It was also his first video and helped launched what is now a wildly successful rap career. Oh, and the lyrics are absolute fire.
Say what you want about Katy Perry, but the girl knows how to make a pop song. While it may not be my kind of music, this video has more than a billion YouTube views for a reason. It's an endlessly catchy song accompanied by a video with a social message. While REM just wanted to do a straightforward performance video, Singh sold them on a dream-like vision that gets a little weird.
Somehow the fusion of the two styles works and creates an iconic video. The White Stripes had a number of visually incredible videos, this one fuses the song and video concept perfectly.
Using Lego animation, this video was painstakingly crafted shot-by-shot with director Michael Gondry rebuilding the bricks each time to create the movement. The end product was worth it though, as the video serves to enhance the song, which is the whole point of the medium.
Before he was a multi-time Oscar-nominated film director, David Fincher was the most sought-after music video director in the world. How good was Fincher? A great song, the video is even better and takes it to the next level. Mark Romanek has directed videos for the biggest artists in the world, and they didn't get bigger than Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson in This video was most notable for Janet's darker, more confident persona and the defiant attitude Michael takes as he belts out the lyrics that were a response to negative media attention.
The song is powerful and hits hard, while the video was throwback to the choreography that made both Jacksons famous. It netted 11 VMA nominations in and won three. The Bloodhound Gang just nailed this video. A bunch of guys dressed as monkeys running around Paris singing about having sex like animals? How could I possibly leave this off the list? Another simple concept, this video soars thanks to the execution. Gotye and Kimbra are naked, but wind up painted through stop-motion animation.
There's little movement, except when she shows up for the "breakup" section of the song. The paint is supposed to represent their combined relationship, and as the video continues, she breaks off.
It's really a mesmerizing video that reminds the viewer of a different time, like the lates when videos truly told a visual story. OK Go is now known almost exclusively for its complex single-take videos which are still amazing. But that all kicked off on July 31, , when the group posted this video to YouTube. The then Chicago-based rock band became a viral sensation immediately thanks to this video.
It took 17 attempts to get this one just right. This video even won a Grammy for Best Music Video in Another Mark Romanek video, this one fits perfectly with the darkness that Nine Inch Nails lead singer Trent Reznor was exploring through his music at the time.
What looks like the set of a bad horror movie is used to emphasize the song's main themes of isolation, obsession, self-hatred and untethered rage. Under-appreciated at the time, "Closer" earned just one VMA nomination and no wins in Yes, "Give It Away" had been a No. Then they met Gus Van Sant, and their lives changed.
Van Sant -- a two-time Oscar nominee -- directed this video, and it elevated a fantastic, bluesy, melodic tune about drug addiction into a generational hit. It connected fans to the group, with scenes of Los Angeles tied in with lead singer Anthony Kiedis and the band performing the song.
You felt like you knew who these guys were after this video. And the rest is history. Sometimes you just need to have fun with a video, and that's what happened here. The Foo Fighters loosely parodied Airplane! It's an upbeat, breezy song and the video brings you in and makes it even more memorable. For this day at least, Chris Isaak's job did not suck. Directed by Herb Ritts, the video features Isaak and naked supermodel Helena Christensen rolling around the beach together.
As the selections on this list prove, sometimes a simple concept is the best route to an iconic video. Consequently, it was the cheapest and quickest to produce of all the videos in her career.
The video scored nine nominations at the VMAs and took home three wins, including Video of the Year. Director Francis Lawrence -- who helmed three of the Hunger Games movies and 's Red Sparrow, -- is an excellent filmmaker who put together a really unique, creepy, sterile look for this video. The song is catchy and the video draws the viewer in deeper. Hell yes. That's all thanks to Howard Greenhalgh's creepy-as-hell, surrealist video that asks the question, "What would happen if the entire decade of the s went on a bad acid trip?
Get models naked or lightly clothed, in the censored version and have them run around during a catchy song. It's not exactly a high-minded concept, but director Diane Martel knew what she was doing because damn does it work. Robin Thicke's song dominated , as T. If you claim you didn't watch this video repeatedly in , you're lying. Sammy Hagar hated the concept for the video when it was proposed to him. That should tell you all you need to know. A phenomenal video that accompanies one of Van Halen's most underrated songs from the band's best overall album , it definitely connects.
It's the best video the group ever did, and that was reflected by winning three VMAs in , including Video of the Year. Hagar has since said he was wrong, and that the video is "brilliant.
This was a simple concept but a complex video. Taylor Swift gathered together a legion of singers, actresses and models and as the video progresses then they train as spies to fight it out with another group. A solid pop song is elevated to a much higher level by the revenge plot we see playing out.
Oh, and Kendrick Lamar showed up he will again shortly. With a gorgeously-shot video deeply-laced with symbolism, director Dave Meyers elevated a decent Kendrick Lamar song to new heights. No one in this video, not even Lamar himself, is "humble" but that draws our attention even closer to the lyrics to figure out just what he's talking about. It was the third time Meyers has had a video win the award.
Racism, religion and sexual ecstasy collide in one of the best videos of the s. She falls in love with a black man, who also turns out to be a Christ figure played by Leon Robinson who later became the star of Cool Runnings. But this is truly a great song and the video, directed by Mary Lambert, was even better.
It was nominated for Video of the Year in , but failed to win, likely because of the controversy surrounding it, though it did win the coveted Viewer's Choice award. An excellent song received the kind of next-level video it deserved, when directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris were allowed to unleash their vision on MTV's audience.
Using old-style special effects, the cinematic quality drove people deeper into the song and created a truly magical experience. It was shot in 20 seconds using a single camera, but choreographed so those 20 seconds are played backwards and forwards for the entire length of the nearly four-minute video by zooming in and out.
Director Garth Jennings did an incredible job with this gem, which was only nominated for two awards at the VMAs and secured no wins. Johnny Cash was 71 years old when he and Mark Romanek teamed up for this beautiful, poignant composition.
Cash was battling serious health problems and his frailty was laid bare for all to see, but set against video of him as a younger man.
The decay of life we all face is the theme here and has never been more clearly expressed. The emotion and sadness of Cash's regret and loss fit with his voice and the powerful lyrics of this Nine Inch Nails cover.
Hearing and seeing Cash sing, "Everyone I know goes away in the end," is such a gut-punch of a line. Cash's wife, June Carter Cash, participated in the video, but passed away three months after filming. Johnny himself died four months after her. This video was the last bit of greatness he left us. Jay Kay and Jamiroquai are that rare one-hit wonder that produced an absolutely stellar, memorable video. This single-shot performance is one of the best ever, and there's a really cool story for how they pulled it off.
It was all worth it, as the video earned 10 VMA nominations in , and took home four, including Video of the Year. It largely focuses just on O'Connor's face as she goes through the stages of sadness and anger associated with loss.
And those emotions -- and the tears at the end -- were real. O'Connor channeled the death of her mother into the performance and absolutely nailed it. Regardless of what Justin Timberlake may say, this video was squarely aimed at Britney Spears following their much publicized breakup in In it, Timberlake stalks a suspiciously Britney-looking blonde, then breaks into her house and films himself having sex with another woman, leaving the recording for his ex to find.
Setting aside how endlessly creepy the premise is, this is a fantastic video that complemented one of the best breakup songs ever. It's the best video Timberlake has ever done, and he has director Francis Lawrence to thank. Stan is the portrait of an obsessed, mentally-unhinged fan who can't deal with reality. The video features Devon Sawa as Stan and Dido as his pregnant girlfriend.
Their performances are outstanding and bring the lyrics of the song to life. Easily Eminem's most critically acclaimed song and video, it didn't win any VMAs in despite four nominations. A huge oversight by the show, though it was an insane year for videos. Dave Meyers directed this gem, that featured cameos from Timbaland, Eve and Halle Berry, while it also marked the debut of Alyson Stoner as the young lead dancer.
The Video of the Year at the VMAs, there's so much that's memorable about this one, including Missy Elliott just owning the camera the whole time. An insanely catchy tune got a mesmerizing video with great dancing, cool visuals and memorable cameos. Can't do much better than that. It's hard to explain to people just how groundbreaking this song and video was. Aerosmith, one of the world's most popular rock bands and RUN-D.
The video starts with a literal wall between the two, as the two groups feud. The battle between rock and hip-hop was real in , and many fans felt they had to be loyal to one or the other. After some feuding, the wall gets literally and figuratively broken down and the groups earn each other's respect through performance and wind up playing together. Again, it's obvious what's going on in the video and not particularly clever, but at the time it was huge.
The message is that artists are artists, and music is music, no matter what the form. The performers show immense respect for one another and broke down the barriers that separated their mediums. This made it OK for the average listener to like and appreciate both types of music. Overlooked at the time thanks to a glut of overrated videos released in and , this timeless song got the awesome, memorable video it deserved. Chris Tucker's cameo works, as do the costumes and the overall theme.
One of several Spike Jonze-directed videos on this list, Fatboy Slim's "Praise You" has a great concept and flawless execution. Shot guerrilla-style featuring Jonze as the leader of the fake Torrance Community Dance Group, it was essentially a precursor to Jackass in music video form. This was the first video of Aerosmith's trilogy featuring Alicia Silverstone and became an enormous hit.
Silverstone plays a teenager who breaks up with her boyfriend played by Stephen Dorff when she catches him cheating. She goes through a period of rebellion afterwards and becomes self-sufficient. She even beats up a purse-snatcher, played by future Lost star Josh Holloway. The Love Haters still crack me up after all these years. Before the back-up singers receive their first close-up, Barber sets the stage with a wide shot that shows each member of The Love Below.
Green is a strong visual motif. Directed by Vincent Haycock across the U. Magazine , Bonjour Paris. To that end, many lengthy articles have been written about the video, analyzing the numerous cultural and sociopolitical references that simultaneously access contemporary events and reach back centuries.
The effect is a sprawling work in only four minutes; though it has so many individual components and elements that have been extensively discussed, it moves as one flowing experience taken together, demonstrating its great artistry.
Joel Mayward joelmayward Cinemayward. Absolutely transcendent. Though it could have used more cowbell. But this is a case in which the music video eclipses the song itself and takes on a life of its own, and for that, it should be celebrated. The primordial music-video director is Busby Berkeley, who discovered the difference between merely depicting performances and transforming them.
The music video, whether as a commercial for a record or as a part of a movie, is a crucial subset of the history of cinema, and the filming of music is a touchstone of directorial artistry. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. Back to IndieWire.
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