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2001:
The Year in Music Videos
By Brian
Stovall
I must
place a disclaimer at the beginning of this to warn you that
Dave Meyers directed NONE of the videos I've selected. So
if you're a big fan of any video containing wide-angle lenses,
bright colors, or camera speed-ups, you'll be very disappointed.
I think it's such a crock that this guy made almost every
video released this year. I used to think McG was the anti-Christ
of music video direction, but Mr. Meyers has opened my eyes
and taken it to an even new low. I get sick of watching "Making
the Video" and seeing Dave's pathetic ass adjust his dialect
and culture to the artist he's making the video for. So far
I've seen "Sensitive Dave Meyers," "Gangsta Dave Meyers,"
and "Wacky Dave Meyers." Keep in mind, he is none of these
things, he's just a F-ING POSER!!!
Anyhow,
looking at the overall list of videos released this year,
it seems like an even mix of rap and jr. high rap-rock, with
a bit of teen pop sprinkled in between. Luckily I've been
able to pull a few quality videos out of the heap. The truth
is, you could pretty much flip to "120 Minutes" on M2 any
Sunday night and see a "best of" as far as creativity and
talent goes.
On the
other hand, you may also notice I have a teeny bit of diversity
in my selections. I don't feel the music video has to be "breakthrough"
or "cutting edge" to make this list. In some cases it's the
narrative occurring throughout the work (U2), or the sequence
of shots that touches you on a different level (Allison Krauss)
and you can't quite figure out why you like it, but still
desire to see it again and again; or another reason might
just be sentimental, and the artist can do no wrong in your
eyes (Sade). In their own way, I believe they contain kickass
quality and craftsmanship.
So now,
your 2001 Music Video wrap-up:
10.
U2 - "Stuck in a Moment": I almost put "Walk On" in
the place of this, but I thought the story, and the fact that
we can all relate to the concept (no, not missing the winning
field goal), was clever and completely appropriate for narrative
use with the song's lyrics. The use of repetition throughout
the video drills in the fact that he's going to be bothered
by this for quite some time. And we've all had that feeling,
even if it was a simple sentence we uttered and not an action.
Right song, right idea!
9.
Gorillaz - "Clint Eastwood": Sissy Brits can make a
difference, and a couple members of Blur decided to reinvent
themselves as animated characters for this music video, and
the whole CD for that matter. It makes me think of the woman
art-group who disguises themselves in masks to cover their
identity, and rumor has it that a couple are well-established,
mainstream female artists. (If my five years at Herron serves
me correctly, I believe the name of their group is "The Gorilla
Girls.") Regardless, this video is less of an attack on testosterone
and masculinity, introducing us to the "four members" of Gorillaz.
The follow-up for this was done in the same style, but came
across a bit weaker. It's still a better spin-off band than
that lame-ass Rentals group (that was brainless shit no matter
how you dressed it up). They reminded me of the elitist, jackass
painters at Herron who thought odd always equaled clever.
Hey, sometimes odd is plain stupid!
8.
Fatboy Slim - "Weapon of Choice": I know this would rank
higher on most countdowns, but it has the burnout factor working
against it. I would never contest the fact that Spike Jonze,
or this video, is genius. Any video with Christopher Walken
is genius. Hell, "Live to Tell" by Madonna was genius, and
that was just clips from "At Close Range." The one thing Spike
has brought to every single video of his is charm. It's almost
like the creativity of a child matched with the flawless training
of a director. You eventually get the wannabes trying to create
a smooth, yet cutting edge video, such as Dom and Nick, but
it doesn't work. I'm also looking forward to Spike's next
movie whenever he gets around to it.
7.
Allison Krauss (& Union Station) - "Maybe": This video
would take the "Best Cinematography" category, assuming there
were one. Instead it's going to have to settle for #7 on my
countdown. This is by Rocky Schenck, who directed the Lisa
Stansfield video for "Never Gonna Give You Up." I know you
remember that video, even though it barely registered on any
chart. In it, Lisa walked around town in the buff after climbing
out of the tub. Now he gives us a performance/narrative work
that favors the design of the video over the content. Allison
is singing from different areas in the bedroom of her Tudor
home. All the while, her mate (boyfriend/husband?) is packing
his belongings. Sounds like it would be a bit hokey, but the
camera angles AND editing make this quite the sweet video.
It doesn't even bother me when the momentum switches to a
performance on the roof of a building. The shots and editing
are once again perfect. It has a winding down, relaxing feel
to it. Very nice…
6.
Tool - "Schizm": I don't have a whole lot to say about
this video that isn't self-explanatory when you view it. As
usual, it's as beautiful and twisted as the others, and maintains
a trademark vision to match their trademark sound. I'm just
pumped that I scored free tickets from work to see them. I
actually took my father knowing he would appreciate it the
most, being a drummer and all. He took me to my first concert,
Buddy Rich, as a boy. How can you, and do you, repay someone
who took his 6-year old child to see one of the greatest jazz
drummers ever? I usually try to keep him up to date on current
acts that show creativity and have talented members. This
list does not include Creed, Matchbox 20 or Linkin Park.
5.
Radiohead - "Pyramid Song": Speaking of creative bands,
these guys, though being sissy, arrogant Brits, are one of
the bands currently out who I believe are shaping where real
music can go. Beck and The Roots also make this personal opinion
list. Radiohead has this bad habit of putting out albums that
outdo each other. I know "Amnesiac" was a bit on the bunk
side, but look at it as more of an EP than a full-fledged
release and you'll see that they keep developing. If you don't
believe me, count the number of times you listen to your "OK
Computer" release over "Pablo Honey." I'm still very, very
pissed I missed them in concert. They remain at the top of
my list with Pink Floyd, as bands I still need to see.
4.
Sade - "King of Sorrow": Put the Goddess and Sophie Muller
together and you're guaranteed to have one hell of a sensual
video, even if she is raising three kids in the piece. Sade
(a.k.a. my future wife) came out strong with her 2000 release
"Lover's Rock." You wouldn't have even known it'd been eight
years since "Love Deluxe." Whether or not it sold well, I
have no clue, but she picked up right where she left off.
I was finally able to see her in concert (I was in Vegas when
she hit Indy in 1993, and I lived with that guilt for seven
years.) and it was such a beautiful show as she floated through
her catalog of hits not stopping for much chit-chat. All this
was counterbalanced when I saw Tool the next evening, at the
same venue. As for the "King of Sorrow" video, Sophie plops
down 3 children and a whole bunch of mess on Sade, and shows
us how she overcomes. Her real band appears in the video as
her character's backing band, which doesn't seem to like her
a lot in the video. The coloring is nice and the storyline
is smoove! She's one of the sexiest and best.
3.
Coldplay - "Trouble": I might have been one of the only
people in this state severely attached to the video for "Yellow."
It's not the world's best song, or best video for that matter,
but the combination of the two was perfect. And for some reason
I always associated that single with Formula One for some
reason. Maybe it was the whole gloomy European setting, which
is where most of the races take place. Whatever it was, it
prompted me to listen to the CD all day at Friday practice
of this year's race. Ironically, or just by chance (I can
never separate the two) that Friday was chilly, cloudy and
a bit gloomy; perfect F1 weather if you can't make it overseas
to Silverstone. Anyhow, I had to put "Trouble" down due to
killer design. That's the kind of breakthrough video that
motivates an aspiring music video person to create. You almost
think, "I can do that." when you see the layering and editing
effects, which they took no measures to hide. There are also
a couple parts that give me chills every time I see it; and
that's only happened with a couple other videos (Madonna "Bad
Girl", Police "Wrapped Around Your Finger", U2 "Please", and
Bjork "All is Full of Love"). I think the weakest part is
the performance footage of the band, but I understand they
are new and their label wants to establish their identity.
2.
Madonna - "What it Feels Like for a Girl": Controversy,
controversy, and more controversy… I'm 'bout to get out my
soap box on video ethics and shake my finger very sternly
at MTV. These bitches decided this video was too violent and
controversial to air. This is the first video she's had out
for quite some time that didn't fill me with the urge to visit
a gay techno club and watch the local drag queens vogue. It's
her most conceptual piece since "Frozen." Well, marriage has
it's benefits and it doesn't hurt she married Guy Ritchie,
because what he did was get her back in my good graces (I
think that's even a line from one of his films). The plot
consists of, if I remember correctly (I only got to see it
once because of trick-ass MTV), Madonna is pissed about something
so she climbs in a "Smokey and the Bandit"-sized Trans-am
and wreaks havoc on dickheads. I have no problem with this,
but apparently MTV did. They deemed it too negative and were
afraid of its potential influence on society. Since when did
MTV grow a conscience? These dumb shits play the hollowest,
most banal, degrading videos and then have a problem the one
time a vindicating woman is portrayed. The suckiest part is
no protest was made. It just came and went and that was that;
not even a DVD single of the video. What's even worse is I
can go out and pick one up for the shitty "Music" video. Throughout
the piece Madonna manages to rob an ATM, blow up a gas station,
kidnap an old lady, and in the end commit suicide, all shot
in the trademark Guy Ritchie style.
1.
Kenna - "Hell Bent": Who, what, who?!? I know! I know!
But this video was my favorite of the year. I really only
caught it on MuchMusic out of Canada. It made a couple quick
appearances on M2, but Linkin Park kept getting in the way
of the rest of its airings. "Hell Bent" is a claymation-medium
video depicting an alien-looking, factory worker who's unhappy
with his vocational decision. He works at a plant that manufactures
happiness through eyewear. All the while a foreman stands
on a catwalk above pointing and yelling at the assembly lines.
One night the factory worker fiddles around with some of the
components from a product at home, and throws in a colored,
gel substance, which he removed from the door in his belly.
Stick with me! He then proceeds to put the glasses over his
eyes and the world changes from a green-gray gloomy tone to
a swirled dead-headish type setting where everything is animated.
The worker then starts his own company manufacturing these
glasses, which eventually dominate the market and become all
the rage. As the song progresses, we see the worker's/now
owner's happiness begin to fade and he is the one yelling
from the catwalk. Near the end he's sitting behind the big
desk in his big office and swings open the door to his belly,
which is now dark and empty. The closing sequence takes us
out of his office and through the city to a merry-go-round
with children playing on it. Clear message in this video?
Maybe not, but the way the images moved with the song were
beautiful, and that's what it boils down to with me. It's
all opinion anyhow. What qualifies a video as good in one
person's eyes doesn't make it good in someone else's. This
one seemed to combine a great deal of effort with a beautiful,
well thought out design. If you haven't seen it though, you
probably won't.
I'd like to take a minute to cover the complete losers of
music videos. First and foremost, I've got to slam those jackass
rap-rock bitches that let Fred Durst direct their music video.
What the hell are you thinking? It wasn't even worth it when
Limp Dickut was big. Members are bailing out, they're releasing
remix CDs.
Next are
the "thug-life" gangsta videos. I think they're made from
a template, like their CD cover artwork; Insert name encrusted
in diamonds with a 3D filter laid in then Photoshop helicopters
overhead, dogs by their side, and stacks of money and crystal
chess sets all around them. When it comes to the music videos,
now you have the wide screen with the thin colored line above
and below the frame, a longgggg series of slow-mo shots, and
a line of ladies shaking their asses at the camera. Not too
much concept or budget going into these gems. They should
all get out their pencils and paper and take clear and concise
notes from Outkast ("Bombs Over Baghdad" was kickass!).
My last
victims are the teen pop shits. Has anyone made the connection
between Britney's "Slave for You" video and Paula Abdul's
"Cold Hearted Snake?" Here's the only difference: A table
of talent scouts. None of this genre has even been mildly
entertaining this year. It's all a big "Look at me!" fest.
Things
don't look much better down the road. It is like Russell Mulcahey
(Dir. videos for Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler, ABC and numerous
others) said in an interview, something to the effect of "We
used to just be able to take a camera out and shoot what we
desire. Now you have to go through a whole record label and
hope your idea gets approved within the first couple times."
As much as I want to do it, I just don't think I'd have the
patience to do it on a large scale. I think I'll stick to
independent stuff for a while. Maybe a revolution will start
soon: The Guerilla Music Video Director!
I also
want to chime in on other Music Video related media such as
films and documentaries. First, and very much foremost, I'd
like to comment on a film that I think you either love or
hate, "Moulin Rouge." This came very close to being my favorite
of 2k1. If it hadn't been for the end of the year release
of "LOTR: FOTR," I might have let it slip past the fantasy
flick, and "Memento" to the top of the list. "Moulin Rouge"
amused me when I saw it at Shotgunner Neil's bachelor party.
(Hope all is well, Neil!) I still believe it had the most
intense design effort of all the releases this year. It was
beautiful. The music turned me off at first, but the more
I thought about it, the more the soundtrack grew on me. It
eventually served its purpose and became the dialogue for
the characters, in my mind. Musicians get away with ten times
worse on their CDs, nowadays. Anyhow, my lovely wife was extremely
against this movie and voiced her disapproval over getting
it for me at Christmas. I made her sit down and watch it that
same day, and she was crying by the end. She was more pissed
at their Marketing Dept. after viewing it. I also agree that
the whole department should be given the boot for the way
they marketed it. It's just perfect. But you know, it could
be complete rubbish in someone else's eyes, and for me to
make you feel guilty or like an ass for liking, or disliking
something I appreciate is immature. So see it, and if you
like it, tell a friend; and if not, keep your f-ing mouth
shut and don't talk people out of seeing it.
Onto what
I believe was the best, and most complete Jazz history ever,
"Ken Burn's Jazz." I saw this when it aired on PBS during
the month of February 2001. I tried my damnedest not to miss
one installment. If you ever wanted to know the origin, history
or artists of Jazz, you should've watched. It was a ten part
series that ranged from 90 min. to 2-hour specials. I was
so pumped when I finished watching an episode it was hard
for me to sleep. Although there was little about aforementioned
Buddy Rich, who I was anticipating having a larger role, I
learned quite a bit about the lifestyles and backgrounds of
the big names (such as Holiday, Parker, and Monk). I had no
idea a ton of them were druggies. There's a lot more I took
away from it than that, but it was so thorough that I even
started to appreciate Miles Davis's experimental stuff, which
used to freak me out. By the last episode, I was a blubbering
crybaby (it was the death of Louis Armstrong). Luckily, the
wife was out cold from working and going to school. Moving
on, I just recently scored the DVD box set of this series
and I'm working my way through it on my year anniversary of
seeing it for the first time. If you were, are, or think you
will be any kind of Jazz fan, I highly recommend you pick
it up. I believe it's out of print and doesn't go for very
cheap on Ebay. Look high and low because it's very much worth
it.
My
Favorite CD of 2001: I'm going with Nickel Creek's self-titled
release. These two gentlemen and one beautiful lady put out
a CD that's been kicking my ass all summer and fall. I can't
get enough of it. And to freaking top it off, I am (was) a
huge Toad the Wet Sprocket fan. I was never able to see Toad
in concert, being a poor college student, but I had met all
of them by their bus on one occasion. So when I saw the announcement
that Glen (former lead singer of Toad) would be joining Nickel
Creek on tour to help promote his solo album, I was there.
He played a set then they would come out and play for a while,
and finally he would return and they would spend the last
hour, out of the 3 total hours played, and together do a mix
of Nickel Creek and Toad songs. Both times they performed
my favorite Toad song "Windmills." I would pay an amazing
amount of money to have that version on CD. PLEASE CHECK NICKEL
CREEK'S CD OUT!!! I'm done! Gone! Whatever!
Brian
Stovall's email address is brianstovall@hotmail.com.
He works for a local television station in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He had the opportunity to work with Mark Pellington (Dir.
Pearl Jam "Jeremy," Alice in Chains "Rooster") a couple years
ago on his first feature film. He's not name-dropping, it's
just one of the coolest and most inspirational things to ever
happen to him. Now if he could just get a hold of Anton Corbijn!
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