My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #74

#74: "Links 2-3-4" - Rammstein
Release Date: 2001
Director: Zoran Bihac
Fun Fact: This is the second and last video by Rammstein featured in this Top 100 list!

The video is just great on so many levels. I love how we have these ants doing awesome things like playing football, watching TV and having a disco rave. Then some beetles destroy their livelihood and kill a lot of them, for presumably no apparent reason.

Then the ants attack back. These fantastic little creatures work together, military style, and completely obliscerate them, getting the justice they deserved. And the end of the video actually leaves it open to interpretation about what could happen next... see for yourself! It's just a great video, and sorry my pictures don't make the video look that great, trust me, the video is worth a watch.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #73 on the list or here for #75!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #75

#75: "Fat" - Weird Al Yankovic
Release Date: 1988
Director: Jay Levey
Fun Fact: This is the second and last video directed by Jay Levey on this list, the other one was "Poison" by Alice Cooper!

There's so many Weird Al videos to choose from to feature in my Top 100 but, as the rules I've set state in the first post in this list, I'm only choosing a maximum of three per artist (bar collaborations etc).

"Fat" was the best video by Weird Al in the Eighties. I don't mind telling you I've chosen one song from each decade (apart from this current one) for the Polka Parody Legend. This video is just hilarious from start to finish. I love the opening lines (my favourite being "ding dong man, ding dong, ding dong y'all"), I love the fat suits, I love the close-up of his face (that Michael Jackson also does in the original) and how it turns into Weird Al somehow floating mid-air handing onto the actual camera itself. I love the running across the parking lot, only for the cameraman to be too fast for the fat dudes to catch up (also, loving the shouting of "HO!", only for a garden hoe to be placed in Al's hand). It's just one of the best funny videos ever and I love putting it on once in a while, and it always seems fresh whenever I watch it infrequently.

Note: This is the second and last video from the year 1988 in this list.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #74 on the list or here for #76!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #76

#76: "Forgot About Dre" - Dr Dre and Eminem
Release Date: 2000
Director: Philip Atwell
Fun Fact: The song won a Grammy award, and also won Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards!

Maybe it's just me but I think people have forgotten how hilarious this video is. Just the whole segment when Dr Dre and Eminem are drunk (or high? unsure), give a woman crap while crashing their car and setting a house on fire is great. The best parts are Eminem falling over a bin, having to pull his trousers up, and then taking part in the news report wearing a disguise goatee (see below) before ripping into the news interview anyway. It's just a fantastic part of the video, the rest of the video is actually relatively basic, but just that 90 seconds or so of footage made me laugh so hard when I first saw it all those years ago.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #75 on the list or here for #77!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #77

#77: "Common People" - Pulp
Release Date: 1995
Director: Pedro Romhanyi
Fun Fact: The main actress in the video is Sadie Frost, who has appeared in lots of things such as The Krays, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Casualty!

I know I'm repeating myself and I will continue to do so, but this always brings me back to my childhood. I remember this video coming out as a kid and just loving everything about it. The stop-start actions of the people in the video, seeing Jarvis Cocker in a supermarket trolley all small, the terrible yet great dance sequence at the end, everything. It's simply a great video that matches the lyrics of the song perfectly, frame to frame. It's a fantastic video from the nineties that will always remembered as a classic.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #76 on the list or here for #78!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #78

#78: "Psychosis Safari" - The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Release Date: 2003
Director: Edgar Wright
Fun Fact: The video was directed by Edgar Wright, the director behind Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End and the TV show Spaced!

By the way, if you get the new album by The Prodigy, check out "Rise of the Eagles" - it's a cover version of this band!!

Anyways, yeah. I don't know if you've heard this band, but for me, this was the most underrated British band of the Noughties. Unfortunately, they've disbanded now but I loved them so much. Such a firecracker of a band.

This video, directed by the awesome Edgar Wright, plays on the old 3D glasses trick really well. When there's no wearing of the 3D glasses, the band look as "normal" as they can. Put the glasses on and you see massive skulls everywhere, beams coming out of the band member's eyes, lots of green screening and much more. In the end it gets so bad that their (amazing) car catches fire and turns into a phoenix! It's just a great video, one you really should see if you haven't before. And if you like the song, I beg of you, check out their other stuff!

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #77 on the list or here for #79!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #79

#79: "Dancing in the Street" - David Bowie and Mick Jagger
Release Date: 1985
Director: David Mallet
Fun Fact: The video only took thirteen hours to film, and was filmed straight after a rushed recording in the studio! It was done for Live Aid!

Haha. This is one of those "so bad it's good" videos. At least for me, although some people find it too cringe worthy!

I just love the video. It's just awful but so entertainingly bad! Apparently watching this video on mute is pretty messed up. What on earth are they doing? What are they wearing? What are those dance moves? It's just hilarious and terrible, so much so I love it!

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #78 on the list or here for #80!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #80

#80: "There There" - Radiohead
Release Date: 2003
Director: Chris Hopewell
Fun Fact: The video was inspired by the children's TV show Bagpuss, and they actually wanted the director of Bagpuss to do the video but got Chris Hopewell to do it instead.

This video artistically is just gorgeous. I saw the video pretty much when it was released and it always gives me fond memories of personal things that were happening in the real world at the time (2003 was an important year for me personally).

The moral of the story is simple - don't steal what isn't yours! Thom Yorke goes through a forest where loads of wood animals are doing happy positive and peaceful things like sitting by a fireplace and getting married. Thom Yorke sees a shiny new jacket and a pair of shoes which seem to give him super speed, and decides to steal them... and the consequences are there for you to see. It's a fantastic video and definitely worth a watch if you've not seen it before.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #79 on the list or here for #81!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #81

#81: "Poison" - Alice Cooper
Release Date: 1989
Director: Jay Levey
Fun Fact: This was only Alice Cooper's third (and last) UK Top 10 hit, and his first for 12 years!

Another video that brings me back to my childhood, I loved Alice Cooper as a kid. I was pretty obsessed with him at one point and this video always used to stand out to me... more than likely because of the women wearing very little!

No but in honesty, Alice Cooper looks absolutely badass here. He really revamped his gothic makeup look to add leather jackets and grungy makeup rather than his more clean crisp makeup of the seventies, and he looks really cool in this video. Seeing him trapped to some weird device also remains in the memory. It's just a very cool video and it'll always be a video I'm fond of because it takes me back to all those years ago, when I was a wee lad!

Note: This is the second and last video from the year 1989 in this list.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #80 on the list or here for #82!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #82

#82: "Just a Day" - Feeder
Release Date: 2001
Director: David Mould
Fun Fact: The fans in this video all won a competition in which they had to mime to the lyrics for a chance to be in a Feeder music video!

This video actually has a mixed response with hardcore Feeder fans, with the main complaint that the fans singing along retracts from the enjoyment of the song and video.

I contest that big time. Why? There's not many bands that would let their fans take over a music video like this. All these fans of Feeder are having a fantastic time and they completely and utterly make the video. It remains Feeder's best video and until the re-release of "Buck Rogers" to promote their Greatest Hits, it was the band's biggest hit. A lot of this has to do with the music video being damn good and so much fun to watch. These fans make it look so cool to be a Feeder fan and that's pure music entertainment at its core.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #81 on the list or here for #83!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #83

#83: "Virtual Insanity" - Jamiroquai
Release Date: 1996
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Fun Fact: The song won four awards at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards including the Best Video of the Year! It was actually nominated for 10 different awards!

Another music video that brings me back to my childhood. I remember being just completely and utterly mesmerised by this video, questioning the laws of physics at a young age. Jamiroquai does a fantastic job of making the unreal seem real with his dance moves on the moving floors, and the bleeding couches at the end were an odd yet symbolic image of things doing thing that seem impossible. "Virtual Insanity" is just a fantastic video that will always be remembered as a classic.


Where is Jamiroquai nowadays though? He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth!

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #82 on the list or here for #84!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #84

#84: "I'm on a Boat" - The Lonely Island (feat. T-Pain)
Release Date: 2009
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Fun Fact: The song was actually so well received it was nominated for a Grammy award!

I love The Lonely Island. They're so funny yet talented at the same time. Mocking hip hop videos is their forte yet they do it so well they've become a well established hip hop group in their own right.

The song and video basically mock a load of general hip hop videos, going on about how awesome they are and how cool they look. It's obviouslly usually on/in cars and stuff but this time they just "bang on" about how awesome it is that they're on a boat. It's an incredibly funny video that mocks hip hop, but it ends up being a very good track as well!

Note: This is the first and last video from the year 2009 in this list.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #83 on the list or here for #85!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #85

#85: "Life on Mars" - David Bowie
Release Date: 1973
Director: Mick Rock
Fun Fact: There are only two videos in this Top 100 list that are before 1979, this is one of them, and this is the oldest video in the list too!

Considering when this video was released, this video is absolutely amazing. "Promotional videos" were a relatively new concept at this point, and David Bowie's makeup looks absolutely fantastic.

The song, simply questioning life being on Mars, has David Bowie looking pretty damn adrogynous, and even almost alien-like. His makeup is so white and pale, he almost meshes with the background. The concept and visuals were almost never-seen before, at least for a music video. And the invisible piano at the end, always brings me back to my childhood. The video does in general. It's just a striking music video that looks just as good today as it did 42 years ago.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #84 on the list or here for #86!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #86

#86: "Smooth Criminal" - Michael Jackson
Release Date: 1988
Director: Colin Chilvers
Fun Fact: There are actually five versions of the music video, but the main one from the "Moonwalker" film is my favourite - even if it is 10 minutes long!

Man, I do miss Michael Jackson. There was no one like him and I don't think there ever will be anyone like him ever again either. He was just one of the coolest, smoothest dancers ever, and, considering the genre, one of the most accessable musicians ever when it comes to people liking his music regardless of their preferences genre wise.

Smooth Criminal was probably the first Michael Jackson music video I saw. It's the one I remember earliest seeing anyway. I saw the "Moonwalker" film at a young age as well, and just loved seeing this amazing dancer, looking as smooth as hell in his white suit and fedora. It's just a great music video and a great part of the film as well.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #85 on the list or here for #87!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #87

#87: "Rockstar" - Nickelback
Release Date: 2006
Director: Dori Oskowitz
Fun Fact: So many celebrities feature in this video, to name a few, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top (who also has spoken parts in the verses), Dominique Swain, Gene Simmons of KISS, Eliza Dushku, Wayne Gretzky, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent!

I'm expecting a mixed to negative reaction to this inclusion simply for praising Nickelback in any format, and for the fact that some people absolutely hate this song.

But I'm sorry to say, I've always liked both the song and the video. I do very much dislike this band and like maybe two of their songs? But this video is great. If you don't agree, fine. But I'd put money on the fact that I bet the first time you saw this video, you didn't turn it over. I bet you watched it the entire video. Why? Because you wanted to see who was in the video. How many celebrities are in the video? There's loads, the list above is just a sample. So like it or not, this video gets your attention, and I thoroughly enjoy/enjoyed watching it... until it got overplayed massively!

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #86 on the list or here for #88!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #88

#88: "Pure Morning" - Placebo
Release Date: 1998
Director: Nick Gordon
Fun Fact: Despite being one of their most famous songs, Placebo have not played this song since August 2007 - nearly eight years ago! Brian Molko, lead singer, says he hates the song, hence not playing it for a long time.

I'd probably say this is Placebo's most famous video and, in my opinion, their best. It's just visually a great video, with Brian Molko playing a character who is about to commit suicide, or so it seems. But he crosses his fingers, takes a leap of faith and actually starts to walk down the side of the building instead, to the amazement of everyone. It's just a simple video, done to great effect that is iconic as well as really well shot, and definitely worth watching if you've never seen it before.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #87 on the list or here for #89!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #89

#89: "Pork and Beans" - Weezer
Release Date: 2008
Director: Mathew Cullen
Fun Fact: This video is just LOADED with internet memes and Youtube celebrities, to name a few, Tay Zonday, Chris Crocker, Coke and Mentos, Dramatic Chipmunk, Dancing Banana/Peanut Butter Jelly Time, Daft Hands and Charlie the Unicorn! All of these videos are linked above so check them all out!

This song makes me feel really old now. Why? Because all of these memes and videos are almost forgotten about. It's the sad truth of Youtube and the internet. You can almost guarantee the stuff that we're laughing at today are going to be seen in the same light as these videos are now. It's a generation thing. But the good thing is, as long as the internet doesn't explode, we can see these videos and reminisce and laugh at them whenever we want.

"Pork and Beans" only has over 11 million views. That's a lot of course, but when you see current videos easily hitting 100 million views it's a shame. You could almost guarantee if this video were released today, with today's memes and viral videos, it'd probably hit at least 200 million views. But that's the sad state of things. Either way, this video is brilliant, and a great homage to mid-noughties viral videos, if you want to see what was popular on the internet a good 8-10 years ago. If you're familiar with the internet back then, you may have even forgotten a video or two!

Note: This is the first and last video from the year 2008 in this list.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #88 on the list or here for #90!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #90

#90: "Dance" - Saul Williams
Release Date: 2011
Director: Cedric Blaisbois
Fun Fact: The song uses a sample from a song called "Disco 82", which was in a Bollywood film called Khud-Daar.

I've spoken about Saul Williams quite a few times on this website and have played some of his songs on my DJ shows but I find it a true shame that he's still relatively unheard of. He's one of my all time favourite artists and is definitely my favourite hip hop artist, just because what he brings to the table is so unique and ahead of the game (alternative hip hop is on the rise, but the style that's starting to come out, Saul Williams has been doing for at least fourteen years).

Anyways, the video itself is just a spectacle. It's not really groundbreaking or anything but I just love it. I just love seeing Saul Williams this way. He's a very serious man and he just looks like he's having one heck of a good time in this video. It's nice to see. Not to mention the man's makeup is gorgeous - and I'm straight! It's just a great video to watch visually, and definitely worth your time if you've not seen it before.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

 

Click here to see #89 on the list or here for #91!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #91

#91: "Lullaby" - The Cure
Release Date: 1989
Director: Tim Pope
Fun Fact: The song itself has been used in TV shows such as Misfits, Fresh Meat and Being Human!

Another video that immediately brings me back to my childhood, this video will live with me forever. I don't have a phobia of spiders as such, but this video did creep me out as a kid. Just the idea of this man/spider hybrid covering me in a cobweb and eating me whole... it gave me the chills.

As a video now looking at it as an adult, it's strange actually because I actually see a lot of influence from this video in Marilyn Manson's "The Nobodies". Watch that video and you might see what I mean... or maybe you won't! It's no secret that Robert Smith and The Cure have had a huge influence on Marilyn Manson's career so I wouldn't be surprised. Either way this video is fantastic and a much watch, even today, 26 years on.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #90 on the list or here for #92!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #92

#92: "If I Had a Tail" - The Queens of the Stone Age
Release Date: 2013
Director: Boneface and Liam Brazier
Fun Fact: Boneface and Liam Brazier worked on all the promotional videos for the album, which includes this video as well as "I Appear Missing", "Kalopsia", "Keep Your Eyes Peeled" and the main single, "My God is the Sun"

The distinctive artwork in this video, and all the videos mentioned above, are all done through Boneface, who was apparently an artist discovered via Facebook. All the videos above are all interlinked, and "My God is the Sun" is the finale that links all of the other videos together. If you like the look of this video, seriously, watch them all, and ensure you watch "My God is the Sun" last.

This is probably my favourite of the set of videos, hence its inclusion in my Top 100. It's just a simple message of "fuck you", done in to fatal measure. It's just a cool video and Boneface's artwork is a thing of beauty. It's better to watch it than read me waffle on about it, trust me!

Note: This is the second and last video from the year 2013 in this list.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #91 on the list or here for #93!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #93

#93: "The Hardest Button to Button" - The White Stripes
Release Date: 2003
Director: Michel Gondry
Fun Fact: 32 drum kits, 32 amplifiers, and 16 microphone stands were used in this video. The drum kits were then donated to a music school!

What can I say about this video that, if you've seen it before, that you don't already know? It's just a great video that uses pixilation animation to fantastic effect. Even if you don't like the song, you're mesmerised looking at the video - you just can't help it!

Another interesting fact about the video is that Beck has a cameo towards the end - he's the man who gives Jack White the "box with something in it". I never knew that until recently! It's just a great video that if you haven't seen it before, you really need to!

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #92 on the list or here for #94!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #94

#94: "stevie" - Kasabian
Release Date: 2014
Director: Ninian Doff
Fun Fact: The song was originally called "kid" but they changed it to "stevie" to give the kid identity, but to still maintain the gender ambiguity of the story behind the lyrics.

Only the one video from last year. The only video really to be honest that stood out to me as a true high quality video with a great story. And the video really reminds me of the video game Portal, which is one of the strongest reasons for me liking it.

Basically this little boy was seemingly raised since birth in a dark, gloomy science lab. He's tested daily, given pills, and made to do exercise. When a bright red light is flashed in his eyes he's been systematically trained to raise his hands above his head.

Eventually he starts to realise he doesn't want to be tested anymore. The rest of the video I'll leave for you to watch. It's just a great video, in my opinion the best of last year and definitely worth watching if you missed it somehow last year.

Note: This is the first and last video from the year 2014 in this list.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

 

Click here to see #93 on the list or here for #95!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #95

#95: "The Salmon Dance" - The Chemical Brothers
Release Date: 2007
Director: Dom and Nic
Fun Fact: The "teenage boy" is actually actor Rory Jennings. He's 31 now so that makes him aged 23 when he was in the video!

For some reason this video is really understated. It's a fantastic bit of CGI, something you don't really see to this level of expertise and quality very often. It's like a mini Finding Nemo to be honest, without the storyline!


Basically the boy is hallucinating and seeing all his fish talking and dancing. I suppose that's not funny but the video itself is very entertaining. I love Puffa, the beatboxing pufferfish - he's so cool. Also Sammy the salmon (who actually isn't a salmon but a squirrel fish) with his facts is very entertaining. I love how Fatlip puts up with his "facts" until the end, pretending to be interested before asking for everyone to give him a round of applause. It's just a very entertaining video that deserves more attention that it gets.

Note: This is the first and last video from the year 2007 in this list.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

 

Click here to see #94 on the list or here for #96!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #96

#96: "Bassline Junkie" - Dizzie Rascal
Release Date: 2013
Director: Megaforce
Fun Fact: Dizzie's friend in the video is comedian Eric Lampaert, and the taxi they get into is actually a 1965 Ford Zodiac MkIII!

What a video! Dizzie Rascal, a huge fan of the "bass", uses his super powers to preach "the way of the bassline". It's simple, be a fan of bass and stay away from drugs! It's a great message!


It goes without saying really that the highlight of the video is right at the beginning when he preaches to the little boy, who proceeds to turn off his speakers, and Dizzie Rascal tells the kid "I'm going to fucking kill you!" It's just hilarious!

 

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

 

Click here to see #95 on the list or here for #97!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #97

#97: "Keine Lust" - Rammstein
Release Date: 2005
Director: Jorn Heitmann
Fun Fact: The keyboardist "Flake", is extremely skinny because apparently he has a "do what I want" attitude. It's also why they all leave him behind at the end!

Who said German have no sense of humour? I certainly didn't. This video is funny, and actually, Rammstein have their fair share of funny videos (Mein Land being another). Basically the video is apparently set in the future, when the band have retired, over indulged and have lots of sexy women to chauffeur them. They reunite all fat and tired, and Till, the lead singer, comically almost has a heart attack near the end of the track.

The video is just really funny, my favourite parts are the headbanging moments, just seeing these fat muscians rocking out with their wobbly bits everywhere is hilarious. Another favourite moment is when Till is trying to sing into his microphone but his belly keeps knocking it back and forth. It's just a funny video, once again, not given as much attention as it deserves.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

 

Click here to see #96 on the list or here for #98!

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #98

#98: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
Release Date: 1991
Director: Samuel Bayer
Fun Fact: The video was inspired by the film "Over the Edge" and The Ramones rock comedy film "Rock 'n' Roll High School".

I don't know what you're going to think of this video being at #98. The song/video is stupidly overplayed. You tend to find people either think this song/video as one of the greatest of all time or one of the most overplayed/fed-down-our-throats videos. For me it's both. I do think it's overplayed. I think the video itself is overrated. Hell, it's not even my favourite Nirvana video (more on that on a different day). But I do love the song/video all the same.

It's funny actually, comparing it to #99's entry. They're actually complete opposites to each other when it comes to imagery. This video has no vibrancy in its colour. The video is grainy and dirty. And yet it matches the song to perfection. The vibrancy and "power" in this video is in the performance, both by the band and by the audience. It's just pure energy, surged throughout a school gym. It's incredible to watch. So while it's overplayed, and, within time hopefully, will get played less, it's still an amazing video.

Here's the video for your enjoyment!

 

Click here to see #97 on the list or here for #99!