Best.Promos.Ever. Poison

Betcha never thought a Poison video would make it onto a list of the Best Promos Ever? Well, at the risk of invalidating the whole premise of this series of posts, I wanted to include a late-80s metal video because that scene at that time was the only thing that mattered to me. Most of the videos from that genre at that time have dated very badly - Guns N' Roses for example, with their massively expensive videos for November Rain and Estranged, haven't fared so well.

The reason I chose this video is because although Poison as a band haven't aged too well (and they long ago lost any credibility, even in the context of a music scene that always had tenuous links to artistic credibility anyway), this video still reeks of fun, which is what attracted me to the band in the first place. It all looked like such a laugh and I think in the case of getting that across, this video has aged pretty well. So this is my pick of videos to represent a whole genre. Controversial, I know, but it's my blog, so what you gonna do? No, wait, come back!!

Best.Promos.Ever. Outkast

Another one that You Tube embedding has been disabled on I'm afraid, but here's the link for to watch it. And a screen grab to make you think it's embedded.


There are many, many things to commend this video, not least that's it packed with very cool animals, which always get a big tick in my book. But more importantly, it came at a time when the hip hop videos being shown on most TV channels were all about booty, bling and bubbly, so this was a massive breath of fresh air, and one that's well worth breathing in again (I sound like Ron Burgundy in that last bit, sorry).

Best.Promos.Ever. Massive Attack

Annoyingly, a lot of the best music videos on You Tube have had embedding disabled by request, so I can't embed them here, but I figure that's not a reason to discount them from this series of posts. So, here's one that you'll have to click here to watch, with a screen grab below just to make this post look more interesting.


It's a famous promo, and rightly so, because not only is it a simple idea, but it also moves what's already a stunning song on another notch. If you listen to Blue Lines (the Massive Attack album that this comes from), there's an undeniable Englishness to it, right from the accents to the production. Even the cover of the Teddy Pendergrass classic Be Thankful For What You've Got sounds English in the context of the album. But this video, shot in LA, is hugely American and glossy feeling. I don't know what led to this being done in the US, but somehow it really adds another layer to the song, transporting it from Bristol all the way across the channel. Plus, not to overstate how good this is, but like lots of great pieces of art, you'll see something new everytime you watch it.

Best.Promos.Ever. Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin's pushed so many musical boundaries that it's only right that his videos should do the same, and both of the below were directed by Chris Cunningham. The first one is the disturbing Come To Daddy promo, which in some respects reminds me of some of the Massive Attack videos, which will be coming up soon.

Second is the Windowlicker video, all 10 minutes plus of it. On the one hand it's a straightforward parody of US gangsta rap videos, especially in the first part where the wannabe gangsters try to hook up with the hoochies (who later turn into grotesque gargoyle versions of Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin himself). But the weirdness starts at the 4.20 mark when Aphex Twin appears, leering through the limo window. The term 'windowlicker' comes from the French phrase for window shopping, faire du lèche-vitrine, which translates back to English literally as 'windowlicker'. So now you know. This video was beaten to the 2000 Best Video Brit award by Robbie Williams' Angels. Go figure.

Best.Promos.Ever. Daft Punk

Spike Jonze could easily have his own entry into this, and I know this won't be the last time he crops up in this series of posts. It's a genius idea - similar to the Michel Gondry Chemical Brothers' video - a beautifully simple idea done brilliantly, and I remember at the time it got all my friends talking. I hated it. I don't know why but I did not like this video when it came out. Since then though, it's impossible to deny the brilliance of it. It's easy to say, once the video has been made, but with such a heavy, insistent dance track, it would be hard to do anything straight for the video that would fit the track as well as the creative ethos of the band, so something completely leftfield like this fits the bill. Of course it does - Spike Jonze did it.

Sorry about the subtitles by the way, the official one is un-embeddable, damn them.

Best.Promos.Ever. Missy Elliott

Missy's done a few videos that could have made it on to here, but this is my personal favourite, mainly for the kids dancing just after the two minute mark. The kitchen sink's been thrown at this, with all the cutaways and different types of footage really contrasting with what's basically a very stripped down song. I've never seen the "sincere" bit that takes up the first 60 seconds or so, and I'm not sure I want to - skip past that and get straight to the crazy good shit.

Best. Promos. Ever. Special Edition

To celebrate the return of official music videos to You Tube, here's a special of this series of posts.

First off, there's this stunning effort. No words needed. Just watch...



Let's lift the mood a little. It was only a matter of time until this made it onto this series of posts, wasn't it?



Now let's see what's going on in outer space. I remember when this came out - it had a special tea time screening on Channel 4 or something, and it felt HUGE. He'd been away for a while I think and came back with this (probably his last decent song), and the video is kind of insane. Most expensive ever I think (at least at the time).



And now for a little more melancholy (you should be grateful that I didn't put this next to the Johnny Cash video). I've never known anyone to watch this and not well up, so tread with caution if you're not in high spirits right now. It's a beautiful promo that I think deserves its place amongst the greats. OH NO! I can't find the video on youtube for some reason, (so much for that deal!), but here it is with the director's commentary, which of course totally ruins the vibe, but hopefully you'll be able to see the video shining through.



And if you think that's bad, they made a second video for this song (thankfully without commentary), and it's equally bleak...



But to finish up, here's a video that'll always bring a smile to my lips. I remember this getting an airing on morning TV and Brian May and Roger Taylor doing an interview on the sofa with Frank Bough. Exciting times. Again, at the time, this was a hugely exciting video - up to you to decide if any of that's lasted through the years...

Best.Promos.Ever. Chemical Brothers

The ultimate video expression of the old maxim that the simple things in life are often the best? Train journeys have been a source of inspiration since they first started rolling around the world (something that I've spent all summer listening to bands talk about for Global Cool), and this Michel Gondry directed video for Chemical Brothers just gets better with every watch.

Best. Promos. Ever. Eminem Feat Dr. Dre - Guilty Conscience

Here's a new set of posts I decided to do, just to have an excuse to drag out some of the best pop promos ever. As with everything on this blog, my taste is the yardstick here, but I hope you won't find any of the choices here especially riling.

Eminem's Guilty Conscience is a great place to start - it's a smart video that's definitely had some money spent on it, but not at the expense of the narrative or, most importantly, the song (a personal favourite of Eminem's for me). Have a watch, have a listen, and enjoy...there are plenty more to come.