Uberfluff

So are music videos a "dead art"?  I'm inclined to say no, since that would be equivalent to saying that short films are dead.  I won't argue, however, that they can be creatively dead at times, and that there are almost as video cliches as movie cliches.  (Sorry, can't figure out how to get the accent over the "e" in this form.)  Which leads me to a related question:

I am a huge sucker for countdown shows.  Even when I care nothing and know less about the subject, I always get sucked into them.  And, of course, I always have issues with the order of the list.  Notoriously, nearly every countdown of great videos always leaves "Thriller" in the number one spot, which has annoyed me for years.  Yes, it's a good video, but the greatest ever?  I'm willing to give it "Best Group Dance" video, but as a whole, I think it's overlong and occasionally dull--too much movie, not enough music.

So that raises the question: what is the greatest video of all time?  I'm looking for debate here, but I will add a few discussion points.  First, this is about music videos, so both the song and the video come into play.  It can't be a great without a very good song, but the song also can't carry it.  (Therefore, I don't think there are any concert videos that would win, no matter how good the song, because as a video, they tend to be dull and unambitious.)  Second, I won't totally rule out something indie, but that's sort of a "tree falls in the forest" situation.  If next to no one has seen or judged it, I'm not sure it can qualify for greatness--it may be deserving of it, but this isn't a search for most underrated obscure video.

So do I have any nominations?  Well, I'm probably going to post some more as they occur to me, but off the top of my head: A-ha's "Take on Me" (fun song, creative use of animation), Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" (fun, slightly satirical, hip, and helped resurrect story-based videos), REM's "Losing My Religion" (arty without being annoying).  And this isn't going to win me any obscurity points, but who didn't like Aerosmith's "Cryin'"?  It was the video equivalent of a Spielberg blockbuster.  Not particularly subtle or groundbreaking, but it was entertaining, well-produced, and had excellent casting (young Alicia Silverstone and an unknown Josh Holloway, doing his Brad-Pitt-in-Thelma-and-Louise role.)

So what are your nominations?  Feel free to link your favorites.  (Or embed, for our contributors.)

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