What did everybody think of the show that was broadcast on Channel 4 last night at 10pm, especially when considering videos that were made in the 1980s and in regards to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”?

Edited July 21, 201014 yr by Zippy T Doodar

What did everybody think of the show that was broadcast on Channel 4 last night at 10pm, especially when considering videos that were made in the 1980s and in regards to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”?

No matter what anyone says, I think Bohemian Rhapsody is an amazing song. It's bombastic, features many musical elements and is exceptionally sung by one of the worlds best ever male vocalists. The video however is just not as good.. :lol:

Don't tell me the video to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' came top in this countdown? If so, what a complete and utter anti climax. :manson:

 

Best video of all time? Some would argue that Michael Jackson 'Thriller' was the future of the music video - it was revolutionary for its time. However, my personal all time fave video is 'Sledgehammer' by Peter Gabriel closely followed by The White Stripes 'Fell In Love With A Girl'.

No matter what anyone says, I think Bohemian Rhapsody is an amazing song. It's bombastic, features many musical elements and is exceptionally sung by one of the worlds best ever male vocalists. The video however is just not as good.. :lol:

 

.... maybe, but after hearing it so often for 35 years it becomes VERY tiresome.

 

nope i deliberately didnt watch it, ive no doubt that it was predictable and besides....theres been one on before and 'thriller' won.

.... maybe, but after hearing it so often for 35 years it becomes VERY tiresome.

 

nope i deliberately didnt watch it, ive no doubt that it was predictable and besides....theres been one on before and 'thriller' won.

 

Agreed.

.... maybe, but after hearing it so often for 35 years it becomes VERY tiresome.

 

nope i deliberately didnt watch it, ive no doubt that it was predictable and besides....theres been one on before and 'thriller' won.

Well if you put it that way. :lol: Although after 35 years, my mum still can't get enough of it! :heehee:

Michel Gondry makes the best videos

 

Fell in Love with a Girl

Sugar/Water

Star Guitar

Around the World

Best video is Come to Daddy by The Aphex Twin. Creepy stuff.

Don't tell me the video to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' came top in this countdown? If so, what a complete and utter anti climax. :manson:

 

Best video of all time? Some would argue that Michael Jackson 'Thriller' was the future of the music video - it was revolutionary for its time. However, my personal all time fave video is 'Sledgehammer' by Peter Gabriel closely followed by The White Stripes 'Fell In Love With A Girl'.

 

 

I was surprised that The White Stripes were overlooked [unless they were broadcast when I was in the kitchen] in addition to many of the videos from the 1990s that you can find on those ‘Palm Pictures Director Series’ DVDs. There were a few videos shown that were directed by Spike Jonze but I think it becomes laughable when the work of Anton Corbijn and Michel Gondry did not seem to be included.

 

The problem is that it is hard to say what makes a good video. Is it the concept, the technical ability or the way that it influences culture? I suppose if we took all of these factors into consideration then perhaps Michel Gondry’s video for “Lucas With The Lid Off” should be the greatest video of all time.

 

As Lucas was a Danish rapper who got to [approximately] Number 37 in 1994 with his one and only hit [though his previous single, “Wah Wah Wah” may have charted elsewhere] I do not think he will ever feature in one of these lists unlike Lady Gaga who was [bizarrely] in the Top 10.

 

Whilst I do not want to dwell on that fact for too long as obviously Lady Gaga is a 21st Century recording artist who has millions of fans, I would just like to give a quick comment in regards to the video to her ‘current’ single [that is “Telephone” not the one that sounds like Ace Of Base].

 

Now, to be totally honest, I do not have a clue how “Telephone” goes [apart from that stuttering effect by Beyonce which is not as good as Mel & Kim’s ‘Ta-Ta Ta’ from “Respectable” which was sampled by PWEI] and therefore do not want to pass judgement on that song, as it is not the place to do so. What I do want to say is that I am quite saddened to see that the director Jonas Akerlund seems to be stuck in a rut and has not progressed on from when he made The Cardigans video for “My Favourite Game” back in the 1990s [on the show he was the ‘talking head’ in the hat, who was a bit like Latka from 1970s show ‘Taxi’]. Not only that, but the “Telephone” video blatantly uses the visual clues from Quentin Tarantino’s ‘cinematic love letters’ to the grindhouse cinema of the 1970s, which I think is a ‘homage’ too far.

 

I remember when I was in art school, the class had a lecture from an art tutor who thought that the ‘art world’ should never be equated with that of ‘design’, because ‘art’ was a wonderful passionate medium and ‘design’ was just the by-product of a load of nasty corporations endlessly selling people stuff. Even though I would not want to be up to my elbows in clay and paint any more, it would be interesting to hear what this tutor would have thought of a Jonas Akerlund music video [i think he would definitely regard it as a nasty piece of “design”].

 

The videos of Jonas Akerlund may be as technically accomplished and as slick as all the modern pop videos that you will see on MTV, but recently a lot of his videos have started to look like they are all the deleted scenes from his 2002 film “Spun” [i do not think he has made another feature film since then].

 

I do not think I should be too critical of Akerlund as I feel that a lot of videos that have been made in the past few years all look the same and I suppose if my point is seen as a criticism about directors having a very specific ‘house style’ then Anton Corbijn should be singled out as well [though most videos that look like they have been made by Corbijn, will have been made by Corbijn].

 

Videos from the 1980s may look dated and ‘shoddy’ in comparison to many of the’ ‘slick’ videos produced in the 21st Century but that is only expected as technology changes. In relation to the actual video concepts, I think ideas were stronger back in the 20th Century [and from what I remember of modern art lectures, it seems that concepts are more important than the actual visual results e.g. Dada, Duchamp etc.] though this opinion may have been formulated due to seeing the videos VIVA usually shows as part of their playlist.

 

I was surprised that many of the ‘seminal’ videos from the 1980s were ranked quite lowly in the chart, though I suppose this could be because they are videos to songs that would not be played a lot at any 1980s revival night [i would not know as when I was a student, 1970s nights were all the rage].

 

Even though I felt that Depeche Mode, Adam & The Ants or Madness should have been in the list, I thought the actual show was alright, much better than BBC 2’s Saturday night rock guitarist/drummer series that is currently showing. Whereas Channel 4’s show moved a long at quick pace [maybe too quick this time as there was not much time spent on each video in comparison to previous versions of this show] I have felt that the pace of the BBC 2 show has dragged at times and therefore it seems to last longer than the hour it is on for.

 

Thankfully, unlike other “Clips & Quips” shows that you may find on Sky Three; Five or BBC Three, both shows seemed to be free of that type of ‘ironic’ comment that you usually found made on these shows by random people trying to be funny [most I have never seen before]. In the Channel 4 show I was expecting at least one person to say something like “I remember when the werewolf turned into Michael Jackson, now that was scary” though one criticism I would make with the ‘talking heads’ is that they did overuse the word ‘iconic’.

 

By the way would anybody argue that, in regards to Channel 4’s list, the greatest music video of all time was actually whatever was at number 2, with “Thriller” being regarded as a short film by John Landis?

 

Loz

 

Any list of this type is going to be fairly predictable. Michael, Madona, Cyndi, Peter, Prince, A-Ha, Dire Straits, etc. Always fun shows to watch, though.

The 2 best videos ever made, IMO, were both by Chris Cunningham - his ones for Portishead's 'Only You' and Bjork's sublime 'All Is Full Of Love' - in fact, you could make the whole of the top 10 Bjork videos as her promos since the late 90s have been incredible - including the Michel Gondry ones, Gondry's a man who really should stick to pop promos - his films are abysmal.

 

Any list of this type is laughable without several DFepeche Mode inclusions..... and Lady Gargoyle in the top 10? For what? OK, her video for Bad Romance was superb, and Alejandro is ok - but it's a frame-by-frame Madonna copy.

 

Eurythmics deserve a few in there, too, as does Lennox on her own - the Diva videos were spectacular.

 

You also can't forget the Godmother of the Modern Video - Kate Bush. OK, so many of the videos look dated and cheaply made - but the art form was in its very early stages then... we can't make 'dated' a valid reason for exclusion - or we'd have a top 10 of Gaga and Beyonce.

 

ABBA have been overlooked time and time again.... they were one of the first bands to regularly make promos - mainly due to their location and Agnetha's hatred of aeroplanes. And their videos for The Day Before You Came, The Winner Takes It All and Knowing Me Knowing You were all pretty ahead of their time, albeit they look, yep that word again, 'dated' in 2010.

 

Madonna has made some incredible videos, love her or loathe her. 'Bedtime Story', 'Erotica', 'Hollywood', 'Frozen' (Chris Cunningham once again), 'Justify My Love', 'Rain', 'Express Yourself' and of course 'Vogue'... all astonishingly brilliant pop promos - most of which GaGa has obviously studied for weeks to come up with her latest....

 

Other notable mentions - Visage and 'Fade to Grey' - brilliant, David Bowie 'Ashes to Ashes' (genius), 'China Girl', 'Blue Jean', 'Jump They Say' - another artist who could take up the top 10 himself, really. The Cure's 'Inbetween Days' and 'Close to Me', New Order 'True Faith', Pet Shop Boys 'Domino Dancing', 'Rent', 'Yesterday When I Was Mad', 'Paninaro'.... in fact, most of their promos are excellent, Massive Attack... another band who push the genre way ahead of its time... 'Unfinished Sympathy', 'Live With Me' and 'Sly' being 3 of my favourites, Grace Jones' 'Corporate Cannibal', 'Slave to the Rhythm' and 'Pull Up To The Bumper', almost all the Sigur Ros videos, all the Lemon Jelly ones, plus cracking promos from Duran Duran, Tracey Ullman, Madness, Adam and the Ants, Blondie, Ultravox, Soft Cell, Siouxsie and the Banshees, David Sylvian and Shakespears Sister.

 

And for a man who hates videos, Morrissey has done some superb ones in his solo career - 'November Spawned a Monster', 'Interesting Drug', 'Suedehead', 'Every Day Is Like Sunday' and 'Ouija Board' to name a few....

 

'Bo Rap'... it's quite ridiculous to say this is the greatest video ever made..... Queen made far, far better videos in their lifetime than this one.

I think Chris Cunningham is great but I prefer Michel Gondry.

 

 

I also think REM's Imitation of Life should be included for it's concept. It's execution was good but not as good as it could have been.

Edited July 14, 201014 yr by tonyttt31

My Top 5 would be

 

1. Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar

2. REM - Imitation of Life

3. Massive Attack - Teardrop

4. New Order - True Faith

5. George Michael - Freeek!

Can't stand Spike Jones' videos.

I think Chris Cunningham is great but I prefer Michel Gondry.

I also think REM's Imitation of Life should be included for it's concept. It's execution was good but not as good as it could have been.

 

I checked out Imitation of Life after you recommended it, it is a cracking video, every time I watch it again there's always something that I miss, although it does suffer a bit from too-clever-for-its-own-good-itis.

 

My favourite video changes all the time, but at the moment I love 'Frontier Psychatrist' by the Avalanches, 'Let forever Be' by The Chemical Brothers and 'Teardrop' by Massive Attack.

II love 'Frontier Psychatrist' by the Avalanches and 'Teardrop' by Massive Attack.

 

I nearly put Avalanches in my list - that's a helluva great video..... I don't like Teardrop, though... the baby's too dummy-like.... much prefer a lot of Massive Attack's other videos... especially 'Live With Me' which sent a chill down my spine frst time I watched it. Brave....

The baby is a bit mechanical in Teardrop but I love the concept. I think I go for great ideas more than great execution.

The 2 best videos ever made, IMO, were both by Chris Cunningham - his ones for Portishead's 'Only You' and Bjork's sublime 'All Is Full Of Love' - in fact, you could make the whole of the top 10 Bjork videos as her promos since the late 90s have been incredible - including the Michel Gondry ones, Gondry's a man who really should stick to pop promos - his films are abysmal.

 

Any list of this type is laughable without several DFepeche Mode inclusions..... and Lady Gargoyle in the top 10? For what? OK, her video for Bad Romance was superb, and Alejandro is ok - but it's a frame-by-frame Madonna copy.

 

Eurythmics deserve a few in there, too, as does Lennox on her own - the Diva videos were spectacular.

 

You also can't forget the Godmother of the Modern Video - Kate Bush. OK, so many of the videos look dated and cheaply made - but the art form was in its very early stages then... we can't make 'dated' a valid reason for exclusion - or we'd have a top 10 of Gaga and Beyonce.

 

ABBA have been overlooked time and time again.... they were one of the first bands to regularly make promos - mainly due to their location and Agnetha's hatred of aeroplanes. And their videos for The Day Before You Came, The Winner Takes It All and Knowing Me Knowing You were all pretty ahead of their time, albeit they look, yep that word again, 'dated' in 2010.

 

Madonna has made some incredible videos, love her or loathe her. 'Bedtime Story', 'Erotica', 'Hollywood', 'Frozen' (Chris Cunningham once again), 'Justify My Love', 'Rain', 'Express Yourself' and of course 'Vogue'... all astonishingly brilliant pop promos - most of which GaGa has obviously studied for weeks to come up with her latest....

 

Other notable mentions - Visage and 'Fade to Grey' - brilliant, David Bowie 'Ashes to Ashes' (genius), 'China Girl', 'Blue Jean', 'Jump They Say' - another artist who could take up the top 10 himself, really. The Cure's 'Inbetween Days' and 'Close to Me', New Order 'True Faith', Pet Shop Boys 'Domino Dancing', 'Rent', 'Yesterday When I Was Mad', 'Paninaro'.... in fact, most of their promos are excellent, Massive Attack... another band who push the genre way ahead of its time... 'Unfinished Sympathy', 'Live With Me' and 'Sly' being 3 of my favourites, Grace Jones' 'Corporate Cannibal', 'Slave to the Rhythm' and 'Pull Up To The Bumper', almost all the Sigur Ros videos, all the Lemon Jelly ones, plus cracking promos from Duran Duran, Tracey Ullman, Madness, Adam and the Ants, Blondie, Ultravox, Soft Cell, Siouxsie and the Banshees, David Sylvian and Shakespears Sister.

 

I could not agree with you more. I would also pick “Jump They Say” and 'Paninaro' as great videos from those acts, not only because they are favourites of mine, but also because a lot of people, when asked, would probably just say the biggest hits, such as “Let’s Dance” or “West End Girls”.

 

As for Depeche Mode and Eurythmics, I think I would select their late 1980s video albums “Strange” and “Savage” instead of a single video, though in regards to Depeche, I always thought the ‘reveal’ in the “I Feel You” video, where the curtain gets dropped behind Dave Gahan, to be a very excellent shot.

 

I think you are right about ABBA as well. Even though I am not somebody who is a fan, I have to agree that they have indeed produced a lot of memorable videos. I suppose this claim for greatness can be supported by the fact that the iconography of videos have been ‘spoofed’ to great effect by people like French & Saunders and Erasure, something that you could not say for Ace Of Base.

 

In regards to Ace Of Base, I am reminded of that group every time I hear “Alejandro” by Lady Gaga, though in regards to the video, I think the Madonna video that we are both thinking about, when we see that Gaga ‘rip-off’, is the one for the song “Human Nature”, which came out in about 1994. Even if it is a different Madonna video that you have got in your mind, I am guessing that it will still have been made sometime between 1992 and 1995.

 

Loz

 

:lol: @ russ.... "lady gargoyle" .... so bloody obvious, so apt!

 

lets face it, shows like this are popularity contests of little merit, most of the best artistic vids were made for acts that never got huge chart success. pity, i dont believe for 1 second 'thriller' really was the best vid ever. lets face it, its a pastche of several b movie horror flicks.

Depeche Mode - Walking In My Shoes is my fave of theirs. The colour purple is so well used in it.