Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know

My roommate mentioned that the last I posted of Mazzy Star's Fade Into You looks very similar to this Alanis Morrissette and I agree. It has the same blown out look in a desert interspersed with slow, choppy video clips, but for a completely different effect. Rather than being slow and lonely, this video is harsh and angry.

I posted this video for several other reason. Sure, I love this song and the entire album, Jagged Little Pill. Alanis Morissette is a staple of the mid 90s and she helped paved the way for mildly confrontational female pop rock artists like Meredith Brooks in the 90s and Avril Lavigne in the 00s.

Another reason is that Alanis Morissette just got married a couple days ago to rapper Mario Treadway aka Souleye (not the Souleye from Sweden that does chiptune music).

Finally, this song is important because of who it is about. Alanis Morissette has claimed that song is about a specific person, but has never revealed who that person is, similar to the legend surrounding Carly Simon's You're So Vain. For over a decade, there have been rumors about who she was talking about, but now most people believe that it was Dave Coulier.

Yes, Uncle Joey from Full House is most likely who Alanis Morissette "went down on in a theater". To give you some context, here is Dave Coulier:



According to Snopes, the reason that they broke up is that Dave Coulier wanted to start a family but Alanis felt she was too young. At that point, Dave Coulier had already been married and divorced with a kid and I guess he wanted something serious. Well I guess Alanis won out in the end because now she has married and poor Uncle Joey has remained a bachelor.

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You

Stupid EMI YouTube link that doesn't allow embedding.

As I mentioned in my last post, I Can Hardly Wait sounds very similar to Fade Into You. Mazzy Star is much cleaner and this song is in 3/4 as opposed to 4/4, but the music is very similar, even down to the slide guitar at the end of the song.

Mazzy Star had one hit, but they never really were a hit making type of band. Their music was slow, shoe-gazey, post-punk. I think they got lucky with Fade Into You, but the fame was well deserved. This song is a darkly beautiful ballad that exemplifies one wave of alternative music in the mid-nineties. I still get shivers listening to Hope Sandoval's haunting wail.

The video is also visual time capsule of music videos from that era that were heavily influenced by Gus van Sant's music video for Red Hot Chili Peppers. The shots of band loosely arranged performing together are interspersed with shots of driving, landscapes, and random things treated with some film effect. The washed out look was also very popular (see Alanis Morrisette's You Oughta Know).

Beyond that, I just love the feel of the video. It does what a good video should do, echo the feelings of the song. The video has a lonely, melancholy feel that is accentuated by the shots of the wide empty desert and the bright overpowering sun.

Tag Team - Whoomp, There It Is

VH1 version with better quality

In my news feed on Monday, Gawker claimed to have found Barack Obama in the music video. Here is a snapshot that is taken from about 1:02.

I don't think anyone at Gawker actually believed that it was true, but as for the rest of America I am not sure. If you believe that Barack Obama is a secret muslim that was born in Kenya, I guess you can believe that Barack Obama was a secret rapper that did MTV videos. It won't be long before we will see this picture with a Hitler mustache on a sign at the next Tea Party rally.

Well Gawker has finally debunked the coincidence by simply asking Cecil Glenn aka DC the Brain Supreme and Steve Gibson aka Steve Roll'n of Tag Team. So no, it isn't Barack Obama and the woman at 0:47 is not Michelle Obama.

As for the video and the song, they are classics. The song has been a staple of sports events, cheerleading dances, and wedding DJ's for over a decade. The video feels like it was taken from a night scene on MTV Spring Break.  Its the Who Let the Dogs Out of the 90s, but we have enough distance now to not be annoyed.

Nine Inch Nails - Closer

Nine Inch Nails: Closer (Uncensored) (1994) from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.


After watching the new Trent Reznor project How to Destroy Angels, I had to post this video.

Closer is Nine Inch Nails most well-known song and probably the most well-known video. Even though both the song and the video were censored, it was on heavy rotation on MTV in the mid-90s.

How Nine Inch Nails made it to the mainstream is still a mystery to me. The 90s was not a good time for electronic music. The glitz and glam and the plastic, colorful shallowness of the 80s was being rejected. The rough singer-songerwriter and the garage band were kings of the 90s as grunge exploded. Perhaps thats how Nine Inch Nails made it into hearts of angry teens of the 90s.

Whether you like their aesthetic or not, Nine Inch Nails kept synths alive in the 90s. The only other electronic music going on was the techno/house/electronica raver scene, but that music never really made it to the mainstream. While that era of electronic was important, most of it was repetitive and formulaic, with some notable exceptions (Aphex Twin is one).

This video is reinterpretation of the stop-motion short film, Street of Crocodiles, inspired by the art work of Joel-Peter Witkin. Check them out and you can see what I am talking about.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge

Red Hot Chili Peppers - New Music - More Music Videos

YouTube version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwlogyj7nFE

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a divisive band in rock. Like U2, they have a huge following with millions of fans and with An international following, they can pack a stadium in almost any country. However, as their careers have progressed, their music has become less and less interesting. Well, because they are so well-known, it is hard not to have an opinion about them, so they end up becoming a love/hate band.

No matter your opinion the the Chili Peppers, it is hard to deny that this earlier song is still good. And it hard not to like this video.

Gus van Sant, the director of Drugstore Cowboys and Good Will Hunting, also directed this video. It won Viewers Choice Best Video and Breakthrough Video at the MTV Music awards and deservedly so. There are so many great images in this video. Notably, the guitarist solemnly playing against a fake desert backdrop, Anthony Keidis walking around LA and interacting with peeple, and the final scene of Keidis running heedlessly toward the camera in slow motion while an atomic explosion expands in the background. This was a very influential video and traces of its impact can be seen all throughout the 90s.

Weezer - Pink Triangle

Rivers Cuomo wrote two of the greatest and most important albums of the 90's.  Both albums fathered entire sub-genres.  In 1994, Weezer's The Blue Album is a cornerstone of geek rock and it inspired countless nerdy high school garage bands and even some famous ones (see Ok Go).  Two years later, Pinkerton was released, but wasn't well received.  Rolling Stone called it one of the worst albums of 1996.  However, as you well know, Rolling Stone was barely relevant in the 90's and isn't relevant at all in 2010.  Pinkerton grew in popularity after 1996 and is one of the cornerstones of both Blue Sweater Emo and Eyeliner Emo.

Unfortunately, Rivers Cuomo took the rejection of his masterpiece pretty bad and Weezer stopped playing for nearly four years.  As the early Internet was starting to explode, the online fan base was exploding with it.  Armed with 14 new songs and minus Matt Sharp (bass player, founder of The Rentals), Weezer sold out several tours in 2000.  With tons of hype and excited fans, they went to the studio to record their third album.  They enlisted Ric Ocasek of the Cars, the producer of the Blue Album, to return and produce number three.

This is where the story goes sour.  An exec from Geffen, their record label, came by to hear the songs and he didn't like them.  So what did the band do?  They moved to a new studio and Rivers wrote an album's worth of songs on the spot.  Instead of recording meticulously crafted, interesting, heart-felt music as they once did, Weezer recorded 10 simple, formulaic, bland, lifeless songs for the Green Album.  

And that was it.  Weezer, one of the most important bands of the 90's, died, and in its place and empty space. 
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Pink Triangle was a song on Pinkerton, but this video wasn't released until 2004.  It was created by Karl Koch, the super roadie and band documentarian.  He is a great guy.  Back in 2000, me and some friends followed Weezer around the Midwest for three tours.  I had been talking to Karl every night after the shows, he was an awesome guy.  We didn't have tickets for a show in Columbia, Missouri and it was sold out.  It looked like we weren't getting in, but then I bumped into Karl.  He said we were lucky Weezer didn't have many friends in Missouri and he let us in as guests of the band.  We got in before everyone else and stood right in the front.  That was the best rock show I have seen. 

Thanks Karl.  I love the video.

Backstreet Boys - Everybody (Backstreet's Back)

Backstreet Boys - Everybody (Backstreet's Back) (Official Music Video) - Watch more top selected videos about: Backstreet_Boys

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb-q1XPNr7M

The Backstreet Boys were the quintessential Boy Band. They sparked the Boy Band craze and spawned dozens of terrible one-hit and no-hit Boy Bands (see 98 Degrees and 5ive).

Again, we see the five member Boy Band with the bad boy, the baby face, the pretty boy, the gay one, and the ugly one. See if you can guess who is who.

This video and song are an amalgam of different pop components from over the years. First this a return song. They announce over and over again that "Backstreet's Back (alright)." Just like we twist again (like we did last summer).

The video is a mixture of 90's goth and cheesy Halloween costumes. You have the werewolf, the mummy, the vampire, the Phantom of the Opera, and the Jekyll/Hyde. Oh yeah, and in case you didn't notice, Thriller.

This video is a sad rip off of Thriller. But it is fun and its a good pop dance song, the last good dance song from the Backstreet Boys. After this song, they only released, sappy ballads that fueled the loinfires of teenage girls (the word loinfires is copyright Ani Loizzo).

RIP Alex Chilton of The Box Tops and Big Star

Alex Chilton died today of a heart attack. You may not recognize his name, but you have heard his music. Throughout his nearly sixty year music career, he has not made a single music video, so his live performances will have to suffice.

Chilton started early. At 16 years old, he recorded international number one hit with his band the Box Tops. In a year that Beatles, The Doors, and Rolling Stones were dominating the charts, The Box Tops' first hit, The Letter, stayed number #1 for over a month, all while Chilton was still in high school. Here is a performance on an early music television show. Alex Chilton is the lead singer.



In the 70s, Chilton did some solo work and then joined a pop rock group called Big Star. They released two albums through an independent label called Stax. Unfortunately Stax had some distribution issues due to a failed contract signed with CBS and legal issues due to an owner being arrested for bank fraud charges. Eventually Stax went bankrupt and was bought out by another indie label called Fantasy records.

Unfortunately, Big Star was never really given a chance to become big stars (I am sure I am not the first to make that pun). Their first two albums were not widely promoted or distributed and their third album got shelved by the new label.

Four years later, the first two albums were re-released and the third album, called Third/Sister Lovers finally came out. Their popularity was ramping up and the third album got great reviews. But soon after the third album's release, unfortunate circumstances again set the band back. Founding member and long-time friend of Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, died in a freak car accident.

In 1993, the band reunited to play a set for spring music festival at the University of Missouri. The show was a success and the performance was released a live record. They toured for a year and disappeared once again.

Here is a song from that live show at the University of Missouri.



In 2005, Big Star released the final album. It was no record breaker, but it was good. In the recent years they stuck around. They had been playing more shows and festivals, releasing old albums and a box set. At least Big Star was beginning to get more widespread recognition for their contribution to music before Alex Chilton passed.

The music of Big Star has influenced several generations of music. REM claimed that Big Star was one of their biggest influences. Three decades of musicians from a range of genres have covered Big Star songs including Cheap Trick, The Bangles, This Mortal Coil, Garbage, Superdrag, Elliot Smith, and Wilco.

Big Star's most famous song is In the Street, even though most people have no idea that it is Big Star that wrote it. It was on their first album, but it didn't gain popularity until much later. Here is a clip of them singing it on The Tonight Show at the height of their stardom in 1993. You probably know the Cheap Trick cover version from the intro for That 70's Show.



I will leave you with a short piece from one of the most important music shows on MTV, 120 Minutes, back when MTV was relevant before it became a reality television network. Alex Chilton walks around a graveyard with an acoustic guitar, playing a bluesy song and two of his songs from The Box Tops.

RIP Alex Chilton.


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Meatloaf - I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)

Jim Steinman is the king of the overly dramatic, epic ballad. He outdoes "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in length and campyness. This album version of the song is actually 12 minutes long.

The video version is cut down to less than 8 minutes, but its jammed pack with ridiculous costumes and nonsensical symbolism. The video is a mix between Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, and a romance novel. Meatloaf plays the Beast/Phantom, pining after the Beauty/Christine, who apparently is having an elicit affair with herself. Then for some unknown reason, the police break in. The couple sort of hug and Meatloaf turns in a man. Just about when the evil detective swoops in with his coppers, the couple escapes on a motorcycle.

The best part, the music video is directed by Michael Bay. Yes Michael Bay of Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Transformers: travesty 1, 2 and soon to be 3. The man who told his script writers not to write action scenes, but instead just write "Blow Stuff Up" and he would fill in the blanks. Michael Bay's schlocky, incoherent, style has dominated action films for the past decade. Using choppy clips and close-ups of fast action, the audience is fooled into believing something substantial is going on. There is no need for detail or continuity because it is all just a blurry mess of pixels. However, with Avatars intricately crafted world and meticulously constructed action scenes, Michael Bay's style of action is hopefully on its way out.

Thankfully, there is none of that in this video. Instead the schlock is endearing and you can't help but yell out the lyrics in an operatic voice.

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On yet another side note, this song is famously misunderstood. The grand question: What is the thing that Meatloaf won't do? This song has puzzled listeners and inspired millions to speculate what weird sex act Meatloaf wouldn't perform for love.

The answer is actually in the lyrics. He says the things we won't do in the line before he says "And I would do anything for love." So, for the record, here are all the things that Meatloaf won't do (for love)

1. He'll never forget the way you feel right now
2. He'll never forgive himself if you and him don't go all the way tonight
3. He'll never do it better than he does it with you
4. He'll never stop dreaming of you every night of his life
5. He'll never see that it's time to move on
6. He'll never, sooner or later, be screwing around

I guess instead of avoiding some weird sex act, he is going to develop a creepy obsession with you and never leave you alone.

Smashing Pumpkins - The End of the Beginning of the End

Speaking of the bad movie soundtrack music video, this one wins wins an award.

The Smashing Pumpkins were at the height of their popularity, between the release of "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" and "Adore."  They released a handful of synth-driven electronic/industrial pop songs on soundtracks and compilations.  The songs were a departure from their more eclectic rock style and everyone thought the next album would sound the same.

"The End is the Beginning is the End" is one of these singles, released for the epically terrible "Batman and Robin" movie.  The song is pretty good for 90's rock and it actually won a Grammy in 1998.  But as the with movie, the music video is epically terrible.

The band plays over sized gothic instruments in a giant computer generated Batman cowl.  Hilarious scenes of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Freeze pop up behind Billy Corgan's head as he is trying scream out his angst y lyrics.  It is a travesty.

Billy Corgan was at his peak when this song was released and it marked the beginning of the beginning of the end.

Marcy Playground - Comin' Up From Behind

Ahh, the movie soundtrack music video.  Half music video, half movie trailer.  For the most part, these songs and music videos disappear into the commercial music graveyard.  Sometimes with good reason.

This video is no different.  It is confused.  The music video has the surreal symbolism that is present in many 90's music videos.  The scene with John Wozniak painting random sketched on a wall with a Chinese calligraphy brush feels like a 80's goth band video using black and white and shadows, but then cut to Reese Witherspoon in sunglasses?

"Comin Up From Behind" was originally released on their second album, but then released as a single the the cultish teen thiriller "Cruel Intentions."  The movie starred Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillipe as rich social lights having sex and then stabbing each other in the back.  It was The Hills of the late 90's, except it didn't pretend to be reality.  The video is trying to good and mesh with the movie, but as it usually goes, it fails on both ends.

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Like Weezer, Marcy Playground's second album was a more grown-up, more personal album that never matched up the success of the first.  Their song/video "Sex and Candy" etched their name into 90's music history, but the rest of their music was a little too weird and off the cuff to really remain music stars.

The second album was called "Shapeshiter" and was much more diverse and experimental than their self-titled album.  The first single off of the album called "Its Saturday" had a yodeling chorus, and it wasn't the best pick for a single.  The album has the feel of a mid 2000 indie release.  Perhaps it was just a little ahead of its time.

"Comin' Up From Behind" is also on "Shapeshifter."  It has a feel that connects back to a style of music from the past that I just can't grasp.  The odd, dissonant bass that drives the song reminds me of a couple Tom Waits songs, but there is something else there.  Does anyone else here it?

Weezer - El Scorcho

Anamanguchi and Ok Go are just two of the many bands that 90's Weezer helped inspire.

El Scorcho is the only single off of the album Pinkerton, and the follow up to the wildly successful "Buddy Holly" video, but I doubt you have ever seen it.

Their video for "Buddy Holly" turned them from stars into superstars.  It is one of the most well-known music videos.  It was even on the Windows 95 installation CD.

While "Buddy Holly" was a popular song, the music video stole much of the spotlight.  For "El Scorcho," Rivers Cuomo wanted to make a video that didn't distract from the music.  Instead, this video is created to complement the music, primarily with  lights.

I remember not liking it much the first time I saw it, but have a new appreciation for it.  Either way, El Scorcho is one of the best Weezer songs.