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BLOG: The 11 best music videos of modern times
MusicRadar has chosen its favourites, but what are yours?
The MusicRadar Team, Tue 8 Jul 2008, 10:37 am UTC
Film director Michel Gondry is rightly celebrated for his fantastic (and often fantastical) music videos, garnering much respect from fans and fellow film-makers alike. However, when we read Gondry's own 25 favourite music videos (in a list he compiled for Entertainment Weekly) we were struck by how many of the videos mentioned were 'classics'.
There's can be no denying that the videos to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean and Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer are brilliant, but surely there have been some works of genius in the last decade or so? For MusicRadar, the answer is a definite 'yes' – and you can see our favourites below. Some of them, of course, are the work of Gondry himself…
Let Forever Be by The Chemical Brothers – directed by Michel Gondry
The video for Let Forever Be epitomises everything Michel Gondry is known for: surreal imagery, brilliant set design and camera trickery without the use of excessive CGI to name a few. Illustrating a girl's dream, the video builds a spectacular sense of fear and foreboding, and The Chemical Brothers' music proves the perfect soundtrack to a nightmare – in the best possible way.
Weapon Of Choice by Fatboy Slim – directed by Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze has something of a penchant for making videos that look like musicals – he directed the video to Björk's 1995 track It's Oh So Quiet too – but his video for Fatboy Slim's Weapon Of Choice is surely his best effort. Not only is it noted for its superb choreography, but also for introducing a whole new generation to the talents of Mr Christopher Walken. A generation who, presumably, think Walken can fly.
Michel Gondry on Fell In Love With A Girl
"Lego, the company, refused to endorse the video or help us. We had to pay for every single box we used, because they thought the music of the White Stripes was not matching their image. And then [later] they asked the White Stripes to support their brand, but it was too late. The White Stripes were not into doing that anymore. But I have to say, I'm still pro-Lego."
Knights Of Cydonia by Muse – directed by Joseph Kahn
Just when you think Muse can't get any more theatrical, they release a video featuring an armour-clad space princess riding a unicorn. With a nod to Tarantino's exercise-in-homage Kill Bill, director Kahn manages to fuse spaghetti-western, kung-fu, Soviet and even sci-fi influences in this epic video – and, bizarrely, it all gels quite nicely (though we don't think he'd have gotten away with it if it wasn't a Muse track...). According to a contest run by the band, there are 15 major movie references in the Knights Of Cydonia video – can you spot them all?
