Do you think the imagination has gone from music videos today?

Question

Like it or loathe it, the music video to A-ha's 'Take On Me' was groundbreaking at the time, and is still impressive, 25 years on:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11485702

So why are most music videos for popular music these days so formulaic - some posturing, some heavy petting, the obligatory gyrating scantily-clad females or some impromptu dancing in the street?

Has the imagination gone from music video direction, or is it simply a fact that everything has pretty much been done before?

Answer 1

if u ask me the past 2 years i keep seeing the same type of videos over and over

Answer 2

Both. I'm a HUGE fan of Indie rock and i love todays music. However, the older music is what i grew up with. My family listened to 80's rock mostly, but also 60's and 70's and a lot of the really old stuff from the 40's and 50's. I love Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, etc. They definitely know how to make a great song!

Answer 3

I sort of don't trust myself to make an honest judgement of this, as I come form the era when access to music videos was so fleeting, that if an artist produced what was considered a fantastic vid it was the talk of the day in school. Certainly something like Thriller was like a national event almost, BUT purely because there was no web, limited music programmes etc so viewing them was a big deal.



They are formulaic now and stylised within an inch of their life(LMAO did you say heavy petting? I haven't heard/seen that since those posters that used to be in swimming pools banning diving/bombing/heavy petting :) I bloody hate dancing videos!



I can't remember that last time I thought a pop/rock video was inventive. I posted this the other day but I know it's not what you really mean - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYIfiQlfaas



I can still remember where I was, and what I was doing when I first saw Take On Me (I already liked A-ha and felt a curious mix of excitement and churlishness as I knew it would mean instant popularity!) I doubt it's like that for kids now over any video.

Answer 4

I think there are still some very, very good music videos being released. Gorillaz, for example, have been consistent with releasing good music videos that continue the story of their fictional band.



The Black Keys have some funny videos. "10 A.M. Automatic" is so deliberately awkward it always makes me smile. "Tighten Up" and "Your Touch" are great for the interaction between Dan and Patrick.



Modest Mouse has some interesting videos. But for the most part, they're just weird as sh*t. But still...original. "Satellite Skin" may be the -oddest- video I've ever seen in my life.



I usually enjoy the videos that Jack White is involved with. "Treat Me Like Your Mother" was great.



Florence + the Machine's videos are just stunning to watch. Not exactly anything groundbreaking, but visually beautiful. Radiohead's videos are almost always fantastic, and their drummer Philip Selway just released a beautiful video--"By Some Miracle"



MGMT's videos are weird, but definitely imaginative. As well as Fever Ray's.



Also--you might find this really interesting: http://thewildernessdowntown.com/ It's an interactive music video made with Arcade Fire's new song "We Used to Wait" and google maps. It's pretty groundbreaking, too, in my opinion.



It really just depends on where you look--just like music. There are lots of incredible videos out there.

Answer 5

I never have liked the video since the day it first started outside of a live concert. I find the video takes away ones own imagination. Even today when someone post a song from utube, I only listen to the song and not watch the video.



take care

dave

Answer 6

There is not a lot I can add to your critique. Even though I use YouTube a lot, I actually watch very few videos apart from Live Performances such as Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense" and Hendrix at Woodstock. In Beyonce and JoLo Videos, you can practically run a Book on how many seconds it takes for them to turn sideways the better to show off their backsides (nothing wrong with that per se, but....).



However, this was posted yesterday by Smoochy, and is very, very clever indeed, certainly imaginative:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxuqUNKqj…

Answer 7

I prefer to listen to music than watch the videos. It can put me off. My daughter listens to the kind of music with the videos you describe. And it puts me off the music. I am a fan of RHCPs and their videos are quite good. The White Stripes are more artistic, they put thought into their videos. I could probably name quite a lot of rock videos that are good, but it depends which kind of music you like. But yeah, Take On Me was good, as was Sledgehammer.



edit: Video killed the radio star!

Answer 8

I think the imagination and talent is completely gone from todays music, not just the videos

Answer 9

yea i havent seen anything really impressive lately. a video shot on a roof top yawn, a video shot in a apartment yawn. video of people having a good time yawn. no more creativity

Answer 10

You'll need google chrom

www.thewildernessdowntown.com

An extraordinary music video from Arcade Fire

Answer 11

Definitely ! They don't make videos with a theme or a story, they just pose and think they're superior !

Answer 12

Here's where some of the imagination went.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytRQjrP4A0s

Answer 13

Creativity these days seems to SUCK. Nobody's original anymore

Answer 14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjzIBI3jkKY