I’m just wrapping my head around how huge this is, but MTV has posted a massive archive of music videos on their site. That can mean only one thing: it’s time to assemble CDMotion’s list of the ultimate music videos ever. Now, we don’t want the music videos everyone else likes — we want the really inspirational music videos that every aspiring visualist should go watch. After all, it was MTV that co-opted the term “VJ” and all kinds of avant-garde live visual and experimental cinema techniques at its inception, then somehow managed to systematically destroy before eliminating the “music” and “vision” from their name, leaving only reality “tele.” (Sorry, MTV.)
But yes, we want Fairlight CVIs.
We want great directors and effects.
We want techniques that inspire live visuals, putting the music video onstage and at the rave where it belongs.
Nominees are now open. Call in sick to work (especially since the weather everywhere seems terrible today) and take the day to watch old videos if you have to. And yes, if you can include links to the new MTV, that’d be great. Obviously, Viacom needs more money. (Actually, wait, some of you work for Viacom, so I’m sure the ad money will come back to us in the form of a round of beer or something.)