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Love themor hate them, music videos seem to be here to stay. Here are some of them
which pushed the envelope andmade people sit up and take notice.
Video Killed the Radio Star!
P
eople
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stimulation, this much
is a fact. How often has
another person been
judged immediately on
just their looks alone?
The same philosophy
is applied to music as well. How many
times have you listened to a song on the
radio and thought nothing of it until you
saw the music video? Maroon 5’s Sugar,
for instance, is no different from any other
songs from the American band. It was
only after the music video premiered that
people began to talk about it. The video
which features the band gate-crashing
weddings of various couples with their
surprise performances has received more
than 170 million hits on Youtube. The
song is also a huge hit thanks to the
images attached to it.
around the same time Kate Moss made
‘heroine-chic’ cool (thanks to her black
and white Calvin Klein ads). Apple was
scrutinized for her severely skinny frame
in the video.
Like A Prayer – Madonna
The Catholic symbols like stigmata and
burning crosses in the video were highly
condemned by the Catholic groups at
that time. Madonna’s contract with Pepsi
was subsequently cancelled and she was
banned from performing in Italy.
Thunder Rolls – Garth Brook
Who would have thought that a country
video could be this controversial? The
graphic displays of domestic violence and
murder at the end of the video caused it to
be banned from airing on Country Music
Television.
Window Seat – Erykah Badu
Remember when her concert in Kuala
Lumpur was cancelled due to a photo
controversy? Badu is no stranger to con-
troversy. This one-take video for Window
Seat shows her walking along the Elm
Street in Dallas which leads her to the
spot where President John F.Kennedy was
assassinated. She falls down completely
naked as if she has just got shot. Badu
was fined 500 dollars for filming without
a permit and disorderly conduct by the
state of Dallas.
Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga’s video for Bad Romance has
just the right amount of quirkiness and
high-fashion in it. Her works post-Bad
Romance seem too crazy, over-the-top
and unoriginal. Wearing straight off the
runway pieces fromAlexander McQueen’s
‘Plato’s Atlantis’ collection, Gaga dances
and displays raw emotions throughout the
video. Come on! Who could forget those
monstrous high heels and the sparkling
fire bra?
With all these strong visual impacts,
are we even listening to the song?
The music video is a contributing
factor to the popularity of any song. A bad
song that comes with a good video will
get people listening to it anyway. Add in
some elements of sex, A-listers cameos,
pop culture references and controversy
to the video and single will probably be
a big hit.
Let’s have a look at five of the most
visually captivating and ground-breaking
music videos produced.
Criminal – Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple is one very talented singer
but this video really cemented her status
as one of the most interesting acts to
come out of the late nineties. The video
directed by Mak Romanek features Apple
surrounded by intoxicated lookingmodels
as she undresses and sings about being
“a bad bad girl”. The video was released