Rest in Peace, Olivia Newton-John.
Category Archives: music video
Music Video of the Day: Seasons In The Abyss by Slayer (1990, directed by Di Puglia Gerard)
Yes, that is Slayer rocking out at the base of the Sphinx.
For their very first music video, Slayer traveled to Egypt. At the time the video was shot, Iraq had just invaded Kuwait and the world was on the verge of war. Despite all of the tension in the region, the members of Slayer said that they were warmly received by both the citizens of Egypt and the American soldiers who were preparing for Operation Desert Storm. The Egyptian government was so eager to show that it wasn’t anti-American that it allowed Slayer access that the band might not have otherwise been given. At the same time, back in the United States, the Satanic moral panic was still in force and Slayer was being accused of leading its fans into lives of sin and decadence. Slayer was promoting diplomacy while Tipper Gore was still playing records backwards.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Everything Counts by Depeche Mode (1983, directed by Clive Richardson)
The video for this fan favorite was shot around what was then West Berlin. (This was before the wall came down.) Clive Richardson had also directed the video for Just Can’t Get Enough and the band turned to him, after previously working with Julian Temple, because they felt that Richardson could visually toughen up their image and help the band move away from the more self-consciously artsy style that Julian Temple had attempted to go with. The end result was a video that quickly went into regular rotation on MTV and a song that proved to be one of Depeche Mode’s most enduring hits.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: What We’re All About by Sum 41 (2002, directed by Marc Klasfeld)
In this song from the soundtrack of the 2002 Spider-Man film, Sum 41 plays upside down, in the best tradition of Spider-Man fans everywhere. Along with keeping an eye out for clips from the film, also watch out for Slayer’s Kerry King, who shows up to remind everyone what rock is all about. As someone who grew up with an MTV that played music, I miss the music videos that always used to be released to promote movies. I always enjoyed the mix of performance footage with the most kinetic scenes from the movie.
This music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld, who has directed music videos for literally everyone. Don’t even think about becoming a rock star if you can’t get Marc Klasfeld to direct at least one music video for you.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Big Brat by Phantom Planet (2003, directed by Spike Jonze)
Big Brat, which appeared on Phantom Planet’s self-titled third album, has twice gotten a lot of attention. The first time was when it was released as a single in 2003 and the Spike Jonze-directed music video went into regular rotation on MTV. (This was when MTV still played videos and had some actual influence.) The second time was in 2012, when it was included on the soundtrack of The Amazing Spider-Man.
The video features the band performing and shooting a low budget zombie film. (Remember that 2003 was long before the current zombie boom, showing that both the band and director Spike Jonze were far ahead of the curve.) This is yet another video in which Spike Jonze displays his love of media and pop culture. Jonze, of course, has gone on to have a very successful career as a director of idiosyncratic feature films.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Signal Fire by Snow Patrol (2007, directed by Paul McGuigan)
Tobey Maguire’s third outing of Spider-Man doesn’t get much respect, despite the worthy efforts of Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Sam Raimi. Spider-Man 3 has always felt overstuffed and, when compared to Maguire’s other two outings, it’s easy to see that Spider-Man 3 is often just going through the motions. I still like the soundtrack, though.
Snow Patrol’s Signal Fire was the only single to be released from the soundtrack. The video not only advertises the film but it also pays homage to not only the previous two films but what they meant to those of us who viewed them. I remember when this video came out, some people felt that the school play concept was saying that the movies were meant for kids but I think, instead, the concept shows that the movies reminded viewers of what it was like to be young, hopeful, confused, and sad all at the same time. The Maguire Spider-Man films comprised a coming-of-age trilogy and that’s what this video is all about.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: We Are by Ana Johnsson (2004, directed by Antti Jokinen)
Today’s music video of the day comes from the soundtrack of Spider-Man 2.
While Ana Johnsson and her band wake up with the neighbors and move the furniture across the floor, clips from Spider-Man 2 are shown. This video highlights that, even more than as an action or comic book movie, Spider-Man 2 was originally advertised as being a love story. Doctor Octopus was driven made by love while Spider-Man got a chance to show his love for Mary Jane Watson. That might seem pretty simple and obvious today but, in 2004, a comic book movie trying to deal with actual human emotions was a big deal.
This music video was directed by Antti Jokinen, who has gone on to find great success as a feature film director in his native Finland.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Bother by Stone Sour (2002, directed by Gregory Dark)
The Spider-Man ring that is visible in this video is due to leader singer Corey Taylor being both a fan of the character and this song appearing on the soundtrack of the first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man film. Just as Peter Parker and Spider-Man are the same but different, the same can be said of Corey Taylor, who is introspective and thoughtful as Stone Sour’s lead singer and something somewhat different when he’s performing as Number 8 with Slipknot.
This video, which features Taylor singing to rapidly aging and dying version of himself, was directed by Gregory Dark. Dark, previously known as “the Steven Spielberg of the soft-score set” and “the Martin Scorsese of the erotic thriller,” was making the transition for directing films for adults to directing music videos. It wasn’t always a smooth transition. There was some controversy when he directed a video for Britney Spears, for instance. I think this is one of Dark’s better videos.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: It’s On Again by Alicia Keys, featuring Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, Hans Zimmer (2014, directed by Rich Lee)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It’s not my favorite Spider-Man movie, though that’s not the fault of Andrew Garfield or Emma Stone. As a movie, it was clearly trying too hard to match the MCU without actually being a part of the MCU. (Later, we found out that both the Garfield and the Maguire Spider-Men were a part of the Multiverse but, when they were first released, both sets of Spider-Man films were trapped in limbo.) The script turned Electro into just another boring villain and Gwen Stacy was no Mary Jane Watson.
I can’t deny, though, that the soundtrack was awesome. Alice Keys and Kendrick Lamar performed It’s On Again for the film and the music video, along with being a throwback to the type of music videos that used to regularly be made to promote the movies, also hints at what we were all hoping The Amazing Spider-Man 2 would actually be.
The video was directed by Rich Lee, who has also done videos for Eminem, Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Maroon 5, The Black Eyed Peas, Norah Jones, Slash Michael Bublé, The Pussycat Dolls, and The All-American Rejects.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Days Go By by Dirty Vegas (2001, dir by ????)
Meow! Tomorrow, the human take the music video of the day feature over again! I hope you have enjoyed the cat’s taste in music!
Through the Shattered Lens 