curiously/appropriately, included on the Criterion disc of Island of Lost Souls (1932).

i kinda like the slowed version of “jocko” from the video

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-38.jpg

38. “Relax,” Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1983)
57 points/7 votes
Director: Bernard Rose

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yem_iEHiyJ0

One I do remember, and "Two Tribes." I like the long "Relax" sequence in De Palma's Body Double (pretty sure Holly Johnson appears).

xps also a voter for Jocko Homo, could have voted for all of those early Devo videos, arresting genius.

a partial Chuck Statler videography (he doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry, wth?):

1976 Devo: Jocko Homo (Music Video)
1976 Devo: The Truth About De-Evolution (Short)
1976 Devo: Secret Agent Man
1977 Suicide Commandos: Burn it Down
1978 Devo: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Music Video)
1979 Devo: The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise (Music Video)
1979 Elvis Costello & The Attractions: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding (Music Video)
1979 Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Oliver's Army (Music Video)
1979 Madness: One Step Beyond (Music Video)
1979 Nick Lowe: Cruel to Be Kind (Music Video)
1980 Devo: Whip It
1980 Elvis Costello & The Attractions: High Fidelity (Music Video)
1980 Elvis Costello & The Attractions: I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down (Music Video)
1980 Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Love for Tender (Music Video)
1980 The Cars: Panorama (Music Video)
1980 The J. Geils Band: Love Stinks (Music Video)
1981 Devo: Beautiful World
1981 Devo: The Men Who Make the Music (Video)
1981 The Time: Cool (Music Video)
1983 Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Let Them All Talk (Music Video)

fuck, why didn't i vote for "relax"

why not link the videos?

Get this: my parents didn't get cable until 2000. Growing up, I depended on Friday Night Videos and my friends.

Get this: I've never had cable.

At least a half-dozen of those got votes.

I like the screenshots better--whatever polls I've done, the fun I have creating the images are really the main reason. You can click on the link easily enough if you want to watch the video.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-37.jpg

37. “Human Behaviour,” Björk (1993)
58 points/7 votes
Director: Michel Gondry

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0mRIhK9seg

how many times do y'all think gondry will place on this poll

123

The answer to that question...amazed me.

I might have had some dim awareness before starting this that Björk was considered an important video artist. But because her music has never meant anything to me, the videos haven't either. Think I may have seen this one once--I vaguely remember the giant insects--the other two that placed, never.

i think i was avoiding putting gondry on my ballot bc i knew he'd be overrepresented here and then i belatedly realized he did the chemical brothers video i voted for ("star guitar")

"star guitar" is the greatest visual representation of how it feels like the landscape syncs up with the music in your headphones when you're staring out the window of a train

Never seen that Sparks video - otherwise not surprised by the first few results.

You mind bolding the text in the results entries, clemenza? Helps for those of us with images turned off, thanks

I can do that, yes--you mean the text right under the image, right?

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-35b.jpg

35. “Just,” Radiohead (1995)
59 points/5 votes
Director: Jamie Thraves

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIFLtNYI3Ls

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-35a.jpg

35. “Money for Nothing,” Dire Straits (1985)
59 points/5 votes
Director: Steve Barron

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTP2RUD_cL0

I prefer the G-rated laser-version "Relax" video just for the close-up of Paul Rutherford going "Ooh Yeah! Ooh Yeah!"

eww

First tie.

I was really surprised the Dire Straits video showed up. Again, no criticism of anyone who voted for it...I thought, if nothing else, the one line would have kept it out. I had an antipathy to it long before that became a story. I can't get past the song itself, and there was always something kind of, I don't know, self-serving about the concept for both the artist and MTV.

the computer graphics were the attraction to me as a kid, moreso than the song. didn't vote for it though. my version of voting for "money for nothing" was voting for "right now"

the one line would have kept it out

Yeah, how did they get away with "blister on your thumb"?!?

i mean, the video came out two years before i was born but it still looked kinda cool whenever i ended up seeing it (prob around '98, pop-up video?) xp

Unfortunately I can't remember how 'groundbreaking' the money for nothing video seemed to 12 year old me, but I threw it a vote, guess I forgot about the one line.

Believe me, I'm someone who more often than not pushes back against the idea that "you can't like this because of one line." Here, I don't have to even grapple with that because I dislike the song and video above and beyond the line.

video looks a billion times better than the metaverse

I posted a few months ago about playing the "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" video for a grade 6 class (Boy George's birthday) and suddenly having to shut it off because of blackface--I had zero recollection of that, and don't ever remember it being a story.

Y'all could've just voted for this instead and not had to deal with any such conflict

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WPzFnZkZmI

"star guitar" is the greatest visual representation of how it feels like the landscape syncs up with the music in your headphones when you're staring out the window of a train

This. I'd been thinking about how great it would be to do a music video like this for years leading up to it, and when "Star Guitar" came out I thought it had basically been made for me. Easy vote.

why not link the videos?

I like the screenshots better--whatever polls I've done, the fun I have creating the images are really the main reason. You can click on the link easily enough if you want to watch the video.

..........but you are not linking the videos!!!! that is what I asked

so, wait, did y'all vote for videos despite your feelings for the song?

I didn't.

Cool video + shit song = no vote

34. “Enjoy the Silence,” Depeche Mode (1990)
61 points/6 votes
Director: Anton Corbijn

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGSKrC7dGcY

oops

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-34.jpg

34. “Enjoy the Silence,” Depeche Mode (1990)
61 points/6 votes
Director: Anton Corbijn

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGSKrC7dGcY

I already liked most of the songs whose videos I voted for, and then a couple were songs I discovered/came to like through the videos.

How much weight did people give to the song in their ballot. I liked every track I voted for, if not crazy for all of them. Did anyone vote for a video where they didn't rate the song at all?

Xpost

Same as Alfred for me.

sic, you're just going to have to live with the way I'm doing this. I know it requires a great deal of creative detective work to locate these videos on the internet.

I was going to say that the Depeche Mode video was obviously a tribute to the video for Joy Division's "Atmosphere," then found out Corbijn did both.

video looks a billion times better than the metaverse

― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Thursday, March 17, 2022 8:52 AM

otm

Agree with clemenza — not a very good song. Video was pretty striking in 85/86 though. I hadn't seen NES or Atari or anything like that yet, so it was very much a "WOW THEY CAN DO THAT???" kind of reaction. I wouldn't have voted for it, but I can definitely see how someone could justify a vote in this poll.

I didn't vote for anything with a song I outright dislike but there were at least a couple I would never choose to put on either.

I'm a little older, so I think the novelty aspect that would have wowed someone younger in 1985 didn't have the same affect on me; I remember thinking it was "interesting." But I get that.

so, wait, did y'all vote for videos despite your feelings for the song?

it depends! again, i do not love "right now" as a song, but the video is fucking insane

nice to see a corbijn video appear, this is probably the most obvious thing to say bc he's a photographer but his videos really do feel like gorgeous moving photographs

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-33.jpg

33. “Come to Daddy,” Aphex Twin (1997)
63 points/7 votes
Director: Chris Cunningham

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ827lkktYs

I wanted to vote for it but had to google "electronic music video with train" to remember the artist and title for "Star Guitar."

I don’t care for videos that are scary or unpleasantly weird (and I was a huge Aphex Twin fan)

As I posted earlier, beauty--my version of it, anyway--was the biggest factor in 40 or 45 of my 50 picks: beauty, plus my feelings about the song. I did, at least once, vote for a video because I found the images creepy and disturbing. Didn't vote for this one, but I can see where someone would feel the same about it.

Cool video + shit song = no vote

Same, for the most part, but I do confess to cueing up different songs to one of the videos in my top 10.

I admire the Corbijn aesthetic in theory but not enough to vote for any one example.

sic, you're just going to have to live with the way I'm doing this

I'm living with it, I was just curious as to why you're doing it this way, so I asked why

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-32.jpg

32. “Groove Is in the Heart,” Deee-Lite (1990)
64 points/7 votes
Director: Hiroyuki Nakano

www.youtube.com/watch?v=etviGf1uWlg

Didn't vote for it, but this is the first one where I can say I loved it when it was on the air.

nice to see a corbijn video appear, this is probably the most obvious thing to say bc he's a photographer but his videos really do feel like gorgeous moving photographs

Many XPs: As I said on the noms thread, hyperlinks are the way to go for posting vids if embeds are verboten. It's a little more work for the pollrunner, but it's ultimately worth it, imho.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-31.jpg

31. “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nirvana (1991)
65 points/7 votes
Director: Samuel Bayer

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg

Cool video + shit song = no vote

I almost think the opposite here.
If you can appreciate the video despite an aversion to the song, that is a good video.
If you already love the song, you're primed to appreciate the video already, so maybe it's not as good as you think.

this is the only good music video directed by samuel bayer

he is otherwise the worst visual stylist of the '90s and beyond

Clemenza, can you hyperlink the URL's for the videos? Or just include the https:// part so it does it automatically. It will save people having to copy/paste those URL's.

Picking an image for this was hard too--there’s just so many of them. Cobain staring out at what’s in front him--hatefully? uncomprehendingly?--has always stayed in my mind.

I didn’t vote for this, but it was like not putting Citizen Kane on my favourite-films list. It’s just too familiar, or over-discussed, or something. When it appeared, I doubt a video up to that point had made such a strong impression on me. I played it for various classes of mine for 15 years running, trying to explain the kind of impact it had, the musical landscape--my version of it, anyway--when it appeared, Marcus comparing it to Shakespeare, etc. And I’d follow by doing something I never did: I’d play Weird Al’s “Smells Like Nirvana.”

I don't want the videos embedded. If someone can post what you mean by hyperlink, I'll do that.

Or just include the https:// part so it does it automatically

this will embed them

If you use angle brackets with the "url" tag around the text it works.

Like this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg

clemenza, click on "show formatting help" and refer to first example in "for hyperlinks, use"

Just show men which brackets...you mean and ?

men = me, this man

It hyperlinked to "and"! I think I know what you mean now.

"Teen Spirit" definitely seemed to be a Rubicon for pop culture, even at the time, but I think years of that dreary piss-coloured palette in dozens of videos have dimmed its allure for me.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-30.jpg

30. “The Box,” Orbital (1996)
67 points/5 votes
Director: Luke Losey

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qddG0iUSax4&t

I've grown to like the song, but the music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" still means nothing to me.

Why does that hyperlink not work? That's the url.

"the box" my no. 2

you have to include the http://, otherwise it thinks it's a board link, idk

Okay, let me try something on a test thread.

Smells Like Teen Spirit: Important, sure, but not even the best music video set in high school--though I'm probably not thinking of any of the one's you might be thinking of.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qddG0iUSax4

Adding http:// and enclosing the whole thing with url tags gives you an embed. I'll try one more hyperlink for the next one, and if it doesn't work, I'm just going to forget about it.

30. “The Box,” Orbital (1996)

very helpful

looks like you got it working clem! very excited for no. 29

I've never seen The Box before! I knew about it at the time but didn't have access to satellite tv, then forgot about it for twenty years I guess. Pretty good, poor Tilda.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-29.jpg

29. “Wicked Game,” Chris Isaak (1989)
67 points/7 votes
Director: Herb Ritts

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd-qI62gNJM

Went looking online for the original Wicked Game video with the clips from Wild At Heart a few months ago and couldn't find it.

it was hard to pick one herb ritts video but i went with this one because of the clouds. he was unmatched in making gorgeous people look supernaturally gorgeous

It didn't work--got the embed. I'm just going to ask everyone to let that go...If I get ambitious tonight, I'll try to do all that in advance, but no guarantee.

Liked this at the time, both the song and video, but didn't vote for it. Linked in my mind with Bruce Weber's documentary on Chet Baker.

i do not care about links so this is fine

I read about the Wild at Heart version, directed by Lynch--I've never seen it, I don't think.

Anyone can find these videos without a link, it's fine.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-28.jpg

28. “Unfinished Sympathy,” Massive Attack (1991)
68 points/8 votes
Director: Baillie Walsh

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWmrfgj0MZI

New to me, but I like this one. I almost voted for Morrissey's "Tomorrow," another person-walking-around video, and I think the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" was the same thing--must be dozens of them.

Voted for a different MA video but this is a good one.

A good video, but maybe one that suffered, for me, from a kind of inverse of the whole bad song/great video problem. Which is to say, I love the song so much that I'm not sure I would like the video so much if a less interesting song were being played overtop of it.

Might've learned I was gay after reveling in the 'Wicked Game' video.

Voted for "The Box."

xxp

(some mangled grammar--and logic(?)--in there, but hopefully youl get what I mean)

Might've confirmed I was straight after reveling in Helena Christensen in the "Wicked Game" video--something for everyone.

TMI

It made me wanna buy a fragrance

Another tie at #26...I'll post these two, then continue tomorrow (again, around mid-day). Should I finish on Saturday or Monday?

Viborg hasn't posted, but thanks again to him for splitting all the preliminary work.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-26b.jpg

26. “Transmission,” Joy Division (1979)
68 points/5 votes
Live performance, “Something Else” (BBC)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dBt3mJtgJc

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-26a.jpg

26. “Oblivion,” Grimes (2012)
68 points/5 votes
Director: Emily Kai Bock

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tain2qdt3K4

They're the greatest dancers.

happy birthday, Grimes!

Actually did try to find a directorial credit for the Joy Division, but no luck--somebody directed the TV show. (The song is '78, but the show aired in '79.)

I <3 that Grimes video... pretty sure it's the most "recent" vid I voted for

What are these results? Did music videos peak in 1981?

if you mean '91 (which seems like the rough median here) – then yeah, probably

I haven't dated everything yet, but I have a feeling Grimes is the newest video in the Top 40. As I posted in the intro, this did surprise me.

I've barely seen any music videos made after 1996 or so.

Lots of '90s stuff, so I'd even push that forward.

music videos as a format peaked with almost every rap video from '95-'99

I rarely watch new videos, even for artists I love. I just listen to the track.

whoever made the first video of bundled-up guys in NYC rapping in an empty lot deserves to win

That Grimes video must've had a budget of like $18. Was one of my top votes though.

How is that Joy Division clip a video tho? I feel like those votes were just people affirming that yes, they were a great live band.

got sick and failed to vote but enjoying the roll out! thanks clemenza!

Whoa, didn't even realize 'The Box' had an accompanying video. Love that track so hard.

Hasn't that Joy Division clip kind of been co-opted by the band as _the video_ for the song?

How is that Joy Division clip a video tho? I feel like those votes were just people affirming that yes, they were a great live band.

― enochroot, Thursday, March 17, 2022 11:13 AM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i feel like the image i associate with joy division, even more than their actual videos (cf. the "atmosphere" clip), is that performance

the band's youtube channel also insists it is the "official music video" which is hilarious

I'm gonna guess I'm the only one who voted for non-SLTS Nirvana.

That's the only straight-performance video that placed--a few others got stray votes. I brought up this point when first proposing the poll, and there was a definite tilt towards a separate poll for such things.

I can understand bending a bit here because a) as Brad says, it's identified as "the official video," and b) the circumstances of Joy Division's brief existence, and the scarcity of actual videos. There's "Atmosphere," there's something closer to a real video for "Love Will Tear Us Apart," there's a homemade one I nominated for "Disorder," and I don't know what else there is.

Plus Ian Curtis dancing.

(xpost) Close, but no.

I mean "Enjoy The Silence" is great but "Heart Shaped Box" is Anton Corbijn's best.

I came close to voting for Heart-Shaped Box (which did get a vote)--one of the videos I find unforgettably unsettling (and it passes the I-love-the-song test). Don't want to turn this into another Christgau-is-awful detour, but I remember him remarking that it was terrible in Pazz & Jop that year; I can see where someone might find some of the more grotesque imagery campy, but I loved it then and still do--often just for the band, like the part where Cobain's in the foreground and the other two are behind him, with Novoselic's arm around Grohl. That's a great image.

i picked "teen spirit" over "heart-shaped box" because i thought a lot about iconicity when picking my ballot, and there are few more immediately recognizable videos than that one. i think i regret that, though, since that "heart-shaped box" video is the exact right kind of disturbing (i do not relate to that morrisp post above at all haha)

I considered voting for "In Bloom" just becasue he makes such great faces in it. The Nevermind-era videos are classic just because he's so much smarter and funnier than their directors.

What are these results? Did music videos peak in 1981?

I think Eric H. was being facetious here, bc one might have feared the results would come out that way

xxp yeah i picked teen spirit over heart-shaped box for similar reasons re iconicity, but rewatching it now i regret it as well. heart-shaped box was one of the first songs i remember loving as a kid when it was getting played relentlessly on 99x in atlanta. i probably haven't seen the video since i was a kid and watching it now i realize its been firmly lodged in my subconscious the way things do when absorbed by the uncritical mind of a child that fully accepts whatever it sees and has already decided is cool. speaking of which, my ballot in general is heavily weighted towards videos that i absorbed in such a way

Similarly, I rewatched R.E.M.'s "Stand" video today (after voting for it last week), and I guess it's not necessarily as objectively great as I remember... its appeal was more rooted in being a preteen R.E.M. fan. It's still pretty good, though (and crazy how much it just looks like an episode of that show Pete & Pete, which the director would later work on).

(xxpost) You might be right (but wouldn't "didn't" be the word to suggest facetiousness?).

I still love the much-despised "Shiny Happy People" (even by the band itself) song and video.

Yeah! Same director

missed a few placements. titillation in music videos often feels so cheap, but idk if any piece of visual media has smoldered quite like "wicked game" before or since.

"Wicked Game" = not even the sexiest beach-set music video.

It isn't, but it has two of the sexiest people on the beach.

Horny-ass Wikipedia entry:

In the middle of the video, Christensen is seen only in her black lace bra and panty; other times, she wears only a men's white brief.

I feel sullied by the mental image of a Wikipedia editor hornily hyperlinking the word "panty"

is your world on fire

Go in and add a time-stamped link to the word "middle."

What a Wiki game to play

"Wicked Game" = not even the sexiest beach-set music video.

― Les hommes de bonbons (cryptosicko), Thursday, March 17, 2022 12:40 PM (eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah but herb ritts def directed whichever you think is the sexiest one

Oh, did he direct "I'm Still Standing"?

I've finally figured out the complicated world of hyperlinks. So I'll have that in place for the top 25--bold text, hyperlinks, everything.

Now go ahead and request one more thing. I dare you--I double-dare you.

nervous lol

total request dead

Sorry everyone, videos set on the beach have to have a shot of the singer/band performing while buried up to their necks in sand. This is known as the Huey Lewis rule.

I dare you--I double-dare you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IprBx1OlBk

I was thinking of a certain movie...

Sexiest beach video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQaQLsAW188

xps 'losing my religion' had to be my REM pick, despite my not particularly caring about it as a kid, because it captures an aspect of my memory of the 90s in a way that few other 90s artifacts do. rustic, sepia earth tones, pseudo-historicity, a mystique of sophistication, it reminds me of the pier 1 imports my mom decorated the house with, intended to offer the feel of a place that had been lived in without the dust and dirt of a real old object, decor that in retrospect is imbued with melancholic longing or an ennui of emptiness, which i also associate with the song

Nice. Few huge surprises so far, in that I can readily recall the overall vibe of all but one of these videos from the titles. (I'd never knowingly seen the Orbital one, but I think I get the appeal.) Pretty sure I contributed points to four: Devo, Sparks, Massive Attack and Grimes. So w00t!

I was asleep through this day of results but thanks for accommodating our formatting requests!

Double lol to President Keyes' last two posts

My lol was for Keyes’ “I’m Still Standing” ref, just to be clear

Was any Duran Duran nominated? They were routinely said to have embraced the potential of the music video more enthusiastically than many at the time. And they spent notoriously large sums on them, etc. But I'm guessing the world and ILM have overwhelmingly moved on from that sort of shtick.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3544112/

*adds to watchlist*

Duran Duran got 66 points in total, 47 of them for "Hungry for the Wolf", the rest for three others (one vote each). Their lasting impact was not lasting, at least not here--Rob Sheffield is still an enthusiast.

Kind of amazing that DD didn’t place. Also I would have thought “Rio” would be the top vote getter. Then again I haven’t seen those videos in decades

It was only recently I saw the 'dirty' version of "Girls On Film"...very clearly not designed for wide broadcast, although I imagine it did air on the Tophat Playboy Channel.

I did vote for "A View To Kill".

another person-walking-around video

I'd have nominated/voted for "Sapokanikan" by Joanna Newsom, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, probably to no avail.

Natalie Merchant’s “Carnival” is another good one in the person-walking-around genre

There's a walking-around video in the Top 10...I voted for Green Day's "Walking Contradiction," which sorts of fits, except the focus is on the surrounding chaos, not the walkers.

Björk was considered an important video artist

Her visuals are "pushy" and tip the scale for me too far into whimsy/weirdness, I'm sated just listening to her music.

anyone with affection for Rio is strongly recommended to watch (at least the first half-hour of) the film at that IMDB link

Didn't click on the link...I quite liked that movie. Their new-wave song (a video, too, if I remember it right) was brilliant.

I can see why Björk videos might resonate to varying degrees depending on one's appreciation for her music but the 'Bachelorette' video (by Gondry, of course) is like objectively astounding. I have to imagine it'll show up in these results eventually.

xps 'losing my religion' had to be my REM pick, despite my not particularly caring about it as a kid, because it captures an aspect of my memory of the 90s in a way that few other 90s artifacts do. rustic, sepia earth tones, pseudo-historicity, a mystique of sophistication, it reminds me of the pier 1 imports my mom decorated the house with, intended to offer the feel of a place that had been lived in without the dust and dirt of a real old object, decor that in retrospect is imbued with melancholic longing or an ennui of emptiness, which i also associate with the song

I'm tempted to say that the gap between the images in music videos and "life" was clearer before the Internet became part of everyday life, and that it was easier to be bored and to feel that emptiness -- not sure how much it's the adolescent versus the historical moment.

I voted for "Man on the Moon" (the "Losing My Religion" video is one of those I can't really see because of my antipathy for the song). That was definitely a key video for me in appreciating the artistic possibilities for the form, even though it's well along the timeline (and supposedly borrows liberally from Bruce Conner, whose films I've never seen).

The first Bruce Conner film I saw was a found-footage thing called “Take the 5:10 to Dreamland” (1976), which blew my mind. Devo’s “Mongoloid” video is another Bruce Conner found-footage work.

"star guitar" is the greatest visual representation of how it feels like the landscape syncs up with the music in your headphones when you're staring out the window of a train

― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Thursday, March 17, 2022 10:32 AM (eleven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

not sure I've seen the video but can confirm, after a "Star Guitar" drive across Kansas at sunset

biggest surprise today... "Oblivion" had a video? something about that feels retconned

It got lots of rotation on MTV; it’s how I discovered the song…

i am enjoying this rollout

also old grumps & younglings may not recall everyone suddenly wearing tennis headbands to emulate marl knopfler & money for nothing video was THE coolest thing anyone had ever clapped eyes since “Thriller”.
we didn’t get out much

and then def leppard ruined it by recreating the same animation for the lets get rocked video & all nostalgia left my body

Yeah the "Money for Nothing" video blew my mind at a young age. tbh I voted for it having forgotten about that one awful lyric, might have given me some pause had I remembered

Their lasting impact was not lasting, at least not here--Rob Sheffield is still an enthusiast.

― clemenza, Thursday, March 17, 2022 9:08 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

do you mean their videos?

“oblivion” video was def a big deal at the time, maybe only in tumblr and the blogosphere, but that area of the culture deserves representation here

didnt vote but im glad radiohead 'just' placed, i remember vhs taping that off mtv as a teen & watching it over and over to find out what was said @ the end

do you mean their videos?

In terms of Duran Duran, that's probably what I meant; in terms of Rob, more general. There are probably bands out there influenced by them musically, and image-wise, that I don't know.

I'm just sitting around, may as well start. I move pretty quickly--would be happy to finish today.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-25.jpg

25. “Bastards of Young,” Replacements (1985)
73 points/8 votes
Director: Randy Skinner

I'm a big fan but of two minds on this video. In context, in its moment, it's ingenious, and kind of a necessary No.

But I also think of Adventureland, and its brilliant use of "Unsatisfied" as Jesse Eisenberg is about to board a bus for New York near the end of the film. The Replacements had so many great songs that could have been, if they cared enough, turned into great videos. It would be nice to have those around right now; also, hundreds and hundreds of lesser bands broke through commercially because of a video.

But, if you've read Trouble Boys, and probably even if you haven't, you know they tried to sabotage that every chance they got. They succeeded, and this is what we have. (Maybe they made an actual video or two I've forgotten.)

xps star guitar would have been my #1 had i voted, apols if it doesn't place!

XP They started making 'proper' videos w/Don't Tell A Soul.

(xpost) Rest easy.

Any good ones that got overshadowed by "Bastards of Young"s memorable gimmick? I have a three or four year window around that time where I wasn't paying attention to videos--that picked up again in the '90s.

Skimmed a couple quickly ("I'll Be You" and "Achin' to Be")--looked okay, primarily performance.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-24.jpg

24. “Ashes to Ashes,” David Bowie (1985)
74 points/9 votes
Director: David Mallet

any way to get a text recap of what's placed so far?

*is murdered by clemenza*

OK boomers...

The best scene: harlequine Major Tom impassively enduring his mom's babbling on their beach walk.

if the "bastards of young" video came out today it would be called a "visualizer" and there would be a different "official video"

I'll do a recap after I finish today--either the full thing, if I finish, or #40-11 if I don't. Also #41-100 after that.

Starting with the hypothetical that videos are still relevant (doubtful), if the Replacements were around today and still begging off, fans would jump in and make a bunch for them.

perfect video for the song

The later Replacements videos weren't bad, but OTOH I'm just not sure MTV was ready for them even if they were doing 'great' videos (same w/the Pixies).

The "I'll Be You" video got pretty good airtime, and I particularly like the follow-up clip for "Achin'To Be" (one of Westerberg's sisters plays the mysterious shadow girl).

Rhino apparently has done some new official videos for old tracks, but I haven't watched them.

Good point--not like they would have automatically gotten play. If they'd been around after "Smells Like Teen Spirit," yes.

But we'd have them, though, right now.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-23.jpg

23. “Freedom! ‘90,” George Michael (1990)
78 points/9 votes
Director: David Fincher

xp It's mostly my love for the song but I really like "The Ledge" video -- similarly zero-effort to "Bastards of Young" aside from the fact that they actually showed up to the shoot, plus there's no lip-syncing so it was pretty easy for the b-roll to get recycled for the identical "Alex Chiton" and "Can't Hardly Wait" videos. At least that's what I think is happening there.

xps the new videos for the Sorry Ma box are alright. crossed my mind, but should have voted for Bastards.

The "Ashes to Ashes" video was actually 1980. If I had ranked my picks, it would have been first.
I just made the connection this morning - the only other thing with such ominous visuals I would have been watching on TV at the age of 8 or 9 was Doctor Who, I wonder if that allowed me to make a little more sense of it than I would have otherwise.

David Fincher shows up twice here...Honestly not sure if I knew of his video background or not. Maybe I did at one time, but I'd forgotten about it by the time of Zodiac and The Social Network.

"Alex Chilton" was waiting there for a brilliant video.

With a few of these, the album came out one year and the single/video another--went with the latter when I was aware of that. Maybe I messed up on Bowie.

Ah, that's a typo--the correct date is in the screenshot. (Cutting and pasting--he got the Replacements' 1985.)

freedom 90 way too low

"Bstards of Young" was a no-brainer nom for me but I had no particular expectation of it placing. I don't think I even grasped that was an anti-video statement when I belatedly saw with it virtually no context. (It was the first Replacements song I heard.) There's *just* enough going on for it be entertaining in spite of itself lol.

The several no-we-don't-do-videos videos are way cooler than the conventional ones they eventually did IMHO.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-22.jpg

22. “Rockit,” Herbie Hancock (1983)
85 points/9 votes
Director: Kevin Godley & Lol Creme

lol this video resides deep in my subconscious

I thought this was forgotten history; evidently not. (This and Dire Straits and one famous video coming up are the kind of gimmick videos I've never liked--again, if I'd been younger, they may have made the same impression on me as on those who voted for them. I still like a number of indefensible songs from the early '70s.)

lol lol creme

"Too Funky" > "Freedom '90"

The band that recorded "Seen Your Video" should not be in this results list. Just sayin.

I can only imagine the WTF?-factor "Rockit" had upon viewers stumbling upon it back in the day.

I was 7 when Ashes to Ashes came out, maybe just young enough to not be too weirded out, just old enough to realise that it was something out of the ordinary - either way it's stuck with me.

I first heard of The Replacements in the issue of Rolling Stone that placed "Bastards of Young" as the 19th best video: http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1993/rsvideo.htm

So I imagined what it looked/sounded like based on the description. I think I assumed they were more hardcore sounding. I finally saw a 5 second clip of it a couple years later on a 120 Minutes anniversary special when Green Day brought it up.

Re: "Money for Nothing" I didn't vote for it but I think there's something special about the combination of animation style and concept that transcends its popularity in that particular moment. Considering the bad language I'm kind of mindblown recalling (I'm almost certain) that it aired several times on Nick Rocks (the music vid show on Nickelodeon).

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-21.jpg

21. “Vogue,” Madonna (1990)
87 points/7 votes
Director: David Fincher

Had no idea Fincher directed "Freedom '90" and "Vogue"!

way. too. low.

Love this one. Don't know why I didn't vote for Madonna...Maybe all the ones I like cancelled each other out. She wins counting-stats for me when it comes to videos: I'm sure I like more of hers than anyone else.

That one montage in Mank that looks like "Vogue" is by far the best scene of that movie.

I dunno, "Rockit" seems more integrated with the content of the song than some of the other gimmick videos I'm imagining coming up. It's freaky, funky, and robotic-cyborgian like the tune.

It fits the song, for sure--I guess I consider the song gimmicky too. As I have said many times, I am the least funkiest person on the planet.

OMG, I don't think I've seen the "Rock It" clip since I was 7 or something. I *had* completely forgotten what it entailed. Fabulous, faintly unsettling 'uncanny valley' vibes.

That one montage in Mank that looks like "Vogue" is by far the best scene of that movie.

― billstevejim, Friday, March 18, 2022 10:20 AM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i'm now imagining the chorus of the song but the word "vogue" is replaced with "mank"

come on, mank
let your body move to the music

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-20.jpg

20. “All Is Full of Love,” Björk (1999)
88 points/7 votes/one #1 vote
Director: Chris Cunningham

Vimeo link for fellow Canadians.

My #1, which was always going to go to Björk.

OK boomers...

I don't think actual baby boomers care about videos. I remember a 1987 letter to the editor in Rolling Stone begging Crosby Stills Nash and Young not to make a video for their reunion album, like it was the ultimate sellout. "We could see you just fine from the fiftieth row".

probs my favourite björk vid

stunning

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-19.jpg

19. “Don't Come Around Here No More,” Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1985)
88 points/11 votes
Director: Jeff Stein

Never understood the big deal about this one.

It's a very effective and creepy production of Alice!

Petty, like Cobain, was such a great music video presence because he was so subtly funny at undercutting the whole form.

Or, his attitude was "you and I both know I'm a weird-looking dude who probably shouldn't be doing this, but let's have some fun with it."

“Ashes To Ashes” yeah I remember seeing this when I was maybe 4 or so? one of the first music videos i remember
really impactful. i loved the weird colors & the “clown man”… but it was also a bit scary too

Sorry for the delay--another tie.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-17b.jpg

17. “West End Girls,” Pet Shop Boys (1985)
90 points/9 votes
Director: Andy Morahan & Eric Watson

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-17a.jpg

17. “Protection,” Massive Attack (1994)
90 points/9 votes
Director: Michel Gondry

The best scene: harlequine Major Tom impassively enduring his mom's babbling on their beach walk.

...and he lets you know it's going to go on forever - the addiction, the shame, the chords and the piano notes circling endlessly...

west end girls seems distinctly average.

the Massive Attack video that sticks in my memory is “Be Thankful for What You Got” but mostly bc naked lady lol

they had a lot of great videos though! we were hashtag blessed by good content from them!

I like ‘West End Girls’ more now than I did at the time, partly for nostalgia for that aspect of London which has by and large been cleaned away and capturing the thrill, glamour and danger of the city to a provincial lad.

Also Chris Lowe’s little dance always makes me smile

West End Girls was at least distinct enough that they could parody it on Flight of the Conchords 20-some years later.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-16.jpg

16. “Bachelorette,” Björk (1994)
96 points/7 votes
Director: Michel Gondry

My #4 - not Gondry's most visually compelling but fun practical effects and a clever and trippy story.

huh i thought this was a lock for top ten. seems all the big video artists got vote-split into the teens tho

I haven't seen Bachelorette since the 90s but it was the Bjork I voted for.

Not to digress but seeing Godley & Creme's name up there made me think a "worst music videos" poll would be entertaining (their "Cry" would be on my list).

I think I gave Bjork three votes and Gondry four or five? Not “Bachelorette” tho.

... "cry" a "worst music video"???? excuse me? xp

i nearly voted for yes' "leave it"

I found “Cry”… unsettling as a kid

I voted for Cry even though it wasn't in the nominations!

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-15.jpg

165 “Cloudbusting,” Kate Bush (1985)
97 points/10 votes
Director: Julian Doyle

I thought that the Cloudbusting video was loosely based on Wilhelm Reich, today I learned it (and the lyrics) are all true - the yo-yo, the cloudbuster, the government officials and the arrest.

American MTV didn't even give the Kate Bush videos with movie stars in them much play.

looking at my ballot just hoping "smalltown boy" places

so many little joys in the protection vid

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-14.jpg

14. “Around the World,” Daft Punk (1997)
100 points/9 votes
Director: Michel Gondry

Sorry, I've had something here to attend to, but I'm finished. I'll probably just carry on and finish today.

Ppl not actually poptimists when it comes to videos I see.

more like auteurists

15th for "Cloudbusting," not 165--attention divided.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-12.jpg

12. “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Sinead O'Connor (1990)
107 points/12 votes
Director: John Maybury

is there a tie for 12 or did we miss 13

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-13.jpg

13. “Drop,” Pharcyde (1995)
104 points/9 votes
Director: Spike Jonze

Fuck, sorry...I've been trying to deal with something here.

I love Pharcyde's "Frontline," and looked into the video--very interesting and conceptual for the first half, then something I didn't feel comfortable voting for. Love "Nothing Compares," another one I showed to students every year, although I didn't vote for it. Surely the greatest video homage to a famous film.

Homage to what film?

I've always assumed The Passion of Joan of Arc--maybe I'm reading too much into it.

The Passion of Joan of Arc?

That wasn't questioning you, sorry, it was an answer to the previous. But I don't know if it's an intentional homage.

I was about to guess that one, but honestly the connection had never occurred to me before now

Googled the two together and found this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ivsoYJ3qs

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-11.jpg

11. “Sledgehammer,” Peter Gabriel (1986)
111 points/11 votes
Director: Stephen R. Johnson

iirc this topped vh1s all time poll in the early 2000s
happy to be corrected if wrong

Another one I never got. I was working in a record store at the time, and our assistant manager was a fanatical fan--played So or Invisible Touch or Mike & the Mechanics seemingly every time he was on cash (or would walk around the store air-drumming to them). Nice guy, but that didn't help.

The 11th song got 111 points from 11 voters.

11th video, I mean.

I should have voted but anything but Top 3 for Sledgehammer is a travesty

otm

a TRAIN goes through his EARS u guys

There's only two videos I'd even hear a CASE for being better than Sledgehammer and they're probably on their way

There's basically 8 videos left that I'm gonna see and be like "come on, you guys"

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-10.jpg

10. “Come Into My World,” Kylie Minogue (2002)
113 points/8 votes
Director: Michel Gondry

come on, you guys

Oops--have to download the last 10 screenshots.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-10.jpg

10. “Come Into My World,” Kylie Minogue (2002)
113 points/8 votes
Director: Michel Gondry

i was expecting a lot of comments about “drop” lol

best music video ever

i didn’t vote for any stop motion animation videos, who can say why

Didn't know the video, didn't know the song. She got lots of votes for other videos, too--didn't know any of them. I'm a little behind here--she's "The Loco-motion" to me.

Sledgehammer was my #8 but two of the ones above it were pretty silly choices.

Sledgehammer video is cool, but this isn't the technical achievement awards or whatever.

(i.e., #11 placement is totally fine)

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-09.jpg

9. “Once in a Lifetime,” Talking Heads (1981)
114 points/12 votes
Director: Toni Basil & David Byrne

Nice eyesore...image 09, not image 9.

11 seems reasonable for sledgehammer.

“drop” is definitely the video i am most ashamed about leaving off, would’ve been a top 3 contender for me if i didn’t skim over it on the noms sheet.

the pharcyde didn’t learn to rap their lines backwards just to wind up outside the top ten smh

If Reet Petite places *I* will be like "come on, you guys."

Anyway, this one's objectively great, but not much of a fan in general.

I didn't know Toni Basil co-directed it, though, that was interesting.

So far we've seen three MTV Video of the Year Award winners: "Money for Nothing" (1986), "Sledgehammer" (1987), and "Nothing Compares 2U" (1990).

I assume Van Halen's "Right Now" (1992) and Aerosmith's "Cryin'" (1994) are coming up.

xp I didn't either, although I know about her choreography career and everything.

If there's a moderator around, maybe you could remove those two posts with the ugly broken links...thanks in advance.

xxp Which videos won in '88, '91, & '93?

(xxxpost) Rest easy.

"Teen Spirit" came out late in the year, otherwise I'd assume that won in '91.

come on, you guys

Well what jumped out at me was that The Cars' "You Might Think" won in 1984 (the debut awards) over "Rockit" and "Thriller"

Well what jumped out at me was that The Cars' "You Might Think" won in 1984 (the debut awards) over "Rockit" and "Thriller"

― Josefa, Friday, March 18, 2022 10:56 AM (twenty-one seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

.... D:

There is a time-tested strategy for trying to get the results you want...

I didn't want to get in too deep because this is a subject I'm really passionate about

Didn't vote in this but gratified to see "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Rockit," the two videos that really made young-teen me sit up and realize this was a THING, ranked high. Should be higher of course.

Best Video of the Year win was Neil Young's "This Note's for You" in '89, which they only gave to him because they were criticized for banning the video.

Can't think off-hand what else was around, but god, what a terrible choice.

The Chris Isaak video, for one, plus lots of great hip-hop videos, I'm sure.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-06.jpg

6. “Let Forever Be,” Chemical Brothers (1999)
127 points/8 votes/two #1 votes
Director: Michel Gondry

xp "Wicked Game" was one of the 1991 nominees

come on, you guys

American MTV didn't even give the Kate Bush videos with movie stars in them much play.

Interesting. In my possibly distorted memory, I feel like she was constantly on Canadian TV when I was a kid, between MuchMusic and other video programmes like Video Hits? I was definitely v familiar with "Cloudbusting", also "Babooshka" and "Army Dreamers".

We need a Stephen R. Johnson DVD so everyone's brains don't get warped by "we put this on at a party and smoked weed" in 2004

Let Forever Be is incredible, the mixing and mirroring of video and practical effects is sublime - is it a technique that's ever been used anywhere else? My #3.

The Chris Isaak single came out in July '89, and I assume the video was close behind (think I first heard the song via the video). I can see a one-year delay, but that's weird.

if you read the wiki it explains its status as a delayed hit

Wicked Game not get attention until Wild At Heart came out. And then he had an even more delayed hit with Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing (5 years!)

"This Note's For You" was kind of a cool choice considering MTV refused to actually play the video. Probably should have been "Express Yourself" though

"Right Now" is a garbage video imo

i think his love for mirroring probs was best for sugar water but this is a great video

"Express Yourself" won "Best Direction" which is usually a far, far better gauge of the Best Video of the Year anyway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV_Video_Music_Award_for_Best_Direction

I'm always seeing these things through the prism of Canada's MuchMusic, and my guess is--just a guess--they were a little more flexible in what they played and when they played it. I'm sure I would have seen the Isaak video, as an example, much closer to its release date.

"Drop" was my #5 because it's insane. I think I only voted for things that are "insane."

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-05.jpg

5. “Take On Me,” A-ha (1984)
136 points/12 votes/one #1 vote
Director: Steve Barron

come on, you guys

Let Forever Be my number 1, a case where I love the video but the track not so much. My only regret is that it stopped me throwing Star Guitar a vote

Voted for two Chems videos, one I expect to place highly. Other probably not, though nothing would surprise me.

Also, you didn't post 7 or 8, I might have some more "come on, you guys" coming, you guys

I understand why people voted for this, I do. It's just another one that drew a "Wow--still?" response from me. (The song was used well in a recent TV show...Might have been The Handmaid's Tale.)

the absence of "smalltown boy" from this poll hurts my heart

I didn't rank my votes, but Let Forever Be was on my ballot for sure

Jesus, my mind's just not here right now...Let me put up 7 and 8.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-08.jpg

8. “Sugar Water,” Cibo Matto (1996)
120 points/9 votes
Director: Michel Gondry

come on, you guys

pretty good michel gondry poll

Which videos won in '88, '91, & '93?

Without checking wikipedia I know 2 of these are "Losing My Religion" and "Jeremy."

"Sugar Water" is dope but wow wtf #8 damn yo

Whiney, you shoulda voted

Re: "Sugar Water" – I'm not huge on "one shot" stuff, the show-offy-ness of the technique tends to distract me (though it is a cool video)

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-07.jpg

7. “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” Missy Elliott (1996)
126 points/10 votes
Director: Hype Williams

come on, you guys

(xp although I just re-watched an ep. of "You're the Worst" in which each segment of the show is one long shot, or at least made to look that way, and it's so awesome)

Sorry about messing up...I'll hold off for a few minutes till #4--hopefully I can manage not to fuck up the top four.

I’m glad people remember and like “Sugar Water.”

I didn't realize/remember how many of these Gondry directed (and I have the DVD); it's kind of insane

Re: "Sugar Water" – I'm not huge on "one shot" stuff, the show-offy-ness of the technique tends to distract me (though it is a cool video)

― Please don’t take / My time change away (morrisp), Friday, March 18, 2022 11:21 AM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

"one shot" (with obvious edits) video i love: scarface "on my block" (which is not placing :( )

"the rain" is hype williams' first and likely only placement on the poll, and i think that sucks way more than "sledgehammer" at 11

The Busta Rhymes videos were Hype Williams’s best.

Yeah "Supa Dupa Fly" vs "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" is a close one. Invention of the form vs perfection of the form.

I probably should have voted for "Woo-hah," I used to love that. My list of stuff I had intended to vote for came together so fast, I never really looked outside of that.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-04.jpg

4. “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” Bob Dylan (1965)
144 points/14 votes
Director: D.A. Pennebaker

Shoulda used the frame where he holds up the "Pavement" sign ;)

"the perfect kiss" is obv in the top three but what else

also, will the other two videos be by michel gondry

come on, you guys

i see respect is still owed to gnr's "estranged"

did janet get votesplit out of the top 40 entirely

i have so many questions

come on, you guys

lol @ these results. I guess every music video poll ever should be like, here, enjoy these two amazing Gondry DVDs that are like the apex of the form and then tell us what OTHER videos you like.

I think "Everlong" and "Fell In Love With A Girl" are Gondry's remaining vids that have any shot.

I need to find the Top 100 videos ballot I made for a list that never happened

also i would like to suggest that the video for kylie minogue's "slow" >>>>>>>>>> "come into my world"

I voted for "Estranged"!

come on my selector

I'm always seeing these things through the prism of Canada's MuchMusic, and my guess is--just a guess--they were a little more flexible in what they played and when they played it. I'm sure I would have seen the Isaak video, as an example, much closer to its release date.

I feel like they did. I was young but I remember them being quite freeform in the late 80s. I know I was perplexed when they played all of Laurie Anderson's Home of the Brave more than once.

Both this and the #2 got more votes than the #1, just not as many points.

If the "Like a Rolling Stone" video hadn't been made a few years ago, I probably would have voted for this. I still wonder how many people have even seen the video for "Like a Rolling Stone" (the one that's set up like a cable feed, where you can hop around from show to show and they're all lip-synching the song). It's a real love it or hate it thing.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-03.jpg

3. “The Perfect Kiss,” New Order (1985)
150 points/9 votes/two #1 votes
Director: Jonathan Demme

come on, you guys

I guess they didn't make a video for "All Day Long"--wish they had.

Is there a story to Jonathan Demme's involvement? "Bizarre Love Triangle" is used well in Married to the Mob, but that comes later.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-02.jpg

2. “Sabotage,” Beastie Boys (1994)
176 points/19 votes
Director: Spike Jonze

I didn’t vote but that would have been my #2.

This may have received a #1 vote, but the voter didn't confirm...The rare--extremely rare--video that brought me around to the song. When I put out Radio On in the '90s, I wrote about a page on the song, I think, almost all of it about the video. (Couldn't find room to vote for it, though.)

Really ... come on, you guys

^Is this still about "Sledgehammer"?

"Sabotage" one of the only post-1990 videos I'm really even aware of so points for iconic-ness? But somehow this kind of "what if we made it look just like TV from decade X," fresh at the time, doesn't seem as fun for me anymore. I think WandaVision is basically the last change to ring on that move and the last time it could be interesting.

Just before posting the last one, I'll say again that Viborg did a lot of the work here. He's been MIA on the thread.

Before starting, I wouldn't have thought it possible the #1 would be new to me (video and song). I realize that says more about me than the video/song.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/video-01.jpg

1. “Star Guitar,” Chemical Brothers (2002)
184 points/12 votes/one #1 vote
Director: Michel Gondry

Surprisingly pleased with the #1 after some uninspired entries at 2 and 3.

That New Order video (which I've actually never seen before) reminds me of P.T. Anderson's videos for Haim: big name director + completely pedestrian video = critical acclaim for some reason?

Very surprised "Weapon of Choice" didn't make it but then I also forgot to vote for it.

No Open Your Heart, no credibility.

I've forgotten -- when people post summary lists for polls, do they include points/votes? It'd go a lot faster if I skip those.

Have never heard of this song or this video, look forward to watching

Star Guitar my #2 but could have been #1. It achieves a synaesthetic fusion in my mind - the video is the song, the song is the video.

No Thriller?!

"Thriller" literally got bumped out of the Top 40 (with two others) with the last ballot, which broke a tie at #40.

I should have given it more points, I thought it was a guaranteed top ten.

While I'd never seen it, I do like the #1. I guess everyone carries a version of that video around in their head. Sorry for the self-indulgence, but something I shot myself a month or two before Covid hit, coming home from just outside of the town I'd moved to a few months earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4SnbORQIXs

Trains are better, I know.

I'm glad the top 10 "person walking around" video hinted at early on didn't turn out to be Bitter Sweet Symphony

I meant to say, too, in connection to #4, there'd be a person-standing-in-one-spot video.

come on, you guys and also come on, you guys, list sucks

That New Order video (which I've actually never seen before) reminds me of P.T. Anderson's videos for Haim: big name director + completely pedestrian video = critical acclaim for some reason?

― enochroot, Friday, March 18, 2022 12:14 PM (twelve minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

the way demme frames the band is just beautiful, they are objectively boring performers but he makes their every movement pop

Please feel free to post lists here. It'll be few minutes till I get the summary up. (If you need your list, let me know.)

No "Thriller," no "Hurt," no "Closer," no "November Rain," no "Boys of Summer," just lock this thread and start over

Demme tells a story about the band using only performance, similar to what he did in Stop Making Sense. It's a rare gift.

(xpost) I've been trying hard to ignore you, but it's becoming increasingly difficult.

my very personal ballot which reflected very marginally in the results. bolded placed

Cabaret Voltaire - Sensoria
Orbital - The Box
Madonna - Human Nature
Portishead - Only You
Janet Jackson feat. Q-Tip - Got 'Til It's Gone
Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy
Coil - Tainted Love
Souls of Mischeif - ’93 Til Infinity
The Smashing Pumpkins - Thirty-Three
George Michael - Freedom! ’90
Laurie Anderson - O Superman
New Order - The Perfect Kiss
Scarface - My Block
Guns N' Roses - Estranged
David Bowie - Lazarus
Radiohead - Daydreaming
Sade - No Ordinary Love
Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity
Perfume - Spending All My Time
Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar
Pharcyde - Drop
Sinead O’Connor - Nothing Compares 2U
Missy Elliott - She's a B**ch
Kylie Minogue - Slow
Outkast - B.O.B.
Van Halen - Right Now
The Blue Nile - Stay
Roisin Murphy - Overpowered
K.D. Lang - Constant Craving
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
Scarface feat. 2Pac - Smile
Deftones - Change (In the House of Flies)
Talk Talk - Life’s What You Make It
Brandy & Monica - The Boy Is Mine
Mariah Carey - Fantasy
Notorious BIG - Mo Money Mo Problems
Herbie Hancock - Rockit
Busta Rhymes - Gimme Some More
The Whispers - Keep on Lovin’ Me
Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)
D'Angelo - Untitled (How Does It Feel)
Cardigans - My Favorite Game
Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day
The XX - Islands
Zazen Boys - Weekend
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather
Paula Abdul - Cold Hearted
2NE1 - I Am the Best
Autechre - Gantz Graf

"b.o.b." didn't place at all? shenanigans

Hate to say it, but that was one of the three that got knocked out by the last ballot (the other I'd never heard of).

That OutKast video was the only other one on my ballot I was sure would place.

No "Thriller," no "Hurt," no "Closer," no "November Rain," no "Boys of Summer," just lock this thread and start over

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, March 18, 2022 3:33 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Maybe not Boys of Summer.

That New Order video (which I've actually never seen before) reminds me of P.T. Anderson's videos for Haim: big name director + completely pedestrian video = critical acclaim for some reason?

― enochroot, Friday, March 18, 2022

This is a weird criticism considering how well-chosen (and held!) those close-ups are.

Here is a Top 100 I made in 2018 that I could have repurposed, I suppose

1. Johnny Cash, "Hurt"
2. Peter Gabriel, "Sledgehammer"
3. A-ha, "Take on Me"
4. George Michael, "Freedom '90"
5. Herbie Hancock, "Rockit"
6. Jay-Z, "99 Problems"
7. Don Henley, "Boys of Summer"
8. Aphex Twin, "Come to Daddy"
9. Michael Jackson, "Thriller"
10. Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, "Scream"
11. Missy Elliott, "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"
12. Beyoncé, "Formation"
13. Nine Inch Nails, "Closer"
14. Guns N' Roses, "November Rain"
15. Duran Duran, "Hungry Like the Wolf"
16. Madonna, "Express Yourself"
17. Public Enemy, "Night of the Living Baseheads"
18. Aerosmith, "Janie's Got a Gun"
19. Busta Rhymes, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"
20. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Give It Away"
21. Marilyn Manson, "The Beautiful People"
22. Janet Jackson, "When I Think of You"
23. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
24. Bob Dylan, "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
25. Audioslave, "Cochise"
26. Chris Isaak, "Wicked Game"
27. Beastie Boys, "Sabotage"
28. R.E.M., "The One I Love"
29. Bruce Springsteen, "Brilliant Disguise"
30. Grace Jones, "Slave to the Rhythm"
31. Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance"
32. Michael Jackson, "Bad"
33. Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
34. Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean"
35. Lucas, "Lucas With the Lid Off"
36. Art of Noise, "Close (to the Edit)"
37. Dire Straits, "Money for Nothing"
38. Sinead O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U"
39. Prodigy, "Smack My Bitch Up"
40. The Residents, "One Minute Movies"
41. Tom Petty, "Don't Come Around Here No More"
42. Wax, “California”
43. Michael Jackson, "Smooth Criminal"
44. Pearl Jam, "Jeremy"
45. Scarface, "My Block"
46. Talking Heads, "Love for Sale"
47. The Replacements, "Bastards Of Young"
48. Billy Idol, "Cradle Of Love"
49. Notorious B.I.G., "Hypnotize"
50. Faith No More, "Epic"
51. Eels, "Novocaine for the Soul"
52. David Lee Roth, "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody"
53. Beck, "Loser"
54. David Bowie, "Ashes To Ashes"
55. Beyoncé, "Single Ladies"
56. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, "Parents Just Don't Understand"
57. Jamiroquai, "Virtual Insanity"
58. New Order, "True Faith"
59. Robert Palmer, "Addicted to Love"
60. Genesis, "Land of Confusion"
61. The Cars, "You Might Think"
62. White Stripes, "Fell In Love With a Girl"
63. Miley Cyrus, "We Can't Stop"
64. Kanye West, "Runaway"
65. LL Cool J, "Going Back To Cali"
66. Metallica, "One"
67. Taylor Swift, "Look What You Made Me Do"
68. Juvenile, "Ha"
69. M.I.A., "Born Free"
70. D'Angelo, "Untitled"
71. Til Tuesday, "Voices Carry"
72. Michael Jackson, "Leave Me Alone"
73. R.E.M., "Losing My Religion"
74. Taylor Swift, "Blank Space"
75. The Police, "Every Breath You Take"
76. Golden Earring, "Twilight Zone"
77. Janet Jackson, "Love Will Never Do (Without You)"
78. Lenny Kravitz, "Are You Gonna Go My Way"
79. Radiohead, "Just"
80. Devo, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
81. Kylie Minogue, "Come Into My World"
82. Paula Abdul, "Straight Up"
83. Madonna, "Ray of Light"
84. Dr. Dre, "Nuthin' But a G Thang"
85. Chemical Brothers, "Elektrobank"
86. Peter Gabriel, "Shock the Monkey"
87. Madonna, "Open Your Heart"
88. Run-DMC and Aerosmith, "Walk This Way"
89. U2, "With or Without You"
90. Britney Spears, "Toxic"
91. Rihanna, "We Found Love"
92. Van Halen, "Right Now"
93. White Stripes, "The Hardest Button to Button"
94. The Human League, "Don't You Want Me"
95. Steriogram, "Walkie Talkie Man"
96. R.E.M., "Everybody Hurts"
97. A Tribe Called Quest, "Scenario"
98. They Might Be Giants, "Don't Let's Start"
99. OK Go, "This Too Shall Pass"
100. Squeeze, "Hourglass"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Mondino

this guy does great work. didn't know he did the "boys of summer" video

https://i.makeagif.com/media/8-21-2015/HAylMC.gif

Another big omission: Fight the Power

Only one of my 50 placed. But that's normal--it continues to mystify me when people complain about results for such a random process. If 45 different ILM people had voted, the results would have been different.

1. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - Summertime (30)
2. Shop Assistants - Safety Net (25)
3. Julie Ruin - Lookout (22)
4. Todd Terje - Inspector Norse (20)
5. Rihanna - Cheers (Drink to That) (18)
6. Wilco - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (13)
7. Bananarama - Cruel Summer (13)
8. Guided by Voices - Motor Away (13)
9. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time (13)
10. Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone (13)

Beatles - Paperback Writer (11)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Sweet Hitch-Hiker (11)
Feist - 1234 (11)
Green Day - Walking Contradiction (11)
Hole - Miss World (11)
Psychic TV - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (11)
R.E.M. - Man on the Moon (11)
Shins - The Past and the Pending (11)
Sinead O'Connor - The Emperor's New Clothes (11)
Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot (11)

Arrested Development - People Everyday (9)
Beat Happening - Indian Summer (9)
Dionne Warwick - Walk On By (9)
Fiona Apple - Paper Bag (9)
Kate Bush - Cloudbusting (9)
Outkast - Hey Ya! (Charlie Brown version) (9)
Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know (9)
XTC - Life Begins at the Hop (9)
Yo La Tengo - I'll Be Around (9)
Zebra Katz & Reddd Foxxx - Ima Read (9)

Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener (7)
Cream - I Feel Free (7)
Devo - The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprize (7)
Go-Betweens - Streets of Your Town (7)
Imperial Teen - You're One (7)
Lady Gaga & Beyoncé - Telephone (7)
Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing) (7)
Rolling Stones - Rocks Off (7)
Undertones - It's Going to Happen! (7)
Wussy - Halloween (7)

Blur - Out of Time (5)
Deerhunter - He Would Have Laughed (5)
Joy Division - Disorder (5)
Karen Dalton - Something on Your Mind (5)
Liz Phair - Divorce Song (5)
Marshall Crenshaw - Whenever You're on My Mind (5)
Melanie - Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) (5)
Modern Lovers - Roadrunner (5)
Nico - I'm Not Sayin' (5)
Vaselines - Molly's Lips (5)

Don Henley has a solo career thanks to that video. And apparently he was hungover as hell shooting his sections.

one of the positive things i can say about the list is that nothing by jonas akerlund placed

xp Also thanks to Tom Petty inexplicably passing on Mike Campbell's demo.

My unranked ballot

Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Busta Rhymes - Gimme Some More
David Bowie - Lazarus
Geto Boys - Mind Playin' Tricks on Me
Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence
Bjork - Bachelorette
Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues
Yo La Tengo - I'll Be Around
Public Enemy - Fight the Power
Cibo Matto - Sugar Water
Massive Attack - Protection
Daft Punk - Da Funk
De La Soul - Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)
Deee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart
Fever Ray - Keep the Streets Empty for Me
George Michael - Freedom '90
Replacements - Bastards of Young
Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation
Missy Elliott - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
nine inch nails - march of the pigs
Pavement - Cut Your Hair
Prince - Automatic
R.E.M. - Losing My Religion
Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares to You
Radiohead - Daydreaming
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather
Stardust - Music Sounds Better with You
Suicide Commandos - Burn It Down
Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More
Erykah Badu - Honey
Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime
Madonna - Express Yourself
Susanne Sundfør - Accelerate
Oneohtrix Point Never - Lost But Never Alone
New Order - The Perfect Kiss
Wu-Tang Clan - Gravel Pit
Fiona Apple - Criminal
Breeders - Cannonball
Bat for Lashes - What's a Girl to Do?
A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation
Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
INXS - Never Tear Us Apart
Minutemen - This Ain't No Picnic
Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar
Weezer - Buddy Holly
Herbie Hancock - Rockit

Don't know why I said one out of my 50 placed--it's actually zero. There must have been one of them (maybe "Inspector Norse") that was in the Top 40 at one point.

"Cloudbusting" placed.

I just knew something bleh was gonna happen

That was it, thanks...Was busy when I posted "Cloudbusting": love that (and the easy highlight for me of pop music in The Handmaid's Tale).

bronski beat's "smalltown boy" is the most exquisitely shot video of the '80s and the story makes my heart ache, it is a big vacancy in everyone's list including whiney's

my list may be gayer than the consensus tho

It came reasonably close, and I considered voting for it at one point myself.