Worth a Watch. Review on Ten Best English Music Videos

'What a shame music today is seen, not heard' - A very popular T-shirt catchphrase nowadays. I am a firm believer of the statement and yet I find it worthwhile to do a review on music videos. Hypocritical? Maybe, but I think the word 'today' in the above quote is noteworthy.

First of all, I thought I'd have a tough time shortlisting 10 videos from the wide array available. But when I started to analyse them it was not as tough. The quality bands have mostly stuck to live performances when it comes to music videos. A fact attributable to the unavailablity of the proper directing faculty at the time and their conviction not to sell out to sappy boy meets girl routines. I hate to rank them but under the circumstances it won't be fair if I imply that all of them

are of the same class and quality.

10) Kenny Loggins-Footloose: The sheer quality of this video is that no matter where you are or what your mood is like, it is bound to make you tap your feet and wanna dance. Kevin Bacon appears in the video and dances his arse off in a contagious manner. It's simple but a great way to cheer yourself.

9) Bob Dylan-Subterrnean Homesick Blues:Dylan himself appears in this video. He keeps on rapping with placards in his hands, each of which displays key wordings from this song. Considering the period when it was made, this is a bold and vivid effort.

8) Tom Petty-Last Dance With Mary Jane:Admittedly, this is not a great song. But what an absolutely magnificent and innovative concept to make a video. The protagonist(Petty, in this case) steals a corpse from the morgue(presumably'Mary Jane'), dresses her and enjoys a candle lit dinner and dances away the night with her . When he finally drowns her in the sea .she opens her eyes. Its creepy no doubt but definitely innovative and I think there's more to this video than what appears.

7) Crash Test Dummies-Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm: This is a classic example of a video befitting the https://lyrics. Its an ode to the misfits of the world. A school play is being staged where the kids enact the routine embarrassments of the'weird ones'. A nice and unique video with a relevant topic.

6) Megadeth-Sweating Bullets/Train of Consequences: I couldn't decide which one of these two videos I liked more.Sweating Bullets is a powerful and compulsive video. It represents hardcore metal in its rawest form. You almost get a headache seeing the visuals that accompany 'Feeling claustrophobic like the walls are closing in.' . Train of Consequences is a funnier one but bears that in-your-face attitude akin to the likes of Megadeth. For starters, how about a woman hanging babies to dry them in the sun, or a man prising out his eye to place a bet in a card game.weird but funny.

5) Madonna-Express Yourself/Justify My Love: I'm not the kind who would especially like her music or its genre. But she is a rebel. A woman who has the power to defy every existing norms and also some non-existent ones .

Her portrayal of raw sexual emotions in the randy Justify My Love shows immense guts. And the fact that MTV banned it proves that freedom of expression is only a myth all over the world, albeit the degree of intolerance varies from east to west. And it was this freedom that she reaches out to in Express Yourself - provocative but relevant.

4) Doors-Light My Fire:I just had to include one stage performance. And who better to nominate than the masters themselves. Those of you, who have seen the video would remember the part where Morrison embraces the mic in his own lustful manner and at the sound of a drumbeat pretends to drop dead. I'll never forget the way he fell on the stage floor. A firy video from a bunch of furious performers.

3) Pink Floyd-Another Brick in the Wall: I have never seen a video doing more justice to the lyrics of the song. The hen-pecked teacher, the psychopathic wife and loads of 'dark sarcasms in classrooms' .The young kid is a portrayal of Syd Barrett's own troubled childhood. I've never seen a music video getting more personal than this one. I personally feel Pink Floyd were far superior on stage-shows and live performances. This however was an exception.

2) Van Halen-Right Now: This is one of the best videos ever made and represents that rare combo of a good video to go with a great song. For the uninitiated - this video rolls on with various images appearing on screen, each with a great oneliner to go with it. A superb way to make political statements and garnish them with occasional surrealist lines like 'Right now no one is safe from loneliness' . Even the images that accompany the lines create a beautiful treat to the eyes. It was almost as if the video had a set of newly composed great lyrics .Right now is harder than it looks

1) REM-Losing My Religion: The best music video ever made. The widely acclaimed Ad Guru(and my idol) Tarsem Singh directed this video. It features the band's frontman Michael Stipe and does a great job of allegorizing Stipe's predicament at the time that he wrote the song. The subtle implications to Stipe's angst at the intolerance towards his sexual orientation creates a marvellous and unforgettable video.

Honorary mention: A band that regularly churns out great videos and makes cool use of animation is Moby. Its one band, whose videos I look forward to nowadays.