What’s The Greatest Music Video Ever?

What’s the greatest music video ever? It’s a question we’ve been bouncing round the office over the last few weeks as we launch our new video site and reveal our countdown of the Top 100.

For me, some of the most powerful videos, and visionary directors, were put out on the Directors Label DVDs a few years ago. Those deluxe boxsets focussed on the work of Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, and Michael Gondry, so we’re talking The Pharcyde’s ‘Drop’, Aphex Twin’s ‘Windowlicker’ / Bjork’s ‘All Is Full Of Love’ and The White Stripes ‘The Hardest Button To Button’ respectively. Great videos.

Spike Jonze:

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Chris Cunningham:

Michel Gondry:

Gondry was partial to the one shot technique, filming the entire music promo in one continuous motion, which required an immense amount of preparation and studio trickery. His clips for Lucas and Kylie Minogue are particularly mind-blowing.

That said, he wasn’t the first, and everything from ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ to Bruno Mars’ ‘The Lazy Song’ via Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ has utilised the technique. It definitely adds a more real feel to the whole thing.

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Sometimes a simple idea done well will suffice. Ian Brown cycling backwards through Soho for ‘F.E.A.R.’ springs to mind, as does the burning man in Spike Jonze’s promo for Wax’s ‘California’, ‘Karma Police’’s dramatic sequence and many of Fatboy Slim’s efforts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBH97ma9YiI

And then again, a multi-million pound budget can help. Slash wouldn’t have got to play his solos on a travelator and in the middle of the ocean if Guns ‘N’ Roses hadn’t spent four million bucks on the clip for ‘Estranged’ – which incidentally comes in just behind three Madonna vids and Gaga’s ‘Judas’ in the list of the most expensive music videos ever made. Jacko’s also in the top ten, for the Martin Scorcese-directed ‘Bad’, and a bit further down but well worth the one and a half mil – this little beauty.

So what’s your top video? Are you a fan of MIA and The Prodigy’s shock value or Sigur Ros’ windswept beauty? Classic ‘Thriller’ clips or OK Go’s latterday efforts? Klaxons having a naked conjoined orgy or Lady Gaga flogging products? Let us know.

Blog: What Makes A Great Music Video?

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