To the top ten we go...If you are just joining or want to see a complete list of the top videos of the nineties according to station to station, just click on the Top Music Videos Of The 90's link in the countdowns box to the right hand side of the page and it will give you links and the list compiled for this countdown.
#10-Fiona Apple Ciminal
1997
When you have a sultry voice like Fiona Apple, you're going to get an earful of attention. When she sings a song like "Criminal" it is with the conviction of an around the way lady who has seen and lived it all. But she wasn't even twenty one yet when she recorded it. Maybe that's why the video for "Criminal" comes off even naughtier. Looking like it was filmed in a seventies apartment, Apple is the only focal point in the video even though there are other people lying around or occupying the space, you never see their faces which gives the living space an even more sexual feel. To add to the effect, a lot of shots give Apple red-eye to give an old seedy, snapshot look. All while she is pouting about lost innocence. The most lasting shot is near the end when she squeezes the dish washing tube and pink foam slowly floats though the air. It's a powerful video and one of the best songs of the nineties.
#9-Busta Rhymes-Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See 1997
In 1997, Busta Rhymes was just about a household name and as far as videos goes, this goes down as his most memorable. Busta Rhymes close up shots, shots of him walking with an elephant, and the weird body paint on performers including Rhymes in the last half of the video all cap off a kaleidoscope of visual candy. At first it's a definite take on "Coming To America" as Rhymes gets out of bed and has females bathe him and brush his teeth. But the video just gets stranger as it goes along and the hypnotizing beat just helps add to the allure. It especially helps when the choreography is on point. You'd think we would have had more off beat videos from Rhymes after this, but everything he did seemed rehash from here on out. This is the climax of his popularity and serves as one of the greatest hip hop videos of the nineties.
#8 Pearl Jam-Jeremy
1992
If Pearl Jam had made waves with their first two singles, then the video for "Jeremy" is honestly the place where they were catapulted into top of the class. The song itself paints vivid images without a video. But seeing images actually unfold in front of your face brought the song to a whole other level. The main character Jeremy confused and living, but the only one moving, in his own world, is shown best with frozen images of his parents and schoolmates just hyping up the age old lessons of teen isolation and anger. Eddie Vedder acts as the "Morgan Freeman" narrator in the video, telling the story as we see Jeremy try to cope with everyday life. Words flash by such as "problem" or phrases like "he said it didn't matter" to show what quotes were said about him after he does the unthinkable at the end of the video. The powerful image of classmates still frozen with blood on their white shirts sums up the ending of the tale. After hitting such a stark chord with this video, it really isn't that surprising Pearl Jam decided not to shoot videos anymore throughout most of the nineties. They came and "Showed" what they had to and anything else probably wouldn't have topped this, in video form.
#7 Blur-Coffee and TV
1999
Life isn't good in the Coxon household. It appears Graham (lead guitarist from Blur) has run away from home. Who can they rely on to go find him? How about the milk carton named Milk on the kitchen table who acts like a family pet. And so our adventure begins with Milky going out into the big, vast world looking for Graham. Never before has a tale of human behavior been told through the eyes of a milk carton, but here it is. There is kindness from a motorcyclist kind enough to pick him up, gullibility from a flier for a lady who states can make all your dream come true, to environmental where other cartons, cans and disposable items are shown in an unsavory ways. Milky learns a lot on his journey and he ends up finding Graham jamming with the rest of Blur in a basement. Noticing his picture on the carton, Graham goes back home to reunite with his family but not before he drinks from the carton and throws it away. The parting shot of Milky flying out of the garbage can to heaven with wings at the end is touching. He did his job. And in six minutes, we saw the movie Disney has been trying to produce for twenty years now. The end.
#6 Foo Fighters-Big Me
1996
The Foo Fighters could be described as the Duran Duran of the nineties with their hugely successful and popular videos helping to further their success. The first eye catching video was the hilarious spoof on the Mentos commercial that was popular in the nineties. And of course anyone who has seen those commercials can laugh at the comedy behind them with the video "Big Me". Just like in the commercials, when a problem arises, pop the delicious fruit flavored candy, and a brilliant idea will pop in your head. Here, the Mentos are played out as Footos. They help a lady whose car is trapped in a bad parking space, they help Dave Grohl cross an intersection blocked by a limousine, and they help a young boy get on stage at a Foo Fighter concert. Writing it out makes it seem dry, but the video is anything but dry. It's one of the funniest spoofs put down to a short film clip. And now I'm off to find some old Mentos commercials on YouTube, for nostalgia.
#5 Blind Melon-No Rain 1993
Back before "Little Miss Sunshine" was the tale of a young girl in a bee costume who liked to tap dance. Her dance routine induced laughter and odd looks from people she tried to perform for on the streets. Until one day our main character opened a gate to her euphoria: a giant field of people in dancing bee costumes. The dancing bee girl is perhaps the biggest icon of 90's music videos. How many people back in 1993 asked the question "have you seen the video with the dancing bee girl?" Just about everyone identified the song with the video. Deep down it's a piece about a girl who is having troubles fitting in with what everyone finds to be odd behavior. But it shows that every pea has its pod in a very happy ending. It's debatable if Blind Melon would have had such a big hit with "No Rain" if not for the video (the song itself is great), but in a decade of a lot of inner rage, the video for "No Rain" was the rainbow everyone was waiting for, and not ashamed to love. Blind Melon - No Rain Uploaded by hushhush112. - Explore more music videos.
# 4 The Beastie Boys-Sabotage 1994
Perhaps the greatest seventies crime show never to hit the air was "Sabotage" It's extra long opening scene was fantastic. It combined the best of shows like "Starsky and Hutch" and "Hawaii Five-O" all rolled into one. What's great about the video for "Sabotage" is just about everything. The fictional characters names (Alasondro Allege as the Chief, Fred Kelly as Bunny), the different angles the camera shoots everything to make it appear like those old seventies crime shows, and watching the Beastie Boys tackle each other as cops and villains. As far as I could ever tell, besides the shot of DJ Hurricane as "Bunny", all the fight and chase scenes involve just the three Beastie Boys. It matched the song perfectly and was a huge hit thanks in part to this ridiculous video. It's the place where the guys let all their goofy character portraying unfold for our enjoyment.
#3 The Verve-Bittersweet Symphony 1998
After seeing this video several times, there was an evening out with friends in Morgantown where this video came to fruition for me. Being inpatient and leaving a certain bar, I left by myself and proceeded to walk the streets of Morgantown with this song and Richard Ashcroft's monumental walk going through my head. I may not have knocked any girls over or jumped on the hoods of any cars, but the feeling of empowerment, that nothing could stand in my way of getting somewhere raced through my veins. Of course, when I sobered enough, I found myself lost and had to call for help. Ashcroft may come off as a prick running into people, peering in their cars, walking through people who are having conversations...but nothing's gonna break his stride. Part of the fascination of the video is the two way shooting...from behind to show what sidewalk traffic is coming up and from the front to show what people's reactions are once he has bulldozed his way through. It may not be Abbey Road, but what if people went to Hoxton Street in North London to walk down the same street Ashcroft did in the late nineties. Wouldn't it be cool to take that same journey for four and a half minutes. The Verve - BitterSweet Symphony Uploaded by Eldarc88. - See the latest featured music videos.
#2 Bjork-It's Oh So Quiet 1995
Well, I want to make sure I include all videos with dancing mailboxes in the countdown. Thank goodness I remembered Bjork dancing with one back in 1995 in the sensational video for "It's Oh So Quiet." First off, it's an homage to old films starring the likes of Gene Kelly. It's hard not to be a sucker for a film that doesn't include choreographed dance routines by people who you assume are just going about everyday business. Until the dance number comes along, then everyone is dancing, and here we've got that mailbox I was talking about and roman pillars. And even more important, this all works with the song wonderfully. The slower moments of the song move along in slow motion until it gets to its raucous chorus. And the presence of Bjork, who is always adorable one way or another in her videos, just adds to the success. The shot where she runs up a wall and flips backwards and the shot at the end where she is skylifted above the street below always make me smile (and of course, the dancing mailbox). So many great Bjork videos, this ranks so high because it's so memorable and enjoyable. Susan Myspace Video
#1 Weezer-Buddy Holly 1994
Spike Jonze, by my count, is responsible for three of the top five videos and a handful of others in the entire countdown. He was like the Spielberg of short music videos in the nineties. His crowning achievement, in my opinion at least, is his direction in the video for Weezer's "Buddy Holly". The whole incorporating footage from "Happy Days" with current shots of the band performing in Arnold's Drive-In diner was genius. All you had to do was have a limited knowledge of the show and you got instant gratification from the video. Of course the crowning moment was having the Fonz do his memorable dance in sync with the song at the end of the video. And Weezer benefited as well as it helped cement them as an innovative band visually and musically. If pushed, I'll always go with "Buddy Holly" as the top video of the nineties on most days. The video itself brings back happy memories and happy days. In the end, memories are what this countdown is truly based on.
The Foo Fighters could be described as the Duran Duran of the nineties with their hugely successful and popular videos helping to further their success. The first eye catching video was the hilarious spoof on the Mentos commercial that was popular in the nineties. And of course anyone who has seen those commercials can laugh at the comedy behind them with the video "Big Me". Just like in the commercials, when a problem arises, pop the delicious fruit flavored candy, and a brilliant idea will pop in your head. Here, the Mentos are played out as Footos. They help a lady whose car is trapped in a bad parking space, they help Dave Grohl cross an intersection blocked by a limousine, and they help a young boy get on stage at a Foo Fighter concert. Writing it out makes it seem dry, but the video is anything but dry. It's one of the funniest spoofs put down to a short film clip. And now I'm off to find some old Mentos commercials on YouTube, for nostalgia.
No comments:
Post a Comment