For me, the music video depends on the artist and what type of music video it is. For example, if I wanted to listen to "Weird Al" Yankovic (yes I like his music) then to listen to the song on its own would be rather boring for me so I must have the visual accompaniment for the song to be able to reach its full potential.
For the type of music video, it's either a straightfoward music video with the song and some visuals and - optionally - the band playing in between cuts, or a music video can go out of its way to tell a short story. These short stories can be hit or miss for me - it also depends if the song is part of a concept album or not.
I'm probably not as big into music videos as I used to be, but I'm not too cynical and I watch them now and again. _________________
You just went from "music videos are stupid" to "i don't really watch music videos lol" to "yeah the last one i watched made me like the music".
Do I need to explain why I find this a bit silly?
Anyway, the music video shouldn't and doesn't affect the song - but it can (subconsciously at least) affect your perception of it. Same with hearing a song in a particularly good movie scene. There have been many cases like that for me. I could think the song was totally "meh", but then my appreciation just grew. Can't explain that shit. Science.
I'm inclined to agree with most of this. I think that the way that we perceive things, and how that perception can shift due to how we associate different elements (like a song vs its music video) is a complex psychological topic that's worth exploring.
What everyone needs to realize is that the M/V is a separate, distinct art form from the actual track / single that it features. It's not always the best representation of the song's underlying meaning, but sometimes the experience associated with watching the M/V is enjoyable due to its whimsicality (such as in the case of "Frontier Psychiatrist"), due to its horrific elements (like that of "Black Hole Sun", a song that really doesn't mean anything anyway), due to its humor (for example, the treadmill choreography of OK Go's "Here It Goes Again"), due to the expressionistic or modernist beauty in its shape or scope (see the M/V's of Fleet Foxes, especially "Mykonos"). Nostalgia, etc. factors into it as well (think "Smells Like Teen Spirit"). Some are just plain weird, like "Firestarter".
Sometimes it tells an interesting / funny story that may or may not relate to the song's theme (I like "Since I Left You"). Sometimes it's a really depressing story, like "What Comes Around... Goes Around" or "The Scientist" (which is all the more unique, as it's told in reverse chronological order, so the payload at the end is all the more heartbreaking). The psychedelic experience gets people off sometimes ("Feels Like We Only Go Backwards", e.g.). And don't even get me started on K-Pop M/V's with their hot dancing girls.
On the other hand, half the time I dislike the video because of the style. The clay animation of "White Winter Hymnal" is disgusting to me. I actually detest the "Black Hole Sun" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" M/V's. They're really disturbing. In these cases, psychologically I just dislike the video, but still enjoy the song on its own.
BUT. A music video sometimes has helped me connect even more to a song. Has anyone ever seen the close-up M/V's of Janelle Monae's "Cold War"? She did it all in one take and began spontaneously crying. They decided to keep that version instead of rerecording it. It's really emotionally intense, and by watching it I get a feeling similar to the catharsis of Greek tragedy, all my emotions are kind of expunged from my body. You see something intense like this, but in a different sense, in "Jeremy", with Eddie Veder's insanely brilliant performance, in "Nothing Compares 2 U", or in James Blake's "Wilhelm Scream", which oscillates in bluriness.
Three of the most brilliant song / M/V combinations are pretty similar -- "Bittersweet Symphony", "Carnival" and "Unfinished Sympathy". The premise is simple - the singers trek through the daily bustle of life in their respective cities. But they have different approaches. In "Bittersweet Symphony", he's been so desensitized by life that he ignores everything that goes around him. In "Carnival" Natalie Merchant makes a lot of sudden observations about the inequality of people, that kind of horrify her, and she wonders if it was better or not when she initially disregarded all of those societal injustices. Finally, in "Unfinished Sympathy", Shara Nelson portrays a woman who is simply too distracted by her romantic problems to pay attention to anything else going on around her. I think everyone's felt all three of these before to some degree, which makes them relatable.
The flamboyant energy that Jane's Addiction frontman exhibits in something like "Just Because" helps me appreciate the band a lot more than I originally did. A Perfect Circle's version of "Imagine" has a very different tone than the original, and the M/V displays that perfectly. Everything that's sickening in the world is showcased, and you feel all the more indignant about humanity's evils. The only thing I hate about that video is THOSE FUCKING BABY DOLLS. THEY'RE FUCKING CREEPY I JUST WANNA BURN THEM. Sorry about that. Ok Imma shut up now.
I never watch music videos. They ruin how I picture the song.
^^This, partly.
I try to avoid music videos mostly, it shouldn't be possible but they can either add or detract from a song for me, I prefer just to listen. _________________ Shut up mate you're boring!
When I was younger, like 13-15 years old, I watched a lot of music videos, because there were a lot of really good music channels. There were some videos I really liked and I think it did affect the song, I often liked the songs more which had great music videos. For example, I loved the videos of Scar Tissue or Other Side by RHCP, or Coffee and TV by Blur, or even I liked Ray of Light and Frozen by Madonna and because of that I listened to these songs more often.
When I liked a music video and it came on the TV, I watched it again and again, but if a music video was really bad, then I often didn't care for the music.
I think music videos changed a lot in the last ten years or so, and I don't watch them at all nowadays. But back then in the late 90s/early 2000s it was all different. Music videos were more diverse and interesting.
I enjoyed that post, soundguardian.
Now that I'm thinking about it, it's the same thing as connecting a song to a certain event or a person or time in your life - if you connect some album to a crush, you'll have different feelings about it. And a music video can do that, change your relationship to a certain song basically.
BTW, as an example of the opposite (i.e. video affecting the thoughts about a song for the worse), there's Beach House's Walk in the Park. I don't ever wanna see that one again, and I hope the images from that video never come to mind again.
I'll just post a few of my different thoughts on music videos.
I love them. Just as the album art, liner notes, album title, track titles etc are all a part of the project the artist has created (and if they don't include one of those things it still a creative choice for the project) so too are music videos. Yes, sometimes they're dumb boring shit like just the band playing but when the artist uses the music video to extend the story or themes they're speaking about in the song that is when music videos reveal they're true purpose.
I don't actually understand why people wouldn't watch the music videos attached to their favourite albums. When I fall in love with an album I want to consume every piece of trivia, learn every lyric, read interviews and of course watch any music videos they release with the album. Because for the most part (there are always notable exceptions where you just think 'what?? how does that even fit into the heart of the song?') I think it always enhances my experience of a song/album/artist. To me it's just part of the communication that is the art of an album.
I tend to avoid music videos, as they can rarely compete with what goes on in my mind when listening to a song. That said, once in a while there will be a really good MV being released, but it's like 1 out of 200, maybe.
I don't normally watch music videos. I sometimes watch Gorillaz vids to understand the backstory. And I like Meat Loaf videos. And "I Believe in a Thing Called Love."
Only time I watch them now is if the video premiere and the premiere of a new song are at the same time and that's the only way to listen to the new song. Back when I was younger and actually viewed them more often I didnt really find that the quality of the video leaked into my opinion of the quality of the song.
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