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MTV
On August 1st, 1981, MTV played their first music video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. The video is nothing special; it is primarily just a performance of the song. However, the introduction of MTV changed how music videos could be made. Rather than just being promotional videos for the song, music videos could be pieces of art that represent the song.
In 1983 Michael Jackson took it a step further with his “Thriller” music video. Although it’s not just a music video, it’s a 14-minute short film directed by John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, Coming to America) with dialogue, choreography, elaborate makeup, and a narrative told throughout. Rather than just a choreographed piece with Michael performing the song, the music video was given a personality and now has gained its iconic status through this. Throughout the 80s most music videos were just the artist performing the song and not much else but some challenged the medium and stuck out.
Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” took home 9 MTV Video Music Awards in 1987 for its innovative use of stop-motion animation and claymation done by Aardman Animations. Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" was praised for its computer-generated animation, which, in 1985, was a groundbreaking visual. Although these videos don’t have a true narrative, the visuals they provide uniquely accompany the song. “Take on Me” by A-Ha does tell a true narrative while mixing rotoscope animation with live-action visuals. Music videos became a new platform for musicians to express themselves creatively and use visual art to accompany their songs.
David Fincher's Influence
Throughout the 80s some of the biggest videos were being directed by David Fincher. Before he went on to direct Fight Club, The Social Network, and Se7en, he was making videos with Madonna and Iggy Pop among others. Fincher would frequently use a narrative that ran through the duration of the songs which made it feel like a short film with the song as just a soundtrack. His video for Madonna’s “Bad Girl”, tells the story of a successful Manhattan businesswoman, played by Madonna, who engages in many one-night stands until one ends up murdering her. This story which delves into themes of self-destructive behavior, death, and lust wraps up in just over 6 minutes. Through Fincher’s work, he showed how much substance he could pack into what used to be just a video promoting a given song.
Sonic Youth’s “100%”
While Fincher made these groundbreaking music videos, Spike Jonze reinvented skateboarding videos. In 1991, Spike directed the video Video Days, now called one of the most influential skating videos for its editing, lens choices, cinematography, and aesthetic that captured the essence of skating. Not long after, Sonic Youth wanted skateboarding in their music video for “100%” and had seen Spike’s Video Days and called on him to co-direct the video. The video depicts Sonic Youth performing in a living room while clips of Jason Lee skating in black and white, which Spike directed, are inter-spliced throughout. This video marked Spike’s first music video although his big break wouldn’t come until two years later.
“Sabotage”
Beastie Boys' “Sabotage” music video is now hailed as one of the best music videos of all time despite it being one of Spike’s first videos. Spike arrived at a photoshoot wearing a fake mustache and wig which reignited an idea the group had of filming a feature film titled Hamburger Hamlet, which included the group wearing wigs and fake mustaches. The group and Spike decided to do a parody of 70’s cop shows and filmed it with a small crew, and no permits, and after two days they had wrapped filming. It was nominated for five VMAs in 1995 but received none until 2009 when it won the award “Best Video (That Should Have Won a Moonman)”. Blending his style from his skate videos of guerilla-style filming and humor with the music video format blended well and led to his distinct style.
Weezer and Spike’s Style
Spike would go on to make two videos for Weezer’s debut studio album being “Undone (The Sweater Song)” and “Buddy Holly”. Jonze’s aesthetic choice of time manipulation, which is now a defining aspect of his videos, is used effectively for “Undone (The Sweater Song)” by opting for one take in slow motion that moves around the band while they perform. “Buddy Holly” shows the band edited in an episode of “Happy Days” which in 1994 looked incredible and even today looks flawless. These videos' popularity is partially responsible for Weezer’s rise to fame after the release of their “blue album” and their subsequent success. Throughout the 90s, Jonze continued to give his music videos defining
characteristics that made them stand out upon release and are iconic today.
Telling a story of a dog-man with a radio in Daft Punk’s “Da Funk” and manipulating time in The Pharcyde’s “Drop” by reversing the footage also contributed to Spike’s style being very in demand for all types of artists. "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim could be seen as Spike Jonze’s quintessential Spike Jonze video. Filmed on handheld camcorders outside a busy movie theater we see Richard Koufey lead The Torrance Community Dance Group perform a choreographed dance to “Praise You”. However, Richard Koufey isn’t real and is just Spike in character while they use guerilla-style filming to capture this scene. Filmed in just one take on a budget of $800, the video won 3 VMAs. A more memorable collaboration with Fatboy Slim came with the Grammy-winning video for “Weapon of Choice” where Spike’s use of humor and choreography captured an aesthetic that fit the song perfectly.
However, not all of Spike’s videos told a narrative and relied solely on striking images and shots that fit the song. In Pavement’s “Shady Lane,” he edits out the lead singer's head while he performs which produces a surrealist image, similar to his Yeah Right skate video where he edited out the skateboards using green skateboards. “California” by Wax is one shot in slow motion of a man on fire running down a street. No story, no dialogue, nothing but this stunning image accompanying the song. Using a one-shot take for “Drunk Girls” by LCD
Soundsystem, slowing down footage for “Otis” by Kanye West and Jay-Z, and combining both elements for Kanye’s “Flashing Lights” is what makes Spike’s style so distinct. Even when Spike didn’t resort to using the handheld camcorders he made the filming and story feel authentic. Delving into themes of surrealism and humor is what makes Spike’s work so recognizable.
Michel Gondry and Other Contemporaries
Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) has made some of the most iconic music videos for artists like The White Stripes, Foo Fighters, and Björk. Overlap between artists and directors came frequently such as Spike doing the “It’s Oh So Quiet” video for Björk and Michel doing Daft Punk’s “Around the World”. Michel’s style became distinct as he would manipulate size proportion and utilize dreamy aesthetics as shown best in The White Stripes’ “The Denial Twist”. Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest, Sexy Beast) directed Jamiroquai's “Virtual Insanity” as well as Radiohead’s “Karma Police” which both became staple videos for each respective artist's music video catalog. Jonathan Dayton and Valarie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks) directed The Smashing Pumpkins’ Grammy-winning video for “Tonight, Tonight” as well as “Californication” by Red Hot Chili Peppers. All the directors mentioned went on to direct feature films and with prior experience in music videos led to a more suitable fit. By knowing how to tell a story in just the duration of a given song it’s no surprise that multiple music video directors would go on to win Oscars, including Spike. Similar to Spike, these directors established their unique style and aesthetic that pushed the boundaries of music videos.
Spike’s Legacy
Music videos today continue to experiment with all aspects of the medium while also acknowledging the path Spike had made. LCD Soundsystem’s “oh baby”, directed by Rian Johnson, tells a heartbreaking story in just over 5 minutes, and “The Hillbillies” by Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem is filmed entirely on a handheld camcorder with a fish-eye lens that is reminiscent of Spike’s work. “The Scientist” by Coldplay is seen as an iconic, innovative music video that now has 1.2 billion views on YouTube at the time of writing, but the concept was mixing the reverse footage idea Spike used for The Pharcyde’s “Drop” with slow-motion that is seen throughout many of Spike’s videos. It’s no surprise that Coldplay would get Spike to co-direct their newest video for “All My Love”.
Spike’s influence reaches virtually every artist making music videos today whether they’re aware of it or not and some have given credit to his inspiration. Kevin Abstract said,” I had seen his work before knowing it was Spike, so I got into the Kanye West and then I got into Spike Jonze… the first time I met him I told him that ‘Flashing Lights’ is my favorite video ever. It’s just the mood of it. It feels so right.” In 2017 Frank Ocean had even tapped in the legendary director to do camerawork for his concert in New York City. Even when he
was directing films (Being John Malkovich, Her) he would implement the recurring themes of surrealism and humor that he had used in his music videos. With his monumental feats and legacy from co-creating Jackass, directing an Oscar-winning film, and reinventing music videos, his creative process has stayed simple throughout his career saying,” I just want to make whatever is exciting.”
Other Spike Jonze Videos Not Previously Mentioned
“Feel the Pain” - Dinosaur Jr.
“Elektrobank” - The Chemical Brothers
“Sure Shot” - Beastie Boys
“Sky’s The Limit” - The Notorious B.I.G.
“The Suburbs” - Arcade Fire
“Y Control” - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
“Get Back” - Ludacris
“Freedom of ‘76” - Ween
“Only One” - Kanye West
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