"The Music Video Artist of The Millennium"

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Is it just me or does Will Young have the greatest run of videos going on right now? In ?Leave Right Now? he is quite crazed as he resists all attempts to drag him away from the camera, ?Your Game? features bombastic sets as he pretends he?s a huge Broadway star, ?Friday?s Child? begins with a great shot with him in arm floaties, ?Switch It On? the notorious Hot Gun video, and ?All Time Love? vaguely homoerotic, vaguely political, vaguely sentimental. Seriously, Will Young, well at least after his renaissance, is the definitive music video artist of this millennium.

Taken from Rolling top 40 discussion thread, nr2.. I think this is a fair call to be honest, I think "Leave Right Now" was the first time I was captivated by a music video for ages, and I can't see any other leading artist making music videos where he is alternately a) as gay as a window and b) an Italian communist leader.

Is there anyone else who comes close? My Chemical Romance is the only other competitor I can consider, but their videos don't really stand up to repeat viewing.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 23 January 2006 13:04 (twenty years ago)

White Stripes

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 23 January 2006 13:24 (twenty years ago)

Eminem

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 23 January 2006 13:25 (twenty years ago)

Missy

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 23 January 2006 13:25 (twenty years ago)

Beck?

― beaux knee (boney), Monday, 23 January 2006 14:23 (twenty years ago)

i would say white stripes only they're fucking shit.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Monday, 23 January 2006 14:24 (twenty years ago)

Holy fuck, when I read that blurb up there I read Will Young's name as Will Smith. It all seemed so wrong!

― Jibé (Jibé), Monday, 23 January 2006 14:27 (twenty years ago)

My Chemical Romance is the only other competitor I can consider, but their videos don't really stand up to repeat viewing.

...or one-time viewing!

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 23 January 2006 14:35 (twenty years ago)

"Radiohead. Duh." is what I'd be saying if their post-Kid A videos were one tenth of one percent as good as their pre-Kid A ones. Why the hell don't they make cool videos anymore?

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Monday, 23 January 2006 15:56 (twenty years ago)

So the answer is Eminem.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Monday, 23 January 2006 15:56 (twenty years ago)

My Chemical Romance can't count as I don't like any video that has the artist performing their song, usually. BUT I let Missy get away with it because she's usually removing her own head or doing something awesome while she's performing. Other then that, it's a totally boring idea.

― ~~~~~~~, Monday, 23 January 2006 16:57 (twenty years ago)

sheyah right.

― Theorry Henry (Enrique), Monday, 23 January 2006 16:59 (twenty years ago)

r-kelly !

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 23 January 2006 17:01 (twenty years ago)

ding ding ding!

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 23 January 2006 17:04 (twenty years ago)

This millenium, or the previous one?

The previous one was owned by the liked of Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, a-ha, Madness and Pet Shop Boys.

― Geir Hongro, Monday, 23 January 2006 17:04 (twenty years ago)

no it was Michael Jackson

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 23 January 2006 17:17 (twenty years ago)

Missy and Kylie, obv

― joanna, Monday, 23 January 2006 17:27 (twenty years ago)

Palestrina did great videos though

― Masked Gazza, Monday, 23 January 2006 18:10 (twenty years ago)

X-Post to Sororah: Add Michael Jackson to my list. He is up there with the others.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 23 January 2006 19:29 (twenty years ago)

robbie williams?

― Roz (Roz), Monday, 23 January 2006 19:33 (twenty years ago)

We still have 994 years to go, people.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 23 January 2006 20:06 (twenty years ago)

i like will young's videos a lot but it's precisely their vagueness which means that they're not 'Great' in the sense that you mean, dom - he's no madonna, none of his videos will ever warrant more than idle watercooler chat, but neither are they as boundary-pushing and bizarre as missy or bjork (who i'm surprised no one's mentioned yet).

the music video artist of the millennium is xtina, anyway, this is completely obvious - just because she's on hiatus doesn't mean that her incredible 'dirrty' through to 'the voice within' run should be forgotten about. will young does 'vaguely gay' videos, xtina does close-ups of men sticking their tongues down each other's throats with side orders of anorexic girls, elderly cross-dressers, assless trousers, lepidopteric metamorphoses, phallic piss-taking and pink hotpants.

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 23 January 2006 20:28 (twenty years ago)

As the writer of the original blurb, I'm glad I have a supporter in Dom. And "Switch It On" is not vaguely gay at all. Really the only alternatives we've come up with so far are Missy, Bjork and Xtina.

Missy's videos are indeed weird, but their aesthetic is so similar after a while they all seem to blend in to each other. Same goes for Xtina, and really "Beautiful" is the only video that features men sticking their tongues down each other's throats, etc, etc... Although I must say Xtina's turn in "Tilt Ya Head Back" was A-MAZING.
Bjork's best videos other than "Triumph of A Heart" were from the previous millenium.

But other contenders for music video artist of the millenium that haven't been mentioned include Shakira, esp. "Objection (Tango)", "La Tortura" and "Don't Bother" and of course, tATu. "All The Things She Said" and "All About Us" being 2 of the most boundary-pushing videos ever. And speaking of vaguely gay videos, one must not neglect V's "You Stood Up" fencing video which I LOOOOVE to bits.

― danzig (danzig), Monday, 23 January 2006 21:12 (twenty years ago)

the problem with the 'Dirrty' video is that it makes me want to throw up as much it might turn me on. i don't think she actually looks that good in it (nor in 'Can't Hold Us Down'). excellent use of midget however.

she does look fantastic in the 'Fighter' video however and that'd be her best clip so far.

the Lynn Fox stuff for Bjork is great but the vids for Hidden Place and Pagan Poetry? blergh no thanks.

xtina does close-ups of men sticking their tongues down each other's throats with side orders of anorexic girls, elderly cross-dressers, assless trousers, lepidopteric metamorphoses, phallic piss-taking and pink hotpants.

you can also tick most of these boxes off in the video for The Strokes 'Juicebox' tho.

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 23 January 2006 22:33 (twenty years ago)

Michel Gondry

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 04:27 (twenty years ago)

Also this question is ridiculous because videos have only been around for like 40 years, and the first 20 of those years weren't all that great, with few exceptions.

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 04:29 (twenty years ago)

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