Perhaps trip-hop's finest video, Portishead's video for "Only You" is as creepy as the bass line and samples that drives the song (for that matter, a lot of Portishead's songs). It's difficult to decipher what's more creepy. Lead singer Beth Gibbons and a young boy who look trapped in a dark alley way floating around but obviously moving like they are stuck in a ten foot deep pool. Or the creepy guys from the band staring at them from dimly lit rooms in buildings surrounding the alley. This ranks high for watching the kid do a magic trick that is synchronized with the beat of the song and, well, just because watching people act like their underwater above ground is fascinating. And "Only You" is...fascinating.
#19 Beck-Loser 1993
As low as a low budget video can go, Beck's breakthrough single and video for "Loser" is a mish-mash of odd scenes. I could never figure out if this was just some hipster or some poor, white trash soul. Because the video kind of combines those two elements together. If it's important for anything, it's for brief glimpses of Beck on stage with a leaf blower and showing off early break dance moves. Other memorable scenes are two girls doing a cheer in a graveyard, the grim reaper cleaning a windshield with what appears to be blood, and that crazy coffin. How could you not think of that coffin not moving around on it's own in this video (and of course, the homeless man who appears walking out of it with a guitar in one portion of the video). I think Beck set new standards for less is more here as well as just showing you didn't have to be a prototypical rock star to get a video on MTV in 1993. You could dress like Elvis and have a coffin moving around a grocery store parking lot to get exposure as well. It brought slacker to a whole new level.
#18 Eminem-My Name Is 1999
You know the first time you saw Marshall Mathers on the MTV back in 1999 that your first thoughts were probably, "Who is this joker? and "I really believe this is going to be a one hit wonder." But then as weeks went by, you start getting the "My Name Is" with scratching and all stuck in your head. And you went to watch the video again because, well, Eminem seemed like a bit of a train wreck. And his video where he impersonates people on a TV show includes his takes on Johnny Carson, Bill Clinton, Marilyn Manson, and a couple of self portraits. Until watching this again, I forgot basketball legend George Muresan played a ventriloquist to a Eminem dummy. Of course we delved deeper into the psyche of Eminem in the next decade, but without this colorful video, the world could not have had a better introduction.
#17 U2-Numb
1993
Throwing off some fans of "Achtung Baby" and traditional U2, the band's first single from "Zooropa" featured the Edge taking turns on vocals and singing in a very monotone voice. And the video compliments the strange, stiff feelings in the song. I feel very bad for the Edge here: He has feet stuck in his face, a string wrapped around his neck and those damn fans taking their picture with him at the end of the video (although the belly dancer was a nice addition). The static shot video has people walking around behind him and Bono, Clayton and Mullen coming up into frame at certain parts of the video. After lengthy thought, this is my favorite and most memorable video from U2 in the decade, and I still enjoy "Zooropa" at times, and not for nostalgic reasons. Just for the fact they tortured the Edge in this video.
#16 Jane's Addiction-Been Caught Stealing 1990 This is is the visual guide for people suffering kleptomania who want to have a fun time with their disorder. First, find a store where there are other kleptomaniacs. If you want, go dressed as pregnant woman or just yourself. Second, you may want to take along a stripper who can pole dance in the produce section, or a kid sister who can act like a cheerleader with lettuce pom-poms. Third, make sure they've got aisle dancing, where you can show your moves going down the canned good aisles, like the older couple in this video who have some fantastic moves. Lastly, if you're a member of Jane's Addiction..I'm talking to you Dave Navarro, you may want to reconsider stealing that giant broom. It seems like you may get caught with that walking out of the store. This has been your guide to having fun with kleptomania. Enjoy the video. Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealing Uploaded by WBRNewMedia. - Watch more music videos, in HD!
#15 Fatboy Slim-Praise You 1999 If fictional dance troupes storming the outside of a theater is your kind of thing, than you were probably thrilled when you first saw the video for "Praise You". Even more of a bonus, it starred Spike Jonze, the man responsible for a third of the videos in this countdown, as the instructor of a mediocre talent of dancers who show their choreographed moves. Part of the fun of this video is watching the onlookers who obviously don't know what is going on in front of them and the guy who turns off the CD player halfway (Booo!!!) in which Jonze gives him a big hug and cues the song back up. Nothing will stop this posse! I've always hoped to run into something this impromptu, but sadly I've been let down. If you were here the night this was shot, consider yourself a lucky individual...or at least a stunned one.
#14 Foo Fighters-Everlong 1997
It's not just another funny Foo Fighters video even though it has some comic elements in it (ie. the big hand). "Everlong" succeeds as a wildly smart and dark video as well. Think of all the surreal images used. From the David Grohl and Taylor Hawkins (who dresses in drag as Grohl's wife) dream sequences lying in bed, to the legs that turn into blocks of woods, to the giant rotary phone in a back alley, to the band breaking out of their costumes to rock it at the end of the video (Hawkins bed morphing into the drum set is probably one of my favorite video moments of the nineties). There's a plot here in a sort of Nightmare On Elm Street type of way, except Freddy is Pat Smear and Nate Mendel as the villains wreaking havoc in Grohl and Hawkins dreams. It's a video you could sit around with friends and ask what their interpretation of Grohl's giant hand that takes down his enemies is. Is he the incredible hulk and if so, a hand turning gigantic is a hell of a good power to have. Always a fun watch, even thirteen years later.
#13 Pavement-Cut Your Hair
1994
I can never decide which band member's escapade in the barber chair is my favorite. It's all so ridiculous and makes me laugh out loud anytime I see it. Ibold's sneezing cat incident, Kannberg's gorilla outfit, Nastanovich drinking barber's cleaning solution. All hilarious. A tie goes between Malkmus being treated like a king with a martini and crown and the off the wall close up shot of a tear rolling down his face and the absolute absurd West who, when the barber turns away, has a giant lizard mask over his head. I also remember the oddness of each band member going back to the waiting bench with different clothes on. This video brings back a lot of memories about slacking in college. "Cut Your Hair" is colorful and original, just like Pavement.
#12 Dinosaur Jr.-Feel The Pain 1994
Dinosaur Jr. helped make golfers' dreams a reality by playing golf in the city and driving a golf cart around Manhattan. By my count, J Mascis shot a five in this video and his fourth shot out of a water hazard in a fountain was fantastic. He should be proud if it was a Par 5. Other highlights include his shot off a poor guy's glasses and Mascis has one of the best caddies in the world in bassist Mike Johnson. The two fend off some businessmen in the park who attempt to pick up their ball and distract the game. This is the only time it's probably allowed to knock people out with your four iron. It could be assault in other circumstances. A very memorable video which has inspired a lot of people to go play golf illegally in the city.
#11 Radiohead-Just 1995
"Do you want to know why I'm lying here?" asks the man on the sidewalk. The guy who tripped over him while he was lying on the sidewalk is pretty adamant to know the answer. "Tell Us!" Look, I don't know what the guy answered and I'm still not sure how the guy walking didn't see the gentlemen lying on the sidewalk in the first place. But whatever sidewalk guy said, it creeps me out. Because now everybody is lying on that sidewalk and there are gonna be more people tripping over them. This is all going on while the band Radiohead is playing in an apartment above and Thom Yorke looks like a distant cousin of Jerry Lewis and they look genuinely as shocked as I am to see all those people just lying on the ground beneath them. The song flat out stings. The video is flat out spectacular. If anything, I'm sorry it just missed the top ten. It doesn't feel "just", I know.
This is is the visual guide for people suffering kleptomania who want to have a fun time with their disorder. First, find a store where there are other kleptomaniacs. If you want, go dressed as pregnant woman or just yourself. Second, you may want to take along a stripper who can pole dance in the produce section, or a kid sister who can act like a cheerleader with lettuce pom-poms. Third, make sure they've got aisle dancing, where you can show your moves going down the canned good aisles, like the older couple in this video who have some fantastic moves. Lastly, if you're a member of Jane's Addiction..I'm talking to you Dave Navarro, you may want to reconsider stealing that giant broom. It seems like you may get caught with that walking out of the store. This has been your guide to having fun with kleptomania. Enjoy the video.
If fictional dance troupes storming the outside of a theater is your kind of thing, than you were probably thrilled when you first saw the video for "Praise You". Even more of a bonus, it starred Spike Jonze, the man responsible for a third of the videos in this countdown, as the instructor of a mediocre talent of dancers who show their choreographed moves. Part of the fun of this video is watching the onlookers who obviously don't know what is going on in front of them and the guy who turns off the CD player halfway (Booo!!!) in which Jonze gives him a big hug and cues the song back up. Nothing will stop this posse! I've always hoped to run into something this impromptu, but sadly I've been let down. If you were here the night this was shot, consider yourself a lucky individual...or at least a stunned one.
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