We Don't Want to Know: The ILM All-Time Video Poll (discussion, etc.; deadline is Monday, March 14)

Cate Le Bon - Home to You
Ariel Pink - Dayzed Inn Daydreams
Broadcast and The Focus Group - I See, So I See So
De La Soul - Stakes is High
Madonna - Oh Father

Nominations are open until Monday; after that, don't nominate anything else, but you can still vote for whatever you want. How to score your ballot is explained a couple of times in this thread.

Putting together my ballot, it's becoming apparent how much worse videos age compared to the underlying song. I still get a nostalgia kick from some of these eighties videos, but they just don't hold a candle to the post-Gondry stuff.

Conversely, once YouTube made videos widely available again, there was a burst of creativity, where budget was less of a constraining factor.

Very thankful for this nomination process, people have listed a ton of videos I love that I'd completely forgotten about. I do think nostalgic 80s videos will make up a good deal of my ballot tho

Glad it was useful.

it's becoming apparent how much worse videos age compared to the underlying song

For me, taking a look at stuff I loved 30 years ago hasn't moved the needle much--think I've found that, without exception, both the song and video have stood up extremely well.

Madonna - Human Nature

which will prob be my no. 1

hasn't moved the needle much

Exactly the kind of thing I complain about all the time in the annoying-phrases thread--caught in my own web of lies.

My ballot, I think, will consist of old videos that impressed me when I was young. What I find precious in a music video is its ability to create a world with minimal means; regardless of how technically accomplished modern videos can be, I don't think they're able to draw me into their worlds in the same way now.
I don't reject things just because they're recent, I appreciate a lot of modern movies. But so much of what I responded to in videos then was an unconscious mythology of music (and music-makers) that I'll never get back.
Still, I'll watch all the videos in the poll countdown and see if my perceptions change!

Looking at Saint Etienne's Neil cover to see how high I'd place it, I remembered this:

Psychic TV - Only Love Can Break Your Heart: youtube.com/watch?v=c2suWODDn08

I won't include both, so that's a very tough choice.

Madonna - What It Feels Like for a Girl

I was in college when MTV premiered in 1981. Only one of my friends had the channel, so he would record 2 hours at a time and we would watch them in an empty classroom.

The best videos back them were always the ones that had a surreal image, a camera move or a video effect I'd never seen before. Off the top of my head:

The Police, Wrapped Around Your Finger [dir. Godley & Creme] - It's in slow motion but the lips are still in sync.

Ultravox, The Thin Wall [dir. Russell Mulchahy] - Many arms burst through a wall to manhandle Midge Ure. Less impressive after I found out it was lifted from Repulsion.

Cabaret Voltaire, Sensoria [dir. Peter Care] - The camera starts at floor level, arcs up and over the singer and lands on the opposite side of the room, upside down.

The Art of Noise, Close (to the Edit) [dir. Zbigniew Rybczynski] - The stuttery jerky movement that I'm still not sure how it was done.

If, like me, you have a list of 50 videos (500 points), here's a way to distribute the points:

Top 10 - 30/25/22/20/18/13/13/13/13/13
Second 10 - 11 points each
Third 10 - 9 points each
Fourth 10 - 7 points each
Last 10 - 5 points each

I'm going to use that--adds up to 500 points, and saves having to decide if number #36 is better than #37.

Blue Oyster Cult had a great run of videos in the '80s, all with a cool trashy Sci-Fi & Horror sensibility.

"Burnin' For You"
"Joan Crawford"
"Take Me Away"
"Shooting Shark"
"Dancin' In Ruins"

xps HL, thanks for those early MTV picks. reminded me of this, Conny Plank produced song:

Belfegore - All That I Wanted

there's also a video for the Extended Club Mix

Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
LL Cool J - Goin' Back to Cali
R.E.M. - Drive
Radiohead - Daydreaming
Lana Del Rey - Video Games
Whale - Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe

No Oasis videos have been nominated but Noel Gallagher's DVD commentary over them is far more entertaining.

Another LL video that will probably be on my ballot:

Mama Said Knock You Out

Oh sorry, for record-keeping purposes:

LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out

I always had a soft spot for the original New Slang video, because of all the references... back in 2001, this was like the indie-nerd bat signal.
The Shins - New Slang

You just got me to change my ballot by reminding me of something I'd forgotten:

Shins - The Past and the Pending: youtube.com/watch?v=7BA21a3vk_Y

Cabaret Voltaire, Sensoria [dir. Peter Care] - The camera starts at floor level, arcs up and over the singer and lands on the opposite side of the room, upside down.

aggressively seconding this nom, will be high on my ballot

Golden Earring: "Twilight Zone"
Dwight Twilley: "Girls"

I thought I'd start a voting/scoring thread later tonight. It'll be informational, mostly a way to clarify and ask questions about how to score your ballot. Nominations will close, but this thread can still be for general comments, etc.

Can we only vote for nominees? If so I'll try to get some more in.

Definitely not. If you remember something next week, just add it to your ballot, not a problem.

Came in to nom Tom Petty, Don't Come Around Here No More, but to our credit it's already there, so instead I'm nomming

Talking Heads, Burning Down the House

which inexplicably is not

Ever see Ken Burns' baseball film? He uses "Burning Down the House" for Reggie's 3-HR World Series game--fantastic.

What’s the March 14 deadline?

For your lists; nominations close today, then a week to get ballots in.

wax, southern california

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPhBgRSj6YQ

FYC she drives me crazy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtvmTu4zAMg

GAGA, Bad Romance

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I

freedom 90

www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYAc7gB-0A

crqzy world of arthur brown, fire

youtu.be/XbfIAdxS7ks

all is full of love

vimeo.com/43444347

lonely island ras trent

youtu.be/TcK0MYgnHjo

I;m on a boat

www.youtube.com/watch?v=avaSdC0QOUM

amish paradise

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg

weird al FAT

youtu.be/t2mU6USTBRE

Wax is already on the list for "California"--same song?

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Spellbound

Might be helpful to between "Wuthering Heights" videos:

trails version
trees version, or Versions 1 & 2, respectively. Not sure which is more celebrated? The former has more YT views.

They're both designated as official, and they're very different, so in that case, two separate entries would make sense. We'll see how people vote--if they don't designate which one, we'll add all votes together.

ZZ Top: "Sharp-Dressed Man"; "Legs"; "Sleeping Bag"; and "Burger Man"

Ctrl+F didn't reveal Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Nor Garbage: "Only Happy When It Rains"; "Stupid Girl"; and "Queer"

iv had a running list going since this thread opened but havent had a chance to cross reference with the thread. sorry if duplicated.

Beck - E-Pro
ZZ Top - Rough Boy
Drake - Hotline Bling
Missy Elliott - Pass That Dutch
Scarface my block
Outkast BOB
2pac - Smile
2pac - I Get Around
2pac - I Aint Mad At Cha
Dmx - ruff ryders anthem
Ice cube - it was a good day
Snoop - whats my name
DJ SNake/ lil Jon - Turn down for what
Janet Jackson - thats the way love goes
Xzibit - what u see is what you get
Roots - dont say nuthin
Rema - dumebi
Caroline Polachek - So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings
Freeway - What we do
Wu tang - click click
Naughty by nature - feel me flow
NORE - superthug
Jay and Kanye - otis
Kanye - all falls down
2 CHainz - Birthday Song
Burna boy - ye
Health skeltah - operation lockdown
NIN - only
Jay rock - kings dead
Fatlip - Whats up fat lip
De la soul - ooohh
Redman - ill be dat
Three 6 Mafia - Stay Fly (ft 8ball & MJG)
Fugees - Ready or Not
ASAP Rocky - L$D
Master P - Make em Say Ugh
Rihanna - Rude Boy
Dem Franchise Boyz - Lean Wit It
TLC - Aint 2 Proud 2 Beg
Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment - Sunday Candy
Juvenile - Ha
Tyler The Creator - Yonkers
Slipknot - Before I Forget
E-40 - Tell Me When To Go
PM Dawn - Set A Drift On Memory Bliss
A Tribe Called Quest - Scenario

Cardigans: "My Favourite Game"

B-52's: "Deadbeat Club"

Free: "Wishing Well" One of those odd, way after the fact clips of a Classic Rock song made without the artist's involvement during the early MTV era.

Those have all been added now. No need for any more nominations--just put it on your ballot, it'll be counted. For voting details, go here:

Ritorna, Madonna: Voting and Scoring Thread for ILM's All-Time Video Poll (Voting Deadline: March 14)