Why did the pazz and jop poll stop rating music videos?

http://robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres95.php

Videos 1995

1.
Bjork: "It's Oh So Quiet" (Spike Jonze)
33

2.
Michael Jackson: "Scream" (Mark Romanek)
26

3.
PJ Harvey: "Down by the Water" (Maria Mochnacz)
20

4.
The Beatles: "Free as a Bird" (Joe Pytka)
19

5.
Madonna: "Bedtime Story" (Mark Romanek)
16

6.
Elastica: "Connection" (David Mould)
13

TLC: "Waterfalls" (F. Gary Gray)
13

8.
Skee-Lo: "I Wish" (Marty Thomas)
12

Smashing Pumpkins: "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" (Samuel Bayer)
12

Yo La Tengo: "Tom Courtenay" (Phil Morrison)
12

ha ha, if you go back to the pazz and jop comments for the first year that videos were ranked (like, 1983 and 1984 or thereabouts) this is pretty much exactly what all the stodgy old critics from guitar magazines say! (also, the great r.j. smith, who asked if it was okay if he voted for some t bone burnett poster he saw in the east village, since ad campagns are ad campaigns afer all. i think somebody else asked if the zapruder film was still eligible!) anyway, i also didn't expect this from miccio (who i'd always assumed enjoyed videos a lot), ,either. personally, i have no idea how videos are more "stupid" than haircuts or live shows or interview articles or album covers; those all fuck with what people think about music, too. or they're PART of the music - take your pick. to me it just seems some videos are more fun to watch than others, though. (i say that as somebody who voted for the chicago bears shufflin crew one year, not to mention genesis's "land of confusion" though i still think the song kinda sucks, etc. those didn't make me like the songs more either, though a song has to at least be bearable {or chicago bearable maybe} for me to like the video. videos and songs are two different animals; i never had any problem separating them. though yeah, sure, critics would tend to fall for those really boringly "clever" and expensive peter gabriel vids and shit like that all the time, and ignore skid row's "18 and life" {though mary gaitskill didn't, in one of her novels} or cinderella's "uncle tom's cabin" or corina's "temptation" or whatever those hilarious fat boys and ricky skaggs ones were, but so what? critics fall for *lots* of bullshit! why would anybody expect vids to be different? in any case, i miss voting for them. and eps,too. and reissues, and compilations. and i hope the voice brings those ballots back someday -- as soon as somebody else besides me is doing the tabulating!)

(ps as for videos not going downhill, you have to check out the country ones and the latin ones, not just the rap ones, which can indeed be great. can't remember when was the last time i gave a shit about any "rock" ones, but no doubt i've missed some. and anthony, if you can watch that backstreet vid over and over, you should probably consider it GOOD, not bad! ability to watch a video over and over is what MAKES it good, as far as i'm concerned.)

xp

oh yeah I forgot about this, its great! I also recognize one of the neighborhoods in the Common vid which was kind of cool. I wasnt that amazed by it on the whole though - i liked the images in my head better than the ones on the screen.

(xhuxk otm upthread)

I need to start submitting stuff for purpology, i've been slacking. (Well, that and trying to find a job.)

xp

Anyway, I just found these lists in progress from these two respective years (handwritten, so *maybe* not what I actually ended up votiing for, I dunno) in my hall closet:

1986:
1, genesis - land of confusion
2. wally badarou - chief inspector
3. sly fox - let's go all the way
4, david lee roth - yankee rose
5. chicago bears shufflin' crew - superbowl shuffle
also rans (in apparent order of preference, hard to tell, and only the titles are listed on the legal pad sheet in most cases): peter gabriel - sledgehammer (!!!??? I must have been an appreciator of fine art at the time!); art of noise -legs (? a zz top cover? maybe not); love is the drug (artist unknown); mystic rhythms (rush, maybe?); ll cool j - i need love; public image ltd - rise; laurie anderson - language is a virus; leader of the pack (twisted sister??); all you can eat (um, probably the fat boys?); the fall - cruiser's creek; i wanna be a cowboy (i forget; some new wave band, and i think lemmy might've been in the video); zz top - velcro fly; steppenwolf - born to be wild (taco bell commercial featuring jim mcmahon).

1987:
1, warren zevon - leave my monkey alone
2. john mellencamp - paper in fire
3, debbie gibson - shake your love
4. cars - you are the girl
5. m/a/r/r/s - pump up the volume
also rans: was (not was) - hello dad i'm in jail; john mellencamp - i saw mommy kissing santa claus; pet shop boys - it's a sin; tesla - little suzi; ll cool j - going back to cali; squeeze - hourglass; poison - i won't forget you (though actually, in retrospect, i'd say this is AT BEST the third best video from their debut album); moody blues - in your wildest dreams ; bon jovi - livin' on a prayer.

Now they live with their grandparents.

xp

All those early '90s barbecue-rap videos (not just the snoop and dre ones), but "summertime" by dj jazzy jeff and fresh prince for instance) were wonderful, i totally agree.

YES

The Afros (remember them?) had a great one too, I seem to recall.

Ppl who don't like the New Radicals have no soul

this has made this whole thread worthwhile