Music Videos

Overused Music Video Effects

Dwarves?
I must be out of it. I only watch the occasional I Love The 80s show on VH1C, I have not watched a "new" video since the early 90s.
VH1C is now going away from videos to shows ABOUT the classic people, and new concert reunion things. Plus they are on a heavy metal kick.
Travel Channel shows poker.
History channel shows UFO rubbish.
SciFi shows newer made for the channel junk instead of older classic SciFi shows.
MTV never shows videos.
Cartoon Network plays stupid new cartoons.
TV Land is going 80s, away from really classic TV. Plus they show westerns EVERY WEEKEND and never get any new shows. No more summer block party, no more Kitschen, all the fun is gone. Sanford and Son all day, all the time.

You know, the dwarves / midget thing isn't actually even new - I recall a video or two back in the 1980s (possibly early '90s) using them - some video showed the "midget tossing" game set in a bar.

So does ESPN, or one of those sports channels.

Please someone, tell me, how does poker qualify as a "sport?"

I've been spending my t.v. time on History Channel, Discovery Channel, National Georgraphic, Encore movie channels, HBO, and sometimes the Military channel.

My usual fave shows (Monk and Battlestar Galactica) are in re-runs right now otherwise I'd be watching those.

LOL@Dwarves! Especially at the one dressed as a Jester in the "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats video.

Totally related/unrelated - Another soon to be overused Music video person is Justin Timberlake, he is in that new Nelly Furtado video. I think he is going to be in at least 6 more music videos this year. 3 years ago it was Pharrell Williams!

This post has been edited by Anna_L on Jun 15 2006, 10:59 PM

I mentioned this music video poll in the Madonna Blows Chunks forum.

Madonna tops MTV videos poll

MTV Music Video Poll - The Sun

Top 10 Videos That Broke The Rules

1. Madonna - Like A Prayer (1989)
2. Britney Spears - Baby One More Time (1999)
3. Michael Jackson - Thriller (1983)
4. Madonna - Ray Of Light (1998)
5. Madonna - Vogue (1988)
6. Michael and Janet Jackson - Scream (1995)
7. Robbie Williams - Rock DJ (2000)
8. Eric Prydz - Call On Me (2004)
9. Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity (1997)
10. Spice Girls - Wannabe (1996)

If this survey means 'ground breaking' as in "artistic stuff and styles never used in a video before" -

Then I think that the following should have been tops on the list:

- A-ha's Take On Me (first use of animation/ rotoscoping),
- Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer (first use of clay mation/stop motion), and
- Dire Straits Money For Nothing (first use of 3-d animated figures)

And maybe the following:

- a Phil Collins video - was it called Land of Confusion? (It was the video where there were puppets of Ronald Reagan and others in it.)

- Art of Noise, Close to the Edit
- Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams are Made of These
(both of those were very surreal videos)

- Robert Palmer, Addicted To Love.
After that video, everyone and his granny began copying off the use of very bored-looking female models who are all dressed alike with slick make-up and pulled back hair that Palmer had in his video.

- The Escape Club, Wild Wild West. Used mirrors to make people look freaky and weird.

- Neneh Cherry, Buffalo Stance. Used weird, psychadelic designs/animations in background

- Van Halen, most of their videos. I didn't really like the band's music, but David Lee Roth did some outrageous stuff in their videos.

Years ago, whenever there were polls like this, Jackson's "Thriller" was always considered the greatest video of all time. MTV renamed its Video Vanguard Award to The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

I don't think Britney deserves to be on that list.

I've seen that Robbie Williams video. It's the most disgusting thing ever! It was actually featured in an MTV show about the WORST videos of all time.

Spice Girls...nope. It was shot in one continuous take, but I don't think it's extraordinary enough to be considered one of the world's greatest. I think Madonna did a "one long take" video for the remix of her song "Love Don't Live Here Anymore."

I agree that the famous videos by A-Ha, Peter Gabriel, etc, should have made the list.

I don't remember this poll being announced, but I smell Madonna's fans behind the results...

I fail to see how those videos 'broke the rules'. Are they supposed to be the most controverisal videos, or the most groundbreaking? I agree with you, Flea, about those videos being groundbreaking - those were the videos that changed the rules, as far as how videos were made. It's sad that you don't see those videos on MTV, VH1 or any other music video channel. I remember watching them as a kid and being mesmerized by all the special effects and stuff.

I so agree with you Flea. We were there. We remember.

I don't know if they mean more like popular videos. Incredible only pop videos made the cut.
I think they should have take into account the songs too. LIke for example, Nirvana's Smells like teen spirit became so popular that even today if you see a band with a male blonde lead singer in a gym, you immediatelly think Nirvana. Or even NIN, or The Prodigy and hell even Bjork should have been there.
I agree with some of the videos in the list. I do remember Michael Jackson's Thriller was always number 1. Although I am not a huge fan, I agree with it.
Man-donna's Like a Prayer, I don't think it deserves to be there, however, I'd still give it to Vogue (which used plagiarized images in black and white but still quite visually stunning and beautiful to watch) and that's the only good video she has. Her videos are kind of stupid with her dancing like an idiot. What I consider a groundbreaking video is visual technique and how it relates to the music.

Robbie Williams's Rock DJ was in MTV's most controversial videos of all time, not the worst video as far as I know. I thought it was pretty cool and definetely unique. I've never seen something like that so yes it deserves to be there.

However, I'd give my vote to the most amazing/innovative/greatest videos ever made: Kenna for Hell Bent, and anything by Tool.
Those videos is doped and just amazing to look at.

This post has been edited by SkylerKnows on Jul 27 2006, 07:11 AM

10,000 MTV viewers voted in this poll. When you think of the demographic that watches that music channel regularly, it's not surprising to see a lot of the video classics from the 80s missing. Most of these kids were very, very young at the time (some not even born yet!). What is their frame of reference? They would choose the artists they're familiar with (90s onward) and maybe namedrop a couple from "way back then" that they've heard everyone talk about.

Madonna's LAP video sparked controversy, yes (a cheap way of getting noticed instead of producing something of technical or artistic substance). So, I guess, SHOCK VALUE is the primary qualification for "rule-breaking" videos these days? I wholeheartedly agree with your selections, flea. A-ha's "Take On Me" and Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" are totally awesome vids. They still have that innovative appeal. Will the same be said of Britney Spears? I doubt it.

My hometown newspaper just published an article on MTV's 25th anniversary this week, and mentioned some of the networks top videos.

15 Best/Worst Videos on MTV

*squeal!* I love this video!

I thought I was the only one who noticed that?

Just heard about these guys - they're from Sweden. They're supposed to have weird music videos.

Teddybears

Christina Aguilera's Candyman video/song is just a rip off of the Andrew Sister's Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. I used to watch the Andrew Sisters when I was a kid, in old movies.

Avril, Christina's Multiple-Personality Clips Copy A Page From Madonna's Handbook

What's with all the different versions of Avril Lavigne running around in her new video? Or, for that matter, the multiple Christinas, Ciaras and Beyoncés in theirs?

Everywhere you look, it seems some pop diva has replicated herself so she's the star of her clip several times over. (Whatever happened to delegating? Surely their budgets can't be that tight.)

This is nothing new, actually — Mariah and Madonna are old pros at it by now — but the idea has been spreading lately like a video virus, with Avril just the latest to be infected.

This got us thinking: Are all these people copying themselves, or someone else?

Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend"
Avril Lavigne gets to have it both ways in her "Girlfriend" clip — she's the nice girl and the mean girl. "The redhead is the girlfriend, and the brunette is the bratty one who tries to steal the boyfriend," she explained. (The blonde, of course, is just the regular Avril.) Sure, the brunet Avril knocks the redhead Avril into a port-a-potty and bonks her on the head with a golf ball, but she's not that much of a brat — she's only hurting herself.

Christina Aguilera's "Candyman"
Like Avril, Christina Aguilera's has three different hair colors in her latest video. Her "Candyman" girls are a singing trio along the lines of the Andrews Sisters, and are supposed to look like sisters.

But there also seems to be a multiple-personality thing going on (see "Xtina X Three: Aguilera Has Multiple-Personality Disorder In Clip").

Just listen to how Christina explained to MTV News the differences between the three: "The brunette, she wanted to be naughty. She wanted to stir a little trouble. The redhead, she's looking over at the blonde, and she's got a little jealousy in her, like, 'Why aren't I singing the lead?' And the blonde is, of course, my side ... kinda sweet and sassy at the same time." Kinda confusing too.

Ciara's "Like a Boy"
Crossdressing — now that's an entirely different issue. It's one thing to try to imitiate yourself — or different aspects of yourself — but Ciara takes it to a new level when she expresses her masculine side in "Like a Boy" (see "Beyonce, Ciara Explain Why They Unleashed Their Inner Tomboys").

Not that she's lacking for any male companionship, since NFL star Reggie Bush makes a cameo, but Ciara had a point to make. "I'm a tomboy at heart, but I don't go full-out like I did in this video," she told MTV News. "I also wanted to take it a little bit further, saying, 'Yo, I can rock it like this too.' "

Beyoncé's "Upgrade U"
Beyoncé does an impersonation of her man Jay-Z for most of the "Upgrade U" clip. "I love it because it's completely out of my character," Beyoncé said, "or at least the character that people think I am. I'm sure people would be shocked to see that I even did it or that I even could act that way." But why did you have to? At first we thought, what, couldn't B get Jay to be in her video? But after he showed, we got the joke.

Mariah Carey's "Heartbreaker"
The funniest multiple-me moment? Back before Mariah became Mimi, there was Bianca. When poor, sweet, innocent Mariah tries to confront the evil Bianca about stealing her boyfriend (Jerry O'Connell) in her "Heartbreaker" video, the two end up in a bathroom brawl inspired by "Enter the Dragon." Silly, maybe, but it's a fan favorite, and from there, the floodgates opened.

Madonna's "Die Another Day"
Madonna's no multiple-version virgin — she destroyed her own ego, or so she sang, in "Die Another Day," in which she expanded on her fencing-teacher cameo in the James Bond movie. While Madonna is being tortured in one room, two versions of herself — one in black, one in white — battle it out in a scene that riffs on past Bond movies, before the good Madonna kills the bad Madonna. Moral of the story? Nobody messes with Madonna — not even herself.

Kylie Minogue's "Come Into My World"
In 2002, Kylie Minogue strolled around a city block in Paris over and over, with a new Kylie emerging from a store each time the singer made her way around. Or was it the old Kylie?

The clip was a Michel Gondry-directed delight, tracing her path, watching one Kylie drop something only to have another Kylie pick it up, and then the two (then three, then four) swerve to avoid each other as they swing around street poles.

Then again, Kylie was copying herself in yet another fashion, since she had a Kylie-clone theme in her 1997 clip "Did It Again."

Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For"
Gwen Stefani had an emotional crisis when she tried to do her first solo album, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, the insecurities of which were reflected in the lyrics and video for "What You Waiting For" (see "Gwen Stefani Battles With Herself On First Single From Solo LP").

So as Stefani sang of her conflicted feelings in the form of a dialogue with herself, she reimagined that inner argument as an "Alice in Wonderland" dream, in which she was Alice, the Queen of Hearts, and Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

One (more confident) Gwen would tell the other (more nervous) Gwen, "Take a chance, you might grow." "You can tell I'm still having issues," the singer said, "but the outcome has been so worth it."

Ashlee Simpson's "Shadow"
Remember when Ashlee Simpson tried to be like Jessica Simpson? We mean in her video for "Shadow." Director Liz Friedlander depicted two different Ashlees who lived side by side — one blonde, one brunette — with the blonde's world being pretty and happy and the brunette's being, well, less so (see "Blondes Have More Fun In Ashlee Simpson's New Video").

"It's like me against myself," Simpson said, "kind of a facing-your-inner-demons kind of thing and things you battle with day to day." Except the only demon depicted was, well, Jessica — when the blonde smashes a mirror to Ashlee's horror. What does this really tell us about the Simpson family's dynamic?

Jennifer Lopez's "Get Right"
What the hell is going on in the "Get Right" video? (See "An Army Of J. Los — Enough For A Dozen Marriages — Star In 'Get Right' Clip.")

One Jennifer is DJing; one Jennifer is dancing alone, with her eyes closed, doing the same moves that another Jennifer is doing on a screen. Yet another Jennifer is also alone, but excited enough to dance on tables.

One J. Lo is trying to order drinks from another J. Lo; one is comforting another J. Lo who is crying; one J. Lo waves to another — it's like "Multiplicity" meets "Norbit." Is this what Eddie Murphy has wrought?

Mandy Moore's "Extraordinary"
Mandy Moore is going to top them all, since she'll be no less than 120 versions of herself in her upcoming video for "Extraordinary," which was shot earlier this month in Los Angeles.

Her characters include a hippie chick, a rocker chick, a '50s housewife and, strangely enough, Amelia Earhart. "She's kind of the hero," Moore explained. "She's the Mandy that makes the move to jump off the tower and be extraordinary." Could be an extraordinary disaster in the making — or just what Mandy needs to make a multiple comeback.

MTV's Desperate Video Music Awards

Even though it's been years since the channel has shown the videos it honors, the MTV Video Music Awards persist. This year's top nominees, announced today, are Beyonce and Justin Timberlake with seven apiece, followed by Kanye West and Rihanna with five, and Amy Winehouse with three.

.... In at least a nod to the fact that MTV is no longer really a music video network, a few new categories have been added to the show. ...

Male and Female artist of the year recognize an artist's complete body of work in 2007, while Monster Single of the Year and Quadruple Threat award (honoring "those boundary-busting artists who have conquered multiple worlds including, but not limited to; music, fashion, philanthropy, business, acting and dance") give the network's bookers latitude to honor celebrities who haven't had much of a video presence, but who might bring in some ratings.

If that seems slightly desperate, it is.

For years, the Video Music Awards were MTV's highest-rated programming event. Launched in 1984, with Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler hosting, the ceremony was a remarkably fresh and satirical take on dull old awards shows.

Because its premise was that the awards themselves were a joke — statuettes went to bands for videos in which they often didn't appear, let alone direct — celebrities were looser and more spontaneous, and so was the show.

Like all successful satire, the VMAs eventually became the thing they satirized, resorting to stunt casting (Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie's kiss! Madonna and Britney and Christina's kiss!) and remote locations (Miami! The Metropolitan Opera!) to sustain interest.

Nevertheless, ratings for the 2006 show were down 28% from the 8 million viewers the VMAs averaged in 2005, and nearly 45% down from 2005. This year's edition will be held Sept. 9 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Part of the dwindling interest can be explained by the overall slump in music sales, but there's no question that MTV has also abandoned a lot of the audience that would once have had an interest in a three-hour-plus music awards show.

With videos now as rare as senior citizens on the channel — and yes, even complaining about the relative scarcity marks one's age — the current MTV audience has become intolerant of extensive music programming.

If there remains one category that people actually care about, it's Video of the Year, in which Winehouse's Rehab battles against Beyonce's Irreplaceable, Justice's D.A.N.C.E., Timberlake's What Goes Around� Come Around,, West's Stronger and Rihanna's Umbrella. Bet on Winehouse. But don't bet on a lot of people tuning in.

I saw a Shakira video this morning on a Spanish language station.

I'm not sure how old the video is, but she's wearing a purple page-boy wig and so are her female backup dancers.

I don't know if it was intentional or not, but Shakira's video appeared to be ripping off Robert Palmer's 1980s videos, Addicted to Love and the other one - I Didn't Mean to Turn You On, or else Simply Irresistible.

It's the vidoes of the emotionless looking females dressed identically in the background.

I wouldn't say Shakira's video was a one-for-one rip off. It's not an exact duplicate of Palmer's stuff, but the style and concept are close.

Time's run out on Video Music Awards

There's something wrong when MTV doesn't even air the videos it's honoring

Thursday, Sep 04, 2008 - 12:06 AM Updated: 11:52 AM

s it possible that MTV doesn't see the irony in its Video Music Awards?

This is a channel that has lasted 27 years, launched the careers of hundreds of artists, instigated the reality TV craze with "The Real World," bestowed Carson Daly with a career and foisted the horrors known as "The Hills" and Danity Kane upon us.

Obviously, MTV has transformed over the years and managed to stay relevant to new generations while sending the old ones into mourning with every mention of Tila Tequila.

But there is something wrong with a channel not just hosting, but drowning in self-congratulatory hype over a show that celebrates the best videos of the year . . . when the channel doesn't even air the very videos it's honoring.

Having covered a few VMAs over the years, I can confirm your suspicions that the show is so far removed from its original purpose -- to recognize the creative visual feats of music videos -- that its existence lately is merely an expensive excuse to trot out B-list celebrities who will yammer to anyone on the red carpet about how influential MTV has been to their careers.

Even if --we'll say it again -- MTV never even played their video.

Look, MTV hasn't been interested in music for years -- the separation began in the early'90s, and the divorce came around the time of Kurt Cobain's death -- which is why it's created a list of offshoot channels so long it literally takes up a screen on my TV.

MTV2 was originally designed to take those pesky videos off MTV's hands so it could concentrate on "My Super Sweet 16," but now MTV2 also mostly focuses on reality shows such as "From G's to Gents" and Randy Jackson's dance competition.

Other channels -- MTVU and MTV Jams -- are too niche-oriented to make much of an impact. So that leaves MTV Hits to actually show videos, which it does. So why not move the VMAs there? It's the only place a viewer might have caught 90 seconds of a Chris Brown or Ting Tings clip?

I know, I know -- because it would diminish the cache of the MTV brand to not hold this annual platform on the parent channel, where there is a much bigger audience on which to cross-promote bad Mike Myers movies.

But the VMAs mean so little now. Who would care if the show were scuttled to a sister channel that at least has some connection to the theme?

Sunday's show is the 25th annual presentation of the moon man statuettes, and anyone older than 35 probably remembers the initial significance of these awards.

Without MTV and the influence of a visual medium for music, who knows if Madonna would be the tireless icon that she is today, or if Michael Jackson's "Thriller" would have become the second best-selling album in U.S. history?

It's a reasonable guess that Duran Duran would never have penetrated America without the aid of its glamorous mini-movies, and M?tley Cr?e wouldn't have graduated from playing dives in Los Angeles without MTV to colorize its sleazy strip-club rock.

But, as with so many things, that was a different era. Videos were the only connection fans had to their idols and the only outlet artists had to present their look and attitude.

Now, with MySpace, iTunes, YouTube and official Web site blogs facilitating faux-intimate fan-artist relationships, who needs to watch the new Katy Perry video to catch a glimpse of her personality?

Even as recently as a few years ago, the VMAs still served as reasonable entertainment: Britney Spears entangled with a snake; the Madonna-Britney-Christina kiss; Triumph the Insult Comic Dog tussling with Eminem; Michael Jackson thinking he won an Artist of the Millennium award, when it was merely a birthday tchotchke.

But now, with our new media world of constant exposure and scrutiny, the VMAs appeal to our basest instincts: Let's watch Britney, a clearly troubled young woman, derail in front of us and then make a sport out of mocking her. Or, if we're really lucky, Kid Rock and Tommy Lee, those paragons of moral decency, might start a fistfight.

That's what it came to last year, which should have been two clear signs to MTV that it's time to bury an old friend. Now that the 25-year milestone has been reached, let's hope that after Sunday, MTV will pull out the coffin.

I hate MTV with a flaming passion, and it's sister channel VH1 (which used to be cool, but is chock-full of crappy reality shows starring has-been celebs). I agree that they need to ditch the VMAs as it is pointless, and they don't even show music videos overnight like VH1 does. MTV used to do that, but now they play that reality crap 24/7. I am saddened that MTV2 has become another reality-ridden channel.

Reality TV is one of the worst things to have ever happened to arts and culture.

1980s Music Videos
-watch tons of them on this site