MUSIC VIDEO VAULT
THE GREATEST MUSIC VIDEOS OF ALL TIME:
Remember when MTV used to show music videos? I must have been around 4 or 5 when I watched my first music video. I remember MTV used to stand for Music Television. The times change. Now, in order to watch videos, we must go on YouTube. MTV has become a farce. What was once a music revolution, has now become a place for pseudo celebtards to dish about fabricated gossip. The Hills are alive indeed and they have destroyed our medium.
In 1928, Swedish engineer John Logie Barid invented the first working television system. The first transatlantic television transmissions were held at the Bird Television Development, LTD. It transmitted the waves from j England to Hastings, New York.
If I was a female music artist, I would be a cross between with Lady Gaga,Madonna, and Fiona Apple . I don't even like Lady Gagga as a persona but she is radical just like me and I love to push the envelope. I would also be like Madonna because just like her, I will find a way to be original. I hate artists like Gaga herself who shock us for the sake of shocking us. They want to be avante-garde but they come off as completely banal. I also love the element of incorporating a jazzy noir tone to the voice. Apple sublimely tormented us with her seducing voice. I love the way she haunted us with her instrument. I think it is special and I would love to add that quality into my creation.
If I was a male music artist, I would be a cross between David Cook (singing and songwriting), David Bowie, and Johnny Cash. I love the idea of creating an enigma. With that subtle image, we allure our fans by the sound of our voice. David Cook has that powerhouse, almost Celine Dion-esque voice. It makes me sad that such a proficient talent was discovered on American Idol. This boy is nothing short than a prodigy. He has pitch perfect voice and his falsetto is to die for. But what makes Cook brilliant is his lyrical prowess. With lyrics like:
The painting's worn pale
Your eyes have started fading
Were they ever even really there
Nothing to give with everything you take
The cracks in your smile make it impossible
To decipher something legible
Your porcelain face and a heart of glass
Your eyes have started fading
Were they ever even really there
Nothing to give with everything you take
The cracks in your smile make it impossible
To decipher something legible
Your porcelain face and a heart of glass
-David Cook, "Porcelain"
His writing is awe inspiring and Cook needs to get more recognition for his talent but he is the new generation's leading man. In the 60's and 70's we all hailed at the sight of rock's most enigmatic and provincial talents. One effeminate Londoner and one Memphis rebel blazed the trail of Rock N Roll. Before there was Cook, we had a King named David, that's David Bowie. He was the man of many characters. He lived his life on Mars and went through the changes but he was always Ziggy Stardust. Cash, on the other hand Talent is not what you display for everyone to see. Talent is the natural born gift coded in your DNA. It's the criteria that doctors would die to recreate. Bowie was a pioneer in the androgynous movement. He eradicated gender characterization and parlayed human rights to his masses. Mr. Johnny Cash was the enigmatic man in black. His richly deep songs cemented his stay as the Man in Black. Cash ushered in the decades as main presence. By 2003, at the end of his life, he was still on top. His rendition of "Hurt" was fresh in its solace. I personally thought it was better than the original, written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.
Before MTV was corrupted by The Hills and Jersey Shore, music videos took center stage. I love the art of music videos and what they used to stand for. Videos were not just a collection moving images. They were short films with a purpose. Whether it was to shock or move you, music videos became the catalyst of our music industry.
Artists used to solely rely on touring and radio to garner sales and recognition. With MTV, music videos became the vehicle to promote their products to the public.
Here in a vintage ad for MTV, 80's pop icons like Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, and Billy Idol declare their want for MTV.
Here are a list of music videos that changed my life:
The pain inside this video is harrowing. Eddie Vedder championed the cause for the decease Jeremy. His life was heartbreaking and difficult yet in his honor, we were educated about the importance of being loved. A living man that is not loved is not alive at all. He is indeed dead. Jeremy is loved and Jeremy proved it.
Madonna- Vogue
Madonna's ode to fashion and old Hollywood immortalised her as a pop culture icon. She is no longer apart of the 80's, 90's, and today but a symbol of reinvention. She popularized the subterreanean world of vogue dancing and ushered a wave of eroticism in which most pop stars now abide by.
Nine Inch Nails- Closer
I love the world of the freaky and disturbed because I believe we are all a bit crazy. Some of us are just better in hiding it. Nine Inch Nails' Closer video embodied the depravity of our subconscious. It was not afraid to show us our thoughts and fetishes. Closer is the want and desire for companionship, in mind, body, and spirit. We will never be honest with ourselves if we do not treat ourselves in little bit of debauchery. We hedonistic humans with cravings. It is normal to act upon them. The more we supress it, the more bitter we grow.
Britney Spears- Stronger
Britney Spears' Stronger is a song about human empowerment. We are strong because we have the power to walk away and become better human beings. We have the ability to learn from our mistakes and overcome our adversaries. We are pillars of strength. No matter what happens to us and the hardships that we encounter, we can see past that and overcome it. Britney Spears is a brilliant example of a person that overcame her struggles with the media, yet she has pushed through. She has survived. We are flawed yet we are not broken. Our flaws are what makes us beautiful.
Michael Jackson- The Earth Song
I have been called many things in my life: pretentious, snob, harpie (none of them are TRUE and if they are true I will gladly admit to them) but I have never been one to be deemed as an environmentalist. With that said, The Earth Song punctures your soul with its vivid imagery about how the pollution is killing our animals, Jackson described a world destroyed by our selfishness.
Other Videos:
Lady GaGa- Bad Romance
REM- Losing My Religion
Music videos were apart of my life. Yes GaGa's video is recent yet, it is one of the only video of this last decade to have a clear cut artistic direction and meaning. It was a surreal music video that would have made Rene Magritte proud. I love art and what it stands for. Music videos today are obscene and distorted. They are banal and lack any true merit. They are just as cheap as the popular "artists" of today.
"I wished to go completely outside and to make a symbolic start for my enterprise of regenerating the life of humankind within the body of society and to prepare a positive future in this context." Joseph Beauys
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