Music Videos
When I was growing up, I loved watching music videos. My parents had the greatest hits of B-52s, Madonna, Bjork, and the Cure on VHS/DVD, and my sister and I would watch and sing along to them almost every day.
As I got older, I continued to put those music videos on in the background of whatever I was doing (homework, cleaning, etc.). Then, we got cable at my dad’s house and we got both MTV Hits and Fuse, two channels that would play music videos basically 24/7. I would watch the music videos on there like it was my job. When the two channels pivoted more towards the popular reality TV shows (and when Fuse ended up leaving the air) I was less than pleased. Luckily, YouTube satiated that thirst for music videos I had acquired.
I was in my early 20s when I first realized that I wanted to make my own music videos. Since I took the bus to rehearsal for ‘Hairspray’ every day, I would listen to the album “Making Mirrors” by Gotye every day. It was the only album I had in my iTunes that lasted the entire transit there. During the ride, I would look out the window, my imagination creating an entire album music video before anything of the sort was really popular (pre-Beyonce “Lemonade” era). Nowadays, I sometimes hear a song and go back into music video mode, my imagination going wild whenever a good song clicks in.
For example, with “Subtle”, by Active Child and Mikky Ekko, I see the four elements: Active Child being fire and air, Ekko being water and earth. The song starts with a spark, and then lights aflame, the first half of the video focused on warm colors, winds blowing, deserted lands. This whole time, there’s dancers and singing and all of that, too. In my head, it’s all choreographed in a way that I can’t really describe in words (unless you can picture like, really specific to the song avant garde dancing). When Ekko comes in, the cool colors are introduced, lush rainforest becoming the backdrop. When the two singers come in together at the end, the scenes combine to create a purple apocolyptic wasteland, brown vines and dead plants surrounding the performers. It’s a whole thing.
Or, with “Lost Boy” by the Midnight, I see the band performing the song, with scenes of teenage love and angst in the 90s interwoven within. Maybe they’re performing at a 90s high school prom? Specifically 90s, as this album really spoke to the decade…in my opinion, anyway. A very straightforward, more “classic” idea of what a music video should be.
I really respect the art of a good music video, mostly because I know how hard it is to film anything at all, let alone get a whole concept down on film and have it make sense in the constraints of how long a particular song is. I think the idea of a music video album (like “Lemonade”) is awesome, and opens up the idea of music videos being akin to filmmaking. I also really like the idea of being an artist and being able to see my vision for my song be realized in all forms; visual, audio, etc.. Think Hayley Kiyoko or Lil Nas X, both of whom create their own concepts for their music videos.
I figure one day I’ll have the chance to make little videos, and I’ll have the chance to maybe make a low-budget music video for a song I really enjoy. Seeing as I’m into trying out new hobbies every few months or so, I know I’ll get around to dipping my toes into music video making! For now, I’ll just let my imagination go off the rails as I listen to music…
Hello everyone! I hope you liked my stream-of-consciousness post! Music videos are seriously one of my favorite visual art mediums (yes, I consider music videos art!), and I’ve always wanted to talk about how I wish I had a “Fuck You” amount of money so that I could actually make the videos I see in my head when I listen to music. I truly think music videos are underrated, and we should all keep watching our favorite musical artists be creative in a visual way!
I’d love to talk about my favorite music videos, so if you’d like to see a future post where I list off some of my favorites, let me know! In the meantime, feel free to subscribe to me here on Medium, and follow me on Twitter! Those are the best ways of keeping up with my posts (as well as keeping up with the day-to-day ridiculousness of Twitter Mary). Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you guys next week!
