Let’s take a moment to appreciate music videos. Maybe everyone doesn’t share my experience totally, but I don’t watch many anymore — but I used to. MTV and sadly even MTV2 is mostly about 30 minute shows that get more advertising dollars. I can instantly recall hundreds and could storyboard them for you. I guess iTunes is experimenting with some bonus video materials but these seem to be of the buy the album, get a free bonus video variety. One some old 40 gig harddrives I have a boatload of videos that I procured on Usenet that I haven’t bothered to connect and download with my new computer.
Two of the greatest of all time are Chris Cunningham’s videos for Bjork’s All is Full of Love and Aphex Twin Windowlicker.
Today from Boing Boing:
Xeni Jardin: RES hosts another edition of their periodic digital screenings Tuesday night in LA. Included: the West Coast premiere of Chris Cunningham‘s new short film Rubber Johnny, as well as new music videos for Basement Jaxx, Quasimoto, Aesop Rock, Amon Tobin and more. Cunningham is a brilliant filmmaker.
I’m a huge Aesop Rock fan and I can’t wait to see what C.Cunningham’s video for him looks like.
I saw this video, along with ‘windowlicker’ and ‘come to daddy’ (another Aphex Twin, Cunningham collaboration), for the first time on my first gig as an assistant editor (a four hour history of the music video for VH1). So, I saw them on beta through Makie speakers. The Bjork one was my favorite. For a week, when things were slow, I’d drag one of the other assists into the bay to turn out the lights and play it for them. Everybody said "thank you so much for showing me that." Exquisite. I’m also a big fan of this mix of the song.