Who Killed The Video Star?
I bought a bourgeois house in the Hollywood hills
With a truckload of hundred thousand dollar bills
Man came by to hook up my cable TV
We settled in for the night my baby and me
We switched ’round and ’round ’til half-past dawn
There was fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on
– Bruce Springsteen
Thinking of this song while wildly surfing channels one ‘half-past dawn’, I stumbled upon a Classic show on a music channel. The channel and the show, as if mocking my state of futility, played one song after the other, all of them reminding me of good old days of the Music Video.
They started with Babyface (When can I see you again), went on to Prince(When doves cry), then to Roxette(How do you do), Jon Secada(Just another day), to Lisa Loeb(Stay), to Stone Temple Pilots to Soungarden(Black hole sun), and so on….
And I thought why I don’t see any music video now that stays with me through the day, that lingers through the times I fall in love, the times I feel like dancing, the times I feel sad, or the times when I just think of a song that I would like to sing.
Where are Queen, Stones, Doors, Beatles gone?
Where is the MTV like it used to be?
Why are the shows not the same fun anymore?
We have technology like never before. We have songs that are good, but they don’t change our world, like a Black or White or a Subterranean Homesick Blues or a Another Day in Paradise or a Losing My Religion did.
All we see is Hips Don’t Lie, Sexy Back, My Humps and so on….
Is this the death of the Music Video?
Do you miss those 5 minutes of happiness? I badly do.
Tushar Shukla
Tags: Direction, Songwriting, Soundtrack, Television
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
I ws talking with somebody not too long ago…But, MTV never-ever promoted Rock/Metal/Heavy Metal as it has been promoting Hip-Hop, Rap or even Raggae…why?
>-
A guys from sub-continent cant watch videos in his house if there are other family members. I have got trucks load of shit from my mom and other for watching semi-clad women (reality I was watching lastest song videos).
Anyone remembers The Grind on was it Channel V.
I am back to complete audio only.:-?
Music channels today are not about showcasing quality music. They are only about marketing. It is an avenue to advertise a particular album, and other merchandise that goes with it. Whoever has the cash, has the time on air.
Whether rap/hip hop etc is more popular than rock/metal/country/techno is a debatable topic. What sets hip-hop/rap apart is that its not just about the music. Rappers are marketed through their off-screen/off-record personas. Most of them own their own line of clothing, trying to define urban style, and that clothing line is often marketed through their videos. I can’t see rockstars necessarily doing the same.
The merchandise marketing extends far beyond simply clothing itself. Cars, electronics, jewellery, you name it. Anything goes. After all, its the only place where you can pull attention to your products through half-naked women shaking their asses.
Channels like MTV have also become less about music and music videos, and have diversified into shows i.e. Jackass. The programming is aimed at a specific demographic, and it caters to it wholeheartedly. Majority of MTV viewership today in America at least is within the age range of 12-24. This is when human beings are most impressionable, and MTV is where they hang out, where you can reach out to them and sell your stuff. It’s all about the Benjamins.
I was about to comment, and then realized Vijay said what I was going to say.
@OM – Back in the day, MTV did a great job of covering the musical spectrum, and the original incarnation of Headbangers Ball rocked many a Weekend night of many a long haired kid here in the states. But, that was way back in the day.
I think too that once there was a sense that a music video was not only a way to promote a song, but a way for a band or an artist to use a movie format to express themselves. But, now expression is about bling, so that model is no longer valid….
Hi,
i miss my doordarshan days when i used to wait to get my dose of music videos late in the night.it was called top of the pops i think.in india especially videos are not looked upon as art so that sure will bring an end to it.
responses to ‘Video Star’
Om
I agree with you, its like an redundant flow of sleaze after sleaze. And its just becomes so telling to watch an hour of such stuff to wait for one good video. I used to like rnb and hip hop but now I just feel like criticising them like the old lady from The Ladykillers! Them hipiti hop music! That don’t make ME wanna go hipitihop!
And even judging by the standards of these genres of music, today’s music is very sub-standard. And I am talking about the standards set by fugees, coolio, dr dre, arrested development, lauryn hill, wyclef jean, mc hammer n the likes.
Muzzy
I very well remember The Grind! Used to wait for all serials to finish n parents to sleep before that started! I also remember those days when we used to get limited MTV on DD-2! The days of rahul khanna, trey parkey, luke Kenny, mtv news, house of style, request mtv, unplugged etc.
Vijay
Good info about rap/hiphop music artists. Rappers n hip-hop-pers are todays rock stars. Even in the name of rock, all we get is hybrid form. I mean I cant call a maroon 5 rock!
T!
So a music video does not attract a many prospective film makers these days? Cus so many ppl who made videos earlier have gone on to make music documentaries(rockumentary) and later films.
Tarsem singh is an example.
Have you seen video of either Kailash Kher’s Teri Deewani or Tauba Tauba?
The latter video compliments the song quite well – and Kailash Kher is shown as Paanwallah, Rickshawallah, student, etc.. and thank god, they did not make him sing around 100 people dancing around him.
i’ve only heard 3 of kailash’s songs.. teri deewani, tauba tauba and o sikander.. and i love ‘em all.. i especially really enjoy watching the tauba tauba video.. the song is awesome too.. check out the video here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl0-RC5HRsc
@Vijay – Completely agree with everything you said.
@t! – I want my Headbanger’s Ball back. It was one show that hosted some awesome videos like Pantera’s Cemetary Gates, Queensryche’s Another Night Without You, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and Metallica’s Unforgiven. And gone are the days of movie like videos. Who can forget November Rain and those awesome Meatloaf mini-movies!
i’ve got Kailasa album – and it’s decent. ‘Nahiwar’ and ‘Allah Ke Bandeh – Live version’ are other good songs from the album.
in the tauba-tauba they have used ordinary people – the video makes you smile.
Fender, you sound like you are into rock n play the guitar o something….
well, welcome to the club dude!
along with all good music, metal is also dead on tv, it seems…
I have the Kailasa CD, and i loved it so much that i wrote 3 music video scripts for its songs.
these songs do not have the everyday charm to them, but have great visual ‘filmi’ quality.
@ Tushar – I think something has been lost in the last 20 years of music videos. In the 80s we had the rise of music videos with alternative/punk/heavy metal/british invasion2 music, and the two came together in creative ways as a form of self expression and telling the music’s story in a movie format that has now been supplanted with bling and special effects, most of which have nothing to do with the song.
Your example is good, and I don’t mean to paint with broad strokes. Spike Jonez is one video director who has gone on to make films that I love. And, My Chemical Romance (a band I hate but my nieces love) is doing some interesting things with creating a new genre of rock opera with their videos. Green Day tries, as well.
@ FB – Where are my MP3s? It has become hip to make fun of Meatloaf, and as a teenaged punk rocker I was the first in line to do so, but looking back, his music was amazing and I think he was a powerful influence on the evolution of music video with his movies….
Here in the states we now have Fuse, which focuses on Heavy Metal and Punk videos, and extreme sports….
http://www.fuse.tv/index.php
Somehow I managed to delete my own comments!
@ Tushar – It isn’t that I don’t think music video attracts prospective filmmakers, it is that the content has changed.
Back in the 80s, music video came into popularity via MTV at the same time alternative/punk/heavy metal/British invasion 2 bands changed the musical landscape. These genres came together to create amazing film, and videos were artistic as they were little movies that expressed the motivations of the bands and added to the power of the songs. That is what I think is lost in most of today’s videos. Now it is about product placement, bling, and showing how cool the band/singer are/is.
I don’t mean to paint with broad strokes. Spike Jonez is one video director who is now creating movies that I love. My Chemical Romance (a band I hate but my neices love) is doing some interesting work by turning their videos into rock operas, and have plans to turn future song videos into a string of related stories that can be viewed as a play or movie. Green Day is doing similar things.
And, don’t forget the amazing directors who go back and direct good music videos. Only because OM and I were talking about this last week, David Lynch has done some interesting work with Rammstein.
@ FenderBender – I want my MP3s!
It is so trendy to make fun of Meatloaf, and as a teenaged punker I used to be at the front of that line. But, looking back, his music was amazing, and I really think he had a very strong influence on the development of music video back in the 80. By creating his movies I think he really influenced an entire generation of heavy metal video makers.
Here in the states we have Fuse TV, a network that focuses on Heavy Metal and punk videos, as well as extreme sports. Here is the URL:
www.fuse.tv/
@tushar – yes, you got that right…i play the bass and drums. as far as music goes, i listen to just about everything…from Jazz to Death Metal
@t! – my broadband connection has gone kaput and i am using dial-up :o …once my modem is back, i’ll definitely send you the mp3s
If possible, try to get hold of Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime DVD …. their entire album was like an opera and their live shows supported it…simply mindblowing stuff
i know you lot are far more interested in rock videos, but… i saw two half-decent videos:
1) Asha Bhosle ft. Sanjay Video is quite funny. Basically, it’s filmed in the studio whislt they were singing. Asha Bhosle doing a bit of dancing.. Sanjay Dutt’s best song as a singer is ‘Maya’ from Home Delivery, imo. Oh and, Asha Bhosle also collabrated with Bret Lee for her new album.
2) Ustad Sultan Khan ft. Shreya Ghosla: Now.. the bird in it is quite tasty. The song is half-decent as well.
@ HG : I agree with you on the Mayaa song. shit! ever since you mentioned it, it aint leaving my head! home delivery OST rocked!
in the recent times my fav videos have been Omkara(i consider it a music video), deewaani-kailasa, khoobsurat hai too(chowta), sona sajan ghar(sukhwinder/chowta/mitti), all videos of instant karma/dance masti project, saawan beeta jaaye(fuzon), ghoom tana(infinity)…
I did watch some contemporary western videos last night, and I must say there some very good work being done, chiefly on the tech/prodn values front.
check out new songs by crazy frog, P Diddy/C Aguilera, Bone Thugs, RHCP….