The 20 Coolest Music Videos Ever Made

Music Videos are one of my favorite things to watch. They are in some ways the most pointless concept ever. I mean, a miniature movie set to music is really just an advertisement for the song. But sometimes a great video is more like a short film. A work of art that perfectly compliments it's auditory accompaniment.
Anyway, here are 20 videos I consider the best ever made.

20. Madonna- "Material Girl"

Madonna was aiming high with this early career video. The concept is simple, Madonna recreating the "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" scene from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", with herself in Marylin Monroe's role. The video seemed to be announcing Madonna's coronation as a sex symbol for a new generation.



19. Placebo- "The Bitter End"

Placebo are not as well known stateside as they deserve to be, but Europe has embraced them whole-heatedly, and this video is a good indication why. Though it isn't their absolute best song, it features the band at it's goth-glammy best, with a desaturated blue-ish color palette. Oh yeah, and they play in the middle of a fucking giant Russian satellite dish . Beat that, Axl Rose.
(I apologize this is only a link to the video.)



18. Pearl Jam- "Do The Evolution"

I'm not a huge fan of Pearl Jam's music, but this animated video by Todd MacFarlane is genius. Not only did it express the band's political views with a withering nihilistic "plot", it also gave the notoriously un-video-friendly band a Grammy nominated video. The video is full of references to global politics and history, but it also seems a lot like a nod to the stoner/nerd animation classic "Heavy Metal."



17. Nirvana- "Heart Shaped Box"

What? You thought I was gonna put "Smells Like Teen Spirit" here? That video's actually pretty lame. The video for this single from the band's masterful "In Uetro" album is far weirder and far more visually arresting. The video is cheap-looking and garish, which in some ways reflected Nirvana (and Cobain's) frustration with their "grunge" tag. Nirvana always considered themselves a punk band. The combination of Kurt's psychotic grimacing and dali-esque imagery makes the video extremely unnerving, especially viewed in the light of Cobain's tragic death.



16. Beck- "Loser"

The world was introduced to Beck with this charmingly bizarre low-budget video, which perfectly complemented the song's stream-of-consciousness lyrics and white-boy hip hop meets hippie folk-rock vibe.



15. Echo and the Bunnymen- "The Killing Moon"

Echo and the Bunnymen were one of many 80's bands to experiment with music videos, but this particular video is haunting in it's abstract simplicity. Somehow the melancholy and subtle menace of the song all come across in the visuals



14. Muse- "Time is Running Out"

An extended Dr. Strangelove nod plus dancing fascists? Did Lady Gaga put you up to this? Ah well, it's nevertheless a great showcase for Muse's slightly tongue-in-cheek conspiracy-obsessed, gothy prog-pop.




13. Weezer- "Undone"

This is the video that introduced me to visionary director Spike Jonze, who went on to direct many brilliant msuic videos as well as movies. Shot in one continuous take, this simple performance video captures blue-album-era Weezer's geeky appeal. Rivers Cuomo had yet to don his now signature spectacles, but the band act quirky and spastic and a bunch of dogs randomly run through the set at one point. It makes no sense at all, but you can't stop watching it.



12. Garbage- "Only Happy When it Rains"

This one was directed by another video aueter, the legendary Sam Bayer. I think he and Spike Jonze more or less created the 90's music video aesthetic. But where Jonze favored abstract minimalism, Bayer was a purveyor of grungy, candy-colored visual pop. One of his best videos is this clip for Garbage's "Only Happy When it Rains" which features his signatures: wrack focus effects, saturated color palette and extreme closeups. And Shirley Manson is wicked sexy in this vid, too.



11. Ladytron "Destroy Everything You Touch"

Ladytron are only marginally popular in the states, but like Placebo, have a huge international following. They also share Placebo's love of cinematic, sci-fi leaning videos. They have plenty of excellent videos, but this one took people by surprise by featuring a miniature Japanese landscape covered in snow, with the band members portraying a band of travelers beset by vengeful mountain spirits (also portrayed by the band).



10. The Smashing Pumpkins- "Zero"

For this video the pumpkins successfully drove a wedge between themselves and the grunge scene. The band had always had a goth/glam leaning, but this video (and it's counterpart "Bullet with Butterfly Wings") revealed them as entirely new creatures.



9. Johnny Cash- "Hurt".

Comprised of archive footage of the Man in Black throughout his life and footage shot just months prior to his death, this video pushes Cash's already poignant and haunting interpretation of the Nine Inch Nails ballad over the top and creates a stunning and startling reflection on a man who had lived several lifetimes in his 71 years.



8. Green Day- "Holiday"
I could have chosen "Wake Me Up When September Ends" But I actually felt it was a bit too overtly political without the tongue-in-cheek apocalyptic glee of "Holiday". The video features Green Day experiencing a little fear and loathing in Las Vegas, playing dress up (with Tre Cool in drag) and generally having a good time, while subtly underling the song's anti-war sentiment. Also, Billie Joe punches himself out at 2:25. Awesome.



7. AFI- "The Leaving Song Part 2"

AFI unleashed a pop-punk classic with "Sing the Sorrow". The album was wildly successful, and AFI's vids got heavy rotation on MTV and MTV2. This clip was particularly popular. It features "hardcore" dancing, slow-motion stage jumps and AFI as the most bad ass black tie entertainment ever.



6. AFI - "Love Like Winter"

AFI's follow up to "Sing the Sorrow" was the divisive yet ambitious "Decemberunderground", which featured this eerie, beautiful piece of icy goth-pop. The video appropriately features a lot of ice and snow and, of course, a wicked winter siren.



5. Smashing Pumpkins- "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"

The Pumpkins came out of the gate strong with this lead single, and it's accompanying video heralds the band's rebirth as the kings (and queen) of 90's rock weirdness.



4. My Chemical Romance- "Helena"

MCR became TRL darlings with this alternately sad/spooky/funny video, and it perfectly captured the band's candy-coated goth punk image. So much so the band continued to wear their Helena costumes (with slight modifications) for the rest of the tour behind their second album, "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge"



3. REM- "Losing My Religion"

This is one weird video, yet it somehow illustrates the complex emotionality of Michael Stipe's often inscrutable lyrics. Director Tarsem would go on to create the visually stunning, yet commercially dismal film "The Cell".



2. My Chemical Romance- "The Ghost of You"

My Chem surprised anyone expecting another funeral-themed video with this artful, beautifully shot, beautifully acted mini WWII movie. It showed that the band was capable of creating a wide range of imagery around it's music, and also showcased a cinematic ambition that was fully realized in the creation of their epic third album, "The Black Parade" (In which the videos were good, but not quite this good.)



1. Nine Inch Nails- Closer

Controversial and shocking. Banned by MTV. And one of the greatest visual interpretations of a song I have seen to date. Pre-dating "Saw" by more than a decade, this video showcased a distinct "torture porn" aesthetic. Much like the majority of "The Downward Spiral" album, "Closer" is a grinding piece of death-funk that seems to decay before the listeners ears. Likewise the video seems both futuristic and decrepit, with hand-cranked shots, washed out colors and images that seem to erode the film they're captured on. The video is a perfect collision of sex, violence and religion that always ruffles feathers but makes for an unforgettable piece of work.

Needless to say, this clip is not suitable for all ages.