Mixtape: Best of Industrial Vol. 2

Hey everyone and welcome to another Mixtape! Two in two weeks, they're coming like buses! Over seven years ago I did my first "Best of Industrial" Mixtape. You can find that link here. At the time I was struggling to create that Mixtape, reason being that while I love the genre, there weren't that many bands that I knew and loved beyond the obvious. Choosing around 20 artists of this genre isn't easy, certainly those of good quality. Yet the sound in its pure form is just beautiful. It's hard to put into words.

Anyway, doing this Part 2, seven years later was so much easier. I can't again explain why either. Perhaps my palette has increased for the genre? But it was always there and I've always loved it. As I said it's hard to explain!

Not familiar with the term Industrial? I'll copy and past what I put down in my Volume 1 because I explained it relatively well then.

The roots of Industrial music started in the seventies and with the Industrial Records company, but they weren't really successful, nor was the sound. But it inspired the "Post-Industrial" genre, what we now know as Industrial music. So if you're an Industrial purist, you could say that the list below is not Industrial music, but Post-Industrial music. I will continue to consider this Mixtape and the songs and sound as Industrial music, but let's not be ignorant to the original genre of the seventies. There's so many influences that helped made the genre, and there are so many influences from Industrial music that helped shape music today.

So what have I defined as Industrial below? Well, after the seventies Industrial Records scene, Industrial (or Post-Industrial) roots back to the early eighties. Arguably the first Post-Industrial band was Skinny Puppy, but of course, there were bands that influenced Skinny Puppy to make the sound they made, and there were a few bands around that time that while aren't Industrial as a sole genre, they also helped to the rise. Bands like Killing Joke, Bauhaus, Ministry, KMFDM and Kraftwerk are all bands that in some way, shape or form, helped Industrial music to become what it has been in the eighties, nineties and naughties.

But, and you can argue I'm biased in saying this, but to me, the band that pioneered Industrial music is Nine Inch Nails. A lot of the 1980s Industrial lacked melody, it sounded great but it was repetitive and became almost brainless music. But Nine Inch Nails added melody, added quality vocals and also started using ground breaking electronic metal music to add to the machinery sound that was Industrial music. As I said, I could be biased, as Nine Inch Nails are my favourite band.

Not familiar with my Mixtapes? Here are the rules.

A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong! 

This list you'll see below isn't just Industrial music. It's a celebration of the sound, and the sounds that have been influenced by Industrial music. Industrial music has been used in so many genres since the boring machine sound of the eighties, it's used in dance music, techno, alternative rock, indie, metal and most recently, dubstep. You name the genre, chances are Industrial had an assist in there for making the genre what it is today. So there's a lot of bands here that aren't Industrial. But I've selected certain songs by those bands, that have roots from the Industrial genre, and have them showcase how good the sound can be when done perfectly. I have some eighties industrial, nineties industrial, some electronic dance music and some heavy industrial metal.

Enjoy my second homage to Industrial music!

1. Mr Self Destruct - Nine Inch Nails
2. Hooker With a Penis - Tool
3. Death - Skinny Puppy
4. Flesh is the Law - Genitorturers
5. Shut Me Up - Mindless Self Indulgence
6. More and Faster (243) - KMFDM
7. Electric Head Pt 2 - White Zombie
8. Hey Man, Nice Shot - Filter
9. Do What I Say - Clawfinger
10. QWERTY - Mushroomhead
11. Rammstein - Rammstein
12. My Wall (feat Excision and Downlink) - KoRn
13. Bombshell - Powerman 5000
14. Verta Ja Lihaa - Turmion Katilot
15. BBB - How to Destroy Angels
16. Angel With the Scabbed Wings - Marilyn Manson
17. Just One Fix - Ministry
18. Sucked In - Jerk
19. Linchpin - Fear Factory
20. Get to the Gone - Static-X
21. Rock and Roll (In a Black Hole) - Rob Zombie

Don't like some of these? Give these five a try...

1. Zerospace - Kidneythieves
2. Guilty - Gravity Kills
3. Fukken Uber Death Party - Hanzel und Gretel
4. Eye - Smashing Pumpkins
5. Golgotha Tenement Blues - Machines of Loving Grace

To listen to the playlist on YouTube click here!

So I hope you enjoy this list. As I said, some of these bands are not Industrial, but I hope you understand their inclusion in the list. They have roots from the genre, and like to implement it into their modern sounds.

Until next time, take care!

For the latest updates on my work, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

Predicting Marilyn Manson's "Best Of Volume 2"

Hi everyone, it's me again with another Marilyn Manson post!

It's actually the 20 year anniversary of "Mechanical Animals", one of Manson's finest records. It doesn't get the same attention "Antichrist Superstar" does, but that takes nothing away about how truly incredible the album is. When people ask me what my favourite albums of all time are, I always say "The Downward Spiral" by Nine Inch Nails, "Antichrist Superstar" and "Mechanical Animals". It's truly a masterpiece. I did a review on the album when I was around 14 years old, it's a bit embarrassing looking at it now but if you do want to read it, it's archived on this website here.

On the topic of old posts, last year I listed my Top 15 Marilyn Manson cover versions if you want to read that, click here.

Anyway, digressing. So today I'm posting something I came up with nearly a year ago actually. When Manson was releasing "Heaven Upside Down", I had a thought. I wondered, will Marilyn Manson create a second "Greatest Hits" style album?

The reason behind this is pretty simple. Manson's last album was his tenth album. When he released his fifth album, he released "Lest We Forget: The Best Of", which is pretty much a "Greatest Hits" album of, what is now, half of his career, album-wise. So it does beg the question, will Manson consider making a "Best of Vol 2"?

There is a strong possibility that Manson may not make this album. Why? Because, as much as it might hurt some hardcore fans to admit, Manson's last five albums aren't even close to being on par with his first five. Even is Manson does consider doing a compilation album, he may not even do a "Best of Vol 2", he might actually do an actual "Greatest Hits" album, which may or may not be 2 CDs and may feature predominantly songs from the peak of his career. But, regardless of if it happens or not, if it's a "Vol 2" or an all-round "Greatest Hits" or not, it got me thinking, if "Vol 2" did come out, what would it look like?

I did a bit of thinking and a bit of number crunching. "Vol 1" was 20 songs, so I wanted "Vol 2" to also be 20 songs. It is harder than you'd think as well to predict a "Vol 2", because Manson hasn't even released 20 singles off 5 albums. He's released 9. So then I had to think, well what songs off each album that were not singles would feature? What songs were played live more than others? What songs had music videos despite not being singles? What albums are even "better" or "more popular"? Would he release a single to promote the album, like he did with "Personal Jesus" and "Vol 1"? He's recently released a cover version of "Cry Little Sister" and to my knowledge it's actually a music single. So believe it or not, it wasn't the easiest project.

But I gave it my best shot, and this is what I came up with:

1. We Know Where You Fucking Live (Link)
2. Deep Six (Link)
3. No Reflection (Link)
4. Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon (Link)
5. Putting Holes In Happiness (Link)
6. Third Day of a Seven Day Binge (Link)
7. Revelation #12 (Link)
8. Heart-Shaped Glasses (Link)
9. Hey, Cruel World… (Link)
10. Running to the Edge of the World (Link)
11. The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles (Link)
12. If I Was Your Vampire (Link)
13. Slo-Mo-Tion (Link)
14. Cupid Carries a Gun (Link)
15. We're From America (Link)
16. Say10 (Link)
17. Pistol Whipped (Link)
18. Killing Strangers (Link)
19. Kill4Me (Link)
20. Four Rusted Horses (Link)

Album colour codes:
Eat Me, Drink Me
The High End of Low
Born Villain
The Pale Emperor
Heaven Upside Down

I've played it from start to finish a few times in the last few months and it does play quite well. I do take pride in my track listing orders so I believe, again, in my prediction, that if he were to release "Vol 2", it may play similar to this.

I've actually made it into a Playlist on YouTube and Spotify, click below if you want to hear it on those platforms:

Spotify
YouTube

So what do you guys think? Comment below! Thanks for your time!

For the latest updates on my work, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

Mixtape: Best Cover Versions Vol. 2

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I posted on this site, and it's been even longer since I did an official Mixtape! I haven't done a Mixtape in five and a half years, crazy! Anyway, in case you're not sure what a Mixtape is, here's an explanation...

A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong! 

Back in 2011 I did a Mixtape of my favourite cover versions, and, looking back on it, it's a very good list and I agree with most of my suggestions on the list. But, in the past 7 years there have been some belters that have come out, and, also, looking back on the list from 2011, I did miss out on some amazing cover versions. So I decided to do a Volume 2 of my favourite cover versions! Now, this list is probably just as good as Volume 1 so check them both out if you get time - to find the first list simply click here.

Before I begin I'd just like to rule out artists that do cover versions predominantly as an artist, like Weird Al Yankovic, who does parodies of songs, and Richard Cheese, who does amazing jazz versions of songs. If you've never heard the work of Richard Cheese, seriously, give the guy a listen, he's absolutely phenomenal and funny, let this song get you started. One more thing, linked below are the songs and if you click on the original artists (which are bracketed) you can listen to the originals, if I can find them. Anyway, onto the Mixtape!

1. Band on the Run - Foo Fighters (Paul McCartney and Wings)
2. My Girl - Jesus and Mary Chain (The Temptations)
3. Those Were the Days - Mary Hopkin (Tamara Tsereteli)
4. Hurt - Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails)
5. Danger Zone - Psychostick (Kenny Loggins)
6. Jack the Ripper - The Horrors (Screaming Lord Sutch)
7. Rawhide - The Meteors (Frankie Laine)
8. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - Toy Dolls (The Proclaimers)
9. How I Could Just Kill a Man - Rage Against the Machine (Cypress Hill)
10. Rise of the Eagles - The Prodigy (The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster)
11. Memorabilia - Nine Inch Nails (Soft Cell)
12. Black Betty - Spiderbait (Ram Jam)
13. The Sound of Silence - Disturbed (Simon and Garfunkel)
14. Thieves - Limp Bizkit (Ministry)
15. Five to One - Marilyn Manson (The Doors)
16. United Forces - Ministry (Stormtroopers of Death)
17. Rise - Jerk (Public Image Limited)
18. Loverman - Metallica (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)

Some of these not to your taste? Here's five alternatives...

1. Zombie - Breed 77 (The Cranberries)
2. Kidnap the Sandy Claws - KoRn (Danny Elfman)
3. Love Buzz - Nirvana (Shocking Blue)
4. Golden Ticket - Primus (Jack Albertson and Peter Ostrum)
5. Baby, I Love You - Ramones (The Ronettes)

To listen to the playlist on YouTube click here!

Well I hope you enjoyed this list. I tried to pick different songs that people may not have heard, or have considered before. Who knows, I might make Vol. 3 in another seven years time! Until next time, take care.

For the latest updates on my work, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

The Mercyside 100: 2016 Edition

The Mercyside 100: 2016 Edition

Happy New Year people. For the last four years I've been calculating all my play counts on my personal media player, to see what songs I listen to the most. And then at the start of the next year I reveal what the 100 most listened to songs were that year. Last year I revealed The Mercyside 100 2015, the year before I did The Mercyside 100 2014 and of course the year before I did The Mercyside 100 2013 which was the first one. Click on those if you're interested in what I played most on those years.

This year I did The Mercyside 100 2016. Like last year the reason why I'm not doing this in radio show format is because there's a lot of entries in this list by a certain band called Slaves. Slaves are by far my favourite band at the moment and unfortunately, Mixcloud won't allow you to play more than three songs by one artist in the same show. And that means it's difficult, because, well, they appear a lot. Even more than last year even. Which is crazy!

I was going to make this into a playlist on YouTube but I can't do that either, because certain songs are not on YouTube which is frustrating.

So, in reverse order, here are is The Mercyside 100 2016! These are 100 songs I played more than anything else last year.

 

So, what was the most played song of the year for me? Here it is...

#1: Beauty Quest - Slaves ("Sugar Coated Bitter Truth", 2012)

 

So there we go! I hope you find some interesting entries in here, and if so, check them out on Youtube if you can, most of the songs are easily available on there. And if you don't like the band Slaves then this list clearly isn't for you! If there's something on this list you've not heard before and you end up really liking, let me know, comment below! I'd be happy to have gotten you into a song or an artist you've not heard before!

"Yellow text"
If you don't listen to The Mercy Side, my radio shows which you can find on Mixcloud, then you may not know that I reveal every month what was my "Song of the Month". Basically, those tracks where played more than any other track, on a particular month of 2016. Here's the list in order, with Youtube links attached:

January 2016: Live Like an Animal - Slaves
February 2016: Well Everybody's Fucking in a UFO - Rob Zombie
March 2016: Control (feat. Slaves) - Chase and Status
April 2016: The Sound of Silence - Disturbed
May 2016: OK - Slaves
June 2016: Leave it All Behind - Cult to Follow
July 2016: Miss Alissa - Eagles of Death Metal
August 2016: Spit it Out - Slaves
September 2016: People That You Meet - Slaves
October 2016: War Time - King 810
November 2016: Dig - Mudvayne
December 2016: NSFW - Psychostick

"Beauty Quest", my most played song of 2016 has never been Song of the Month. It's the first time a song has gotten to #1 without being Song of the Month since 2013, when "Rock and Roll (in a Black Hole) by Rob Zombie did it.

Multiple Artist Entries

Here's a list of artists with more than one entry in The Mercyside 100 2016:

24 Entries - Slaves
14 Entries - King 810
5 Entries - Saul Williams
4 Entries - The Fratellis, Nine Inch Nails
2 Entries - Arctic Monkeys, Eagles of Death Metal, Fear Factory, Foo Fighters, Leo Moracchioli

Multiple Album Entries

Here's a list of albums with more than one entry in The Mercyside 100 2015:

10 Entries - "Are You Satisfied?" by Slaves
8 Entries - "Memoirs of a Murderer" by King 810; "Take Control" by Slaves
5 Entries - "La Petite Mort or a Conversation With God" by King 810
4 Entries - "MartyrLoserKing" by Saul Williams
3 Entries - "Sugar Coated Bitter Truth" by Slaves
2 Entries - "AM" by Arctic Monkeys; "Costello Music" by The Fratellis

Here's some charts showing you how often songs appeared by the year, or decade...

Also, if you're interested, 53 songs on this list were not singles, which means that 47 of them were!

79% of songs on this list were from the last 6 years, down 1% from last year's statistic of 80% of songs being from the last 5 years.

Again I need to give a proper shoutout to King 810. Both King 810 and Slaves have been bands I haven't stopped listening to over the past two years. Both bands got played a heck of a lot in 2015, but both bands practically doubled their tallies this year. One reason is because they're brilliant bands but the second reason in fairness is because they've both released a new album last year. Both albums are very good. Clearly the message I'm giving you is listen to Slaves and listen to King 810, dammit!!

Well that's it from me at the moment, I'll be back at some point I'm sure with another website project! All the best and thanks for reading!

For the latest updates on my work, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

My Top 100 Favourite Songs 2010-14 Edition: #50

So here we are at the halfway point. If you've been following my list this far I thank you. Before we start the second half here's a recap from #100 to #51...

#100 - "Madness" - Muse

#99 - "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" - Skrillex

#98 - "Neat Little Rows" - Elbow

#97 - "No Reflection" - Marilyn Manson

#96 - "Explain My Heart" - Saul Williams

#95 - "I'm in the Mood... For Beards" - The Beards

#94 - "She's Not Gone Yet But She's Leaving" - The Fratellis

#93 - "Shotgun" - Limp Bizkit

#92 - "Can't Rely on You" - Paloma Faith

#91 - "Blue Blood Blues" - The Dead Weather

#90 - "Rebellion" - Linkin Park

#89 - "Paradise" - Coldplay

#88 - "Sing" - Ed Sheeran

#87 - "Mein Land" - Rammstein

#86 - "Elephant" - Tame Impala

#85 - "Love Turns to Hate" - The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster

#84 - "On Top of the World" - Imagine Dragons

#83 - "G.D.F.R." - Flo Rida

#82 - "Evil Eye" - Franz Ferdinand

#81 - "Little Monster" - Royal Blood

#80 - "Blurred Lines" - Robin Thicke

#79 - "Brendan's Death Song" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

#78 - "Go Kindergarten" - The Lonely Island

#77 - "The Negative One" - Slipknot

#76 - "Royals" - Lorde

#75 - "Government Trash" - Death From Above 1979

#74 - "Survival" - Eminem

#73 - "Sick Bubblegum" - Rob Zombie

#72 - "Gentleman" - PSY

#71 - "Go Right Ahead" - The Hives

#70 - "These Days" - Foo Fighters

#69 - "Word Crimes" - Weird Al Yankovic

#68 - "One for the Road" - Arctic Monkeys

#67 - "Nightmare" - Avenged Sevenfold

#66 - "Princess of China" - Coldplay

#65 - "Kill the Power" - Skindred

#64 - "Where's Your Car Debbie?" - Slaves

#63 - "Suit and Tie" - Justin Timberlake

#62 - "stevie" - Kasabian

#61 - "Narcissistic Cannibal" - KoRn

#60 - "Bad Girls" - M.I.A.

#59 - "Devil in I" - Slipknot

#58 - "Tighten Up" - The Black Keys

#57 - "QWERTY" - Mushroomhead

#56 - "Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons

#55 - "Dibby Dibby Sound" - DJ Fresh vs Jay Fay feat. Ms Dynamite

#54 - "Came Back Haunted" - Nine Inch Nails

#53 - "Gangnam Style" - PSY

#52 - "Warning" - Skindred

#51 - "Bassline Junkie" - Dizzee Rascal

So here we go! In at no. 50...

#50. “Fat Around the Heart" – King 810

Released: 3/7/14

Album: Memoirs of a Murderer

King 810 are a band that I discovered last year when I found out they were supporting Slipknot, who I was about to see live. In my opinion, they're the best new(ish) metal band around, as discussed on this site before, I believe metal as a genre is a dying art form but King 810 are really keeping it alive. King 810, I've promoted a few times before on this site but also on my radio shows, are a band from Flint, Michigan, which is known as the "murder capital" of the US. King 810 sing songs about life there, the struggle, the death and violence, and despite all that, their pride for their home. "Fat Around the Heart" is a song about these struggles, about life in Flint. The first verse says it all - "I grew up in the church on Sunday/Back again bury friends on Monday/They don't just die they are killed from the gun play or the heroin or a prison stay/It's a shame that we gotta live this way/Your nightmares ain't got nothin' on this place/So stay down stay away stay safe/Cuz you aren't built that way". "Fat Around the Heart" is a great song, lyrically and also as a metal track. If you like Slipknot, have not heard King 810 and want to get into some new music, definitely give this band a listen.

Here's the music video if you want to hear it!

If you missed #51 go here.

For the latest updates on my work, including all my latest radio shows, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

My Top 100 Favourite Songs 2010-14 Edition: #54

#54. “Came Back Haunted" – Nine Inch Nails

Released: 6/6/13

Album: Hesitation Marks

You would think with Nine Inch Nails being my favourite band and with them only releasing the one album in the time frame we're covering that that all three singles would hit the Top 100 and be quite high. Unfortunately this isn't the case - this is the only song of the three singles off Hesitation Marks to his this chart and it didn't even hit the Top 50.

Don't get me wrong "Came Back Haunted" is a great track. "Copy of A" is okay and "Everything" is... actually the worst music single Nine Inch Nails have ever released. Truth is, "Hesitation Marks" is by far my least favourite NIN album. Yes, even worse than "Pretty Hate Machine" and "The Slip". I actually did an album review of "Hesitation Marks" for this website, complete, but I didn't post it for a few reasons. I can't be bothered going into why, ask me on Facebook sometime and I might give you an answer.

Sorry I'm being so negative. Anyway, as a song and as a music single "Came Back Haunted" is fine. It's great even. It grew on me slowly but surely and in the end became one of my most played songs of 2013. I can't say it's a classic NIN track but it's a good one. It doesn't do anything different or spectacular than most NIN tracks though. But it's what Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails does best, all crammed into a music single. It felt like a celebration and homage to what NIN's music has become. It's just a very good song, if unspectacular.

Here's the music video if you want to hear it!

If you missed #55 go here.

For the latest updates on my work, including all my latest radio shows, follow me on Facebook and Twitter here!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #1

Hey everyone, we're half way there. Thanks for keeping upto date with this list. It's been 50 days... here's to the next 50!

If you want to see a recap, or have missed the list so far, here's from #100 to #51...

• #100: "House of Fun" - Madness
• #99: "Cosmic Love" - Florence and the Machine
• #98: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
• #97: "Keine Lust" - Rammstein
• #96: "Bassline Junkie" - Dizzee Rascal
• #95: "The Salmon Dance" - The Chemical Brothers
• #94: "stevie" - Kasabian
• #93: "The Hardest Button to Button " - The White Stripes
• #92: "If I Had a Tail" - The Queens of the Stone Age
• #91: "Lullaby" - The Cure
• #90: "Dance" - Saul Williams
• #89: "Pork and Beans" - Weezer
• #88: "Pure Morning" - Placebo
• #87: "Rockstar" - Nickelback
• #86: "Smooth Criminal" - Michael Jackson
• #85: "Life on Mars" - David Bowie
• #84: "I'm on a Boat" - The Lonely Island
• #83: "Virtual Insanity" - Jamiroquai
• #82: "Just a Day" - Feeder
• #81: "Poison" - Alice Cooper
• #80: "There There" - Radiohead
• #79: "Dancing in the Street" - David Bowie and Mick Jagger
• #78: "Psychosis Safari" - The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
• #77: "Common People" - Pulp
• #76: "Forgot About Dre" - Dr Dre and Eminem
• #75: "Fat" - Weird Al Yankovic
• #74: "Links 2-3-4" - Rammstein
• #73: "Cars" - Gary Numan
• #72: "Dragula" - Rob Zombie
• #71: "Here it Goes Again" - OK Go
• #70: "Gangnam Style" - PSY
• #69: "Wake Me Up When September Ends" - Green Day
• #68: "Smack My Bitch Up" - The Prodigy
• #67: "Leave Before the Lights Come On" - Arctic Monkeys
• #66: "Scream" - Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson
• #65: "Clint Eastwood" - Gorillaz
• #64: "Sweating Bullets" - Megadeth
• #63: "Fell in Love With a Girl" - The White Stripes
• #62: "Sledgehammer" - Peter Gabriel
• #61: "I Want You So Hard (Boys Bad News)" - Eagles of Death Metal
• #60: "In the Air Tonight" - Phil Collins
• #59: "Twisted Transistor" - KoRn
• #58: "I Just Had Sex" - The Lonely Island
• #57: "Girls and Boys" - Good Charlotte
• #56: "Lonely Boy" - The Black Keys
• #55: "Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes
• #54: "Ashes to Ashes" - David Bowie
• #53: "My Band" - D12
• #52: "Coma White" - Marilyn Manson
• #51: Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades - Brand New
• #50: Firestarter - The Prodigy
• #49: United States of Whatever - Liam Lynch
• #48: Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
• #47: Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm
• #46: Enter Sandman - Metallica
• #45: Tribute - Tenacious D
• #44: Bad - Michael Jackson
• #43: Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve
• #42: Without Me - Eminem
• #41: Man That You Fear - Marilyn Manson
• #40: Fat Lip/Pain for Pleasure - Sum 41
• #39: Stay - Shakespears Sister
• #38: Slam - Pendulum
• #37: Cradle of Love - Billy Idol
• #36: Jack Sparrow - The Lonely Island
• #35: Hey Ya! - The Outkast
• #34: Paranoid Android - Radiohead
• #33: All the Small Things - Blink 182
• #32: Amish Paradise - Weird Al Yankovic
• #31: Only - Nine Inch Nails
• #30: Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads
• #29: The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
• #28: White Limo - Foo Fighters
• #27: Buddy Holly - Weezer
• #26: Walk This Way - Aerosmith and Run DMC
• #25: In Bloom - Nirvana
• #24: Fight for Your Right - Beastie Boys
• #23: Knights of Cydonia - Muse
• #22: Low Hangin' Fruit - Tenacious D
• #21: Starfuckers Inc. - Nine Inch Nails
• #20: Prince Charming - Adam and the Ants
• #19: Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
• #18: Underground - David Bowie
• #17: Everlong - Foo Fighters
• #16: Telegram Sam - Bauhaus
• #15: Freak on a Leash - KoRn
• #14: Shut Me Up - Mindless Self Indulgence
• #13: Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
• #12: Hurt - Johnny Cash
• #11: I Want to Break Free - Queen
• #10: Closer - Nine Inch Nails
• #9: White and Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic
• #8: I'm Afraid of Americans - David Bowie and Trent Reznor
• #7: Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim
• #6: Thriller - Michael Jackson
• #5: Coffee and TV - Blur
• #4: Low - Foo Fighters
• #3: Rabbit in Your Headlights - UNKLE and Thom Yorke
• #2: Take on Me - A-ha

So my favourite music video of all time is...

#1: "Just" - Radiohead
Release Date: 1995
Director: Jamie Thraves
Fun Fact: To this day, no one knows what the secret message is in the video, Radiohead won't reveal anything!!

So it's all over now. Sorry if you're disappointed at all. Obviously I'm not. And I'm sure there are those who do agree that this is one of the best music videos of all time.

What can I say about this video? It's simple and incredibly effective. A man lies in the street for no reason at all and gets a lot of people concerned. Why is he lying on the floor? Why won't he say why? Why can't we touch him? That's the beauty of this video. It's using the power of psychology, the power of the unknown. We have no idea what the hidden message is in this video. Professionals have tried and failed to work it out. And twenty years later after this video comes out, the secret in the video is only known to Radiohead, presumably the director, and... that's about it? We'll never know.

If you haven't seen this video, please watch it. It's just such a simple yet crazy idea that riles me up big time. WHY IS HE ON THE FLOOR?! So yeah. This is my favourite music video of all time and I just love it. And hate it. But love it far more than hate it, for sure!
Note: This is the third and last video from the year 1995 in this list.

Here is the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to go back to #100 on the list or here for #2!

So that's the end! Thanks so much for joining me in revealing my 100 favourite music videos of all time. It's been a long 101 days but I've enjoyed it. It's been a lot more well received than I ever imagined and it's made me think of doing a Top 100 list of different varieties more often. I may do one list per year. So stay tuned for the next one!

Before I love you and leave you I want to share some statistics, like I always do, that may interest you!

Multiple Music Directors
Akiva Schaffer - 4 videos (#36 Jack Sparrow - Lonely Island, #58 I Just Had Sex - Lonely Island, #61 I Want You So Hard - Eagles of Death Metal, #84 I'm on a Boat - Lonely Island)
Mark Romanek - 3 videos (#10 Closer - Nine Inch Nails, #12 Hurt - Johnny Cash, #66 Scream - Michael and Janet Jackson)
David Mallet - 3 videos (#11 I Want to Break Free - Queen, #54 Ashes to Ashes - David Bowie, #79 Dancing in the Street - David Bowie and Mick Jagger)
Michel Gondry - 3 videos (#17 Everlong - Foo Fighters, #63 Fell in Love With a Girl - White Stripes, #93 The Hardest Button to Button - White Stripes)
Liam Lynch - 3 videos (#22 Low Hangin' Fruit - Tenacious D, #45 Tribute - Tenacious D, #49 United States of Whatever - Liam Lynch [unconfirmed])
Samuel Bayer - 3 videos (#52 Coma White - Marilyn Manson, #69 Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day, #98 Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana)
Steve Barron - 2 videos (#2 Take on Me - A-ha, #18 Underground - David Bowie)
Jonathan Glazer - 2 videos (#3 Rabbit in Your Headlights - UNKLE, #83 Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai)
Spike Jonze - 2 videos (#7 Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim, #27 Buddy Holly - Weezer)
Dom and Nic - 2 videos (#8 I'm Afraid of Americans - David Bowie, #95 The Salmon Dance - The Chemical Brothers)
Weird Al Yankovic - 2 videos (#9 White and Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic, #32 Amish Paradise - Weird Al Yankovic)
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris - 2 videos (#15 Freak on a Leash - KoRn, #48 Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins)
Joseph Kahn - 2 videos (#23 Knights of Cydonia - Muse, #42 Without Me - Eminem)
David Fincher - 2 videos (#31 Only - Nine Inch Nails, #37 Cradle of Love - Billy Idol)
Marc Klasfield - 2 videos (#40 Fat Lip - Sum 41, #47 Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm)
Walter Stern - 2 videos (#43 Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve, #50 Firestarter - The Prodigy)
Wayne Isham - 2 videos (#46 Enter Sandman - Metallica, #64 Sweating Bullets - Megadeth)
Jay Levey - 2 videos (#75 Fat - Weird Al Yankovic, #81 Poison - Alice Cooper)

Multiple Music Artists
Radiohead - 3 videos (#1 Just, #34 Paranoid Android, #80 There, There)
David Bowie - 3 videos (#18 Underground, #54 Ashes to Ashes, #85 Life on Mars) [also #8 I'm Afraid of Americans with Trent Reznor, and #79 Dancing in the Street with Mick Jagger]
Foo Fighters - 3 videos (#4 Low, #17 Everlong, #28 White Limo)
Michael Jackson - 3 videos (#6 Thriller, #44 Bad, #86 Smooth Criminal) [also #66 Scream with Janet Jackson)
Weird Al Yankovic - 3 videos (#9 White and Nerdy, #32 Amish Paradise, #75 Fat)
Nine Inch Nails - 3 videos (#10 Closer, #21 Starfuckers Inc, #31 Only) [also #8 I'm Afraid of Americans with David Bowie)
Marilyn Manson - 3 videos (#29 The Beautiful People, #41 Man That You Fear, #52 Coma White)
The Lonely Island - 3 videos (#36 Jack Sparrow, #58 I Just Had Sex, #84 I'm on a Boat)
The White Stripes - 3 videos (#55 Seven Nation Army, #63 Fell in Love With a Girl, #93 The Hardest Button to Button)
Queen - 2 videos (#11 I Want to Break Free - Queen, #19 Bohemian Rhapsody)
KoRn - 2 videos (#15 Freak on a Leash, #59 Twisted Transistor)
Tenacious D - 2 videos (#22 Low Hangin' Fruit, #45 Tribute)
Nirvana - 2 videos (#25 In Bloom, #98 Smells Like Teen Spirit)
The Prodigy - 2 videos (#50 Firestarter, #68 Smack My Bitch Up)
Rammstein - 2 videos (#74 Links 2-3-4, #97 Keine Lust)

I was going to do some charts but I haven't got Microsoft Excel anymore and the online one sucks when it comes to doing graphs. Ah well. That's all from me today and once again I thank you for joining me. Until next time, take care!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #8

#8 "I'm Afraid of Americans" - David Bowie and Trent Reznor
Release Date: 1997
Director: Dom and Nic
Fun Fact: This isn't actually the original song - you can listen to that here. This is a remix collaboration by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, which David Bowie loved so much he made it into the single!

This is the second video directed by Dom and Nic, the other one is "The Salmon Dance" by the Chemical Brothers, which was featured all the way back at #95!

I'm both flabbergasted and disappointed that this video has a measly 140,000 views on YouTube. Clearly this is a hidden gem of a music video that most people haven't seen... either that or I'm overrating it!

As a British person, like a lot of people in this country (and many others) we look at America as a land of opportunity, but also a country with a lot of paranoia, one with a lot of gun obsession and a country that... kinda scares us. In multiple ways. David Bowie has created a song about this strange phenomenon and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (who is actually American) kindly provides us with the visual demonstration of this. By the way Americans, I, and I'm sure a lot of people, are not saying all Americans act like Trent Reznor in this video! But either way, it's just a damn great video and it tries to explain this weird thing about America that does cross the minds of people from other countries.

But moving away from the subject of the song, why I love this video so much is simple. It features one of my favourite artists growing up as a kid in David Bowie, collaborating with my favourite musician in my favourite band of all time, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. And seeing a goateed Trent chasing David Bowie down New York City streets is both fantastic and a little funnier than it should be. David Bowie while providing half an arguement that Americans are paranoid, does provide the other half of the arguement that maybe he, is the one that's paranoid; he sees imagines of Americans shooting gun hands at eachother when they're in actuality doing nothing of the kind.

And yes, I won't lie. Trent Reznor playing a stalker called Jonny, shooting an invisible machine gun at a taxi at the end is a deliciously amazing scene that I will always love. Just watch the video!

Note: This is the sixth and last video from the year 1997 in this list.

Here is the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #7 on the list or here for #9!