Great Music Video Collections

Last night, I was checking out the Peter Gabriel video anthology, Play, and it really helped to bring home so much about what I value in his solo work. From his early days with Genesis, Gabriel was always a very visually oriented performer, so it's not too surprising that he would thrive in the MTV era. I'm a particular fan of his 80s output and the earlier videos like "I Don't Remember" and "Shock The Monkey" showcase his intensity and his off-kilter charisma very effectively. The budgets clearly increased for his big breakthrough with So, but the visuals remain engaging and innovative. Needless to say, "Sledgehammer" was a ground breaking, eye-popping triumph that helped to propel him to the next level commercially. We also see an increased openness and emotional vulnerability with videos like "Don't Give Up" and "In Your Eyes", as some of his old artistic defense screens were lowered. Thought I'm generally less enamored with his later work, there are still some gems to be found there, including "Digging In The Dirt" and "Lovetown". I even enjoyed the unfairly maligned "Barry Williams Show". All in all, it was a powerful audio-visual experience. Gabriel strikes me as someone who really knows how to use the medium to tell stories and convey his ideas powerfully. (It also made me wish that the Kate Bush camp would get off their butts and reissue her excellent videos!)

Here's one of my favorites, which features some memorable imagery. It's also a completely different take from the album version.


So what are some of your favorite music video collections, the ones that really enhance your appreciation for the artists? Feel free to share clips.

 

Both of these collections contain a lot of great videos, especially The Residents one. Both are loaded with cool videos. The Beastie Boys collection also includes tons of remixes and such, in addition to the original audio tracks. Great stuff.

 

Yes! The Residents collection is delightfully twisted fun, artfully packaged. It's amazing how much they were able to accomplish over the years with limited budgets. I haven't seen all of the Beastie Boys stuff, but I do remember loving some of their old classics like "Sabotage".

 

Indeed! That Residents dvd is among my all-time favorites.
I held off a bit on buying a dvd player when they were still kinda new, ended up buying one just to watch that Residents dvd. Such an excellent collection. The Gingerbread Man stuff is amazing.

The Beastie Boys is also pretty excellent, lots of fun videos and all of the extra music make it quite a package.

 

That reminds me I need to bring my copy of Play to my Kansas City apartment because it's the only surround version of these Peter Gabriel songs.

 

Eddie Money: Pictures of Money (The First Ten Years)

It starts with two 'music videos' that are just performance footage from the 70's, although it's important to show him doing one of his early hits (a live version of "Two Tickets to Paradise) and the other is something obscure ("Love the Way You Love Me") that hard-core fans would like. After that, it's a long string of quality productions with plots set to good music. The first two of them, "Think I'm in Love" and "Shakin'," probably are two of the earliest mini-movies to ever achieve popularity on music TV and unlike some of them, they don't feel silly to watch today. Others include the little-known "Take a Little Bit," "Club Michelle," and of course big hits such as "I Wanna Go Back" and "Walk on Water." I think the album includes all the videos Eddie Money made in the 80's (unfortunately, I've read that he never made a video for "Peace in Our Time"), and it's a good mix of musical styles and the videos are thematically distinct from each other. Two videos on there that hardly have plots are the tour/performance clip rocker "We Should Be Sleeping," which is a nice change of pace, and what I consider Eddie's most musically adventurous single, "Let Me In." Cinematography is strong on all of the 80's videos (maybe strongest on "Endless Nights," directed by David Fincher), and there's nothing I'd deem lame or not worth watching (vs. many quality music acts who've made unappealing videos now and then). Other than haircuts and high-waisted jeans, there are very few negatives to be seen on the album, though I concede that none of the videos is what I'd call a work of art. Maybe that's why Eddie Money's video output from the 80's, like his music from the era, is underappreciated by people today. But to me the collection enhances a perception that he and his team kept things fresh while consistently delivering good product to the public.

 

I just wanted to post Play as well

Kate Bush - The Whole Story on Laserdisc. Simply because it's her most recent music video collection and I love her art, so I had to have it

 

Depeche Mode-The Videos 86>98
Pet Shop Boys-Pop Art
Honorable Mention-
Ministry-The Tapes of Wrath