Icy pictures of the water are captured in his ring

[sovay]

rushthatspeaks linked me to the video for Lorde's "Tennis Court," which started me thinking about music videos. Generally speaking, I haven't seen very many; they're not how I discover music. I'll watch them if recommended, but I don't tend to seek them out on my own. There are exceptions: I watched the video for the Pet Shop Boys' "It's a Sin" (1987) because it was directed by Derek Jarman and Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" (2001) because of Christopher Walken dancing. I've seen a lot of Nine Inch Nails and Tori Amos and all the Dresden Dolls that existed the last time I checked around 2008 or so. (Also some fan-made videos I remember with fondness, although I doubt I could find them again if I looked. Actually, this was one.) Because they come around on the internet or because people I trust sit me down and show them to me, I know I've seen more than I can recollect off the top of my head. But when I thought of putting together a post of some of my favorites, I started drawing blanks. I like Kate Bush's "Experiment IV" (1986), but I like the song by itself much more. Jill Tracy's "The Fine Art of Poisoning" (2003) was created as a short film after the fact. Trying to compile some really striking examples, I feel like I'm left with an unsatisfying and not particularly representative set:

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, "Wuthering Heights" (unknown—anyone?)

Kate Bush, "Hounds of Love" (1986)

PJ Harvey, "Man-Size" (1993)

16 Horsepower, "Black Soul Choir" (1996)

Orbital, "The Box" (1996)

Hole, "Celebrity Skin" (1998)

Rob Zombie, "Living Dead Girl" (1999)

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, "Episode 1: Arrival" (2011)

Amanda Palmer, "Want It Back" (2012)

The Magnetic Fields, "Andrew in Drag" (2012)

The Pack a.d., "Sirens" (2012) and "Positronic"

David Bowie, "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" (2013)

What's all the rest I'm missing? I don't even mean classics of the genre, just weird things with music you like. rushthatspeaks, what was that beautiful one covered in blood?

Comments

[sovay]

Um.... have you seen "Lucretia My Reflection"?

Yes; that's why it was the music for this post. I watched it over a couple of times. I almost included it. But it's not a favorite video of mine so much as I love the song, although I saw it for the first time enough after reading Caitlín R. Kiernan's fiction that I had a hard time not thinking of it as a fanvid for Tales of Pain and Wonder (2000). I didn't include Tori Amos' "Past the Mission" (1994) either, although it's my favorite of her music videos I've seen—I like it a lot, but it doesn't grip me in the necessary weird way.

past the mission

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

that was beautiful--lovely light and shadow, and beautiful faces.

[barry-king.livejournal.com]

Interesting choices. I'm seeing some similar themes between a number of your videos here, especially a sort of focusing on (for want of a better word), the "protagonist". Do you find that you have a similar approach when visualizing your own creative stream?

I haven't read Kiernan's Tales, but Sisters was a fixture up here when, in college, I used to visit Mia Cara Sposa; one of the few I can still listen to without cringing. I've assembled a few videos (http://barry-king.livejournal.com/208898.html) that you might find interesting in their oddness and obscurity. Hope you like!

[sovay]

Do you find that you have a similar approach when visualizing your own creative stream?

You mean do I start with protagonists? I am not sure how to answer that; I don't tend to start with plots so much as scenes or situations, and always with words. It doesn't matter if I know what happens if I don't have the right language in which to tell it. I've had stories start from nothing more than images.

I do prefer videos that are stories, although they don't need to be plot-driven. This afternoon rushthatspeaks showed me the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Scar Tissue" (1999), which is a beautiful little four-minute post-apocalyptic road trip; it's more mood than anything else, but it feels like there's an entire novel behind it. And there's no story behind "Sax and Violins" except Talking Heads themselves, but it's perfect. I wrote a little about the reason for each video in this post here.

I've assembled a few videos that you might find interesting in their oddness and obscurity. Hope you like!

Thank you! I shall check them out in the morning!

[barry-king.livejournal.com]

I'd never seen the video for "Scar Tissue". At first it took me back to the crash in the desert scene from Wild at Heart (the only thing about that movie I have any clear recollection of), but ended with that brilliant sadness. In many ways it reminds me of a recent discovery of mine, Bomba Estereo's "Alma y Cuerpo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL-PjY3IZIk)". There's a similar theme with these two bands, the alchemy of the soul and the body, and solitary heartache.