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Hidden tracks: The rise and fall … and second rise of the music video

With music videos shown almost exclusively online, independent bands and nostalgia reign supreme

March 10, 2010
by Ian McDonald | Editor in Chief

When MTV debuted it 1981, the network played music videos around the clock. Now it’s common knowledge that MTV caters to the more vacant minded with shows like “Jersey Shore” and “The Real World” that glorify getting blackout drunk and behaving like a complete shithead.

The music video had gone the way of the dinosaur, until the Internet used some sort of Jurassic Park science to resurrect the lost art form.

The groundbreaking treadmill choreography in the video for OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again” was instrumental in bringing on the rebirth of the music video and became essential viewing for any YouTube user.

With the success of OK Go’s video and the rise of streaming video, millions of people have taken to the Internet to find videos from their favorite artists. YouTube has leveled the playing field for bands that tour in beat up passenger vans and survive on five-dollar foot longs, and bands that sell out Arco Arena.

The nostalgia factor is prevalent as well. I mean, who hasn’t gone online to watch Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Devo’s “Whip It” or any number of hilariously campy hair metal videos.

MTV may have turned its back on the music video, but fans are still holding on.

Now for a list of clips that will tickle your funny bone or take you on a stroll down memory lane, and some are just plain awesome.

1. Michael Jackson – “Thriller”
Not only is “Thriller” one of the greatest pop songs ever, it comes complete with one of the coolest videos ever. I mean, come on. Zombies!

2. OK Go – “Here It Goes Again”
Shot in just one take, “Here It Goes Again” became the video streamed around the world. OK Go are now known for their videos almost more than they are for their songs. Their latest clip, “This Too Shall Pass,” already has almost 6.5 million hits.

3. Devo – “Whip It”
No clip represents the golden age of music videos more than Devo’s “Whip It.” Nothing so absurd would fly on MTV (if they still showed videos) today.

4. The White Stripes – “Fell in Love with a Girl”
I’ve always been on the fence when it comes to the White Stripes, but the all-Lego video for “Fell in Love with a Girl” definitely scores some points for them.

5. Refused – “New Noise”
The clip for “New Noise” doesn’t reinvent the wheel by any means, but it very successfully captures the life-changing intensity of every note from the band’s final record, “The Shape of Punk to Come.”