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Last night I was browsing through the tv guide on my freeview box and saw a programme titled '50 Greatest Pop Videos', I turned it over to that seeing as there was nothing else on and it got me thinking about how completely crap the majority of music videos are today. Most of these videos were from the mid 90's and earlier and they were pretty good to watch and were original and then i though about ones in the charts and how silly, boring and unoriginal they are. This countdown had Fatboy Slim, Bjork, Blur, The Clash, Gorillaz, Bob Dylan, New Order, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Jamiroquai and loads more great artists as well as people commenting on how great the videos were.

Personally, I would try my best to find a good director and create the best video possible for my budget for each single I release, but that is obviously not the case with most of the musicians today. Take King Of Leon - Use Somebody, for instance. To me, that video just screams "oo, look at us, we're playing stadiums now and we're doing really well. Look at our screaming fans and how we party." A music video like this, a montage of gig recordings and what happens back stage is the lazy way to make a video. And adding a black and white effect wont make it look more classy. But it's not all doom and gloom for the videos of today. Coldplay - Strawberry Swing has managed to give the modern music video some credibility. The stop motion is insane and doesn't stick to the 'average superhero story' you would expect it to. I wouldn't say it was a great song, it's not bad though; but the video definitely helps create the image of it being excellent.

I'm sure if you slated a musicians music video to their face they would come up with some bullshit/artistic reason as to why it was crap, but obviously there are some legitimate reasons as to why some may not be as spectacular as others. I'm aware of such things as a budget, i'm not saying the video has to be made well with the latest equipment that costs a fortune, I would just like to see something more original; and originality costs nothing. If you look hard enough on youtube, some people have made some pretty good videos for their favourite songs, and i'm sure that the average youtuber doesn't have a spare thousand pounds to spend.

The video should have just as much buzz as the song. Like Missy Elliot and Lady Gaga, it's a case of "Gaga has a new video!" and you wonder what will come next or what you should expect. Lady Gaga and Missy Elliot are always 'pushing it' when it comes to their videos, and I think the videos have contributed a lot to their success. To me, what makes a good music video is when it can still be interesting and make sense without the song in the background. It can 'hold' and audience.

All i'm saying is that nowadays, music videos are a very important part of a singles release and should be thought about just as much as the song itself. There are so many ways to get noticed in the music industry now, thanks to myspace, youtube and music channels on tv that musicians should really consider what is going to 'sell' their song. At the end of the day, a music video is the visual version of the song itself.

Some music videos I recommend:
The Maccabees - No Kind Words
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Wild Beasts - Hooting and Howling.
Blur - Coffee and TV
Fatboy Slim - Weapon Of Choice