Tuesday Open Thread: Favorite Music Videos

July 28, 2008 Kevin John Coyne Discussion, Open Thread 45

CMT is running the second edition of their 100 Greatest Music Videos list.  I don't have the five hours to watch it, but I'm recording it so I can enjoy it in small doses later on.

I'm from the video age, and I discovered most of my favorite artists through CMT, back when it ran videos 24/7.  It's hard to believe, but I became an Emmylou Harris fan after seeing her video for “Thanks To You”, which wasn't

exactly a radio hit.

I like videos that are a little off the beaten path, and while I love a big-budget pop video, there's a charm to the way that country videos were creative with their meager resources back then.  Here's an example of one of those videos that I thought was cool when I was a kid, and still appreciate today:

What are some of your favorite music videos?

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45 Comments

  1. I am not a child of the video age so mostly I don’t pay a lot of attention to music videos. Probably the best ones I recall are “Honey Open That Door” and “I’m Just A Country Boy” by Ricky Skaggs, “On-Line” by Brad Paisley, “Breathe” by Faith Hill and “Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss

  2. I’m not a huge fan of music videos, I think some of them just take away from songs and I don’t think a video should be made for every single. I think some are great though. “Independence Day” is a great example of a video worth making. Another, and probably the best video of all time is Johnny Cash’s “Hurt”. I think Garth did a great job on all of his early videos with the standouts being “The Dance”, “We Shall be Free” and “The Thunder Rolls”.

  3. I’ve always loved “Independence Day” by Martina McBride… It makes me cry every time I watch it, and it’s so well-done, it’s like a mini-movie. Other videos I enjoy are Dixie Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl” – It’s very funny, and cute to watch, and Martina McBride’s “How Far.”

  4. Definitely Cash’s “Hurt”.

    Dixie Chicks: “Not Ready to Make Nice”.
    Not just an interesting video but a reminder of how incrediby talented they are and what a shame that all that nonsense got blown so out of proportion. (whichever side one takes)

  5. A third vote for “Hurt.” I also enjoy Brad Paisley’s “Alcohol” video. I though Faith & Tim’s “Like We Never Loved at All” was a very cool video.

  6. “Online” by Brad has to be among the best recently. Some of the best older ones are “this Kiss” by Faith Hill, and IMO, the best ever video is “Tell me i was Dreamin” By Travis Tritt

  7. “Hurt” is the master class in music videos, IMO.

    I’ve seen plenty of strong suggestions so far. My vote goes to “Independence Day”, simply because that type of subject material was rarely covered in mainstream country music, and the sheer audacity of its imagery was rarer still in 1994.

    Also, I have to acknowledge Reba McEntire was pivotal in the music video movement. Echoing Jane’s comment about “Independence Day”, Reba’s videos (Is There Life Out There”, “Whoever’s in New England”, “You Lie”, “And Still”, to name a few) often tell such an interesting story.

  8. Junior Brown’s “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead” was always one of my favorites. The old time feel of it perfectly matches the sound of Brown’s music and it is funny.

  12. Gotta second ‘Hurt’ and add that the king and queen of video making, IMO, were Garth Brooks and Reba. ‘Standing Outside the Fire’, ‘Fancy’, The Red Strokes’, The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia’, The Thunder Rolls’, ‘Does He Love You’, and so many other awesome videos made from good but not great songs. A video made correctly has the power to make a good song into a great musical memory.

  13. To Scott: ‘Tell Me I Was Dreamin’ was the sequel to Travis Tritt’s stellar ‘Anymore’ video, which also deserves a mention here.

  14. one that i like very much is dwight yoakam’s “things change” video.
    the moment he tells her “baby – things change” his facial expression is so spot-on.

  15. I agree Mike M. . I think that most music videos ruin the music. Especially in country music. The videos tend to be limited and lacking in wit and art. Must of them are just marketing tools for displaying good looking young singers who lack enough talent to sell the song with their voice. ( Jason Aldean, Craig Morgan, any American Idol singer- all pop to mind.) When I was growing up the singer came on television- dressed well- and sang their song. No amount of editing, or storyline or stars could cover up a bad song. Now when I hear a song on the radio I know I am suppose to think of the video and not the sound. Style over substance. All that said Cash’s “Hurt” and Reba’s ” Is There Life Out There” always pop to mind when I think of a good video. As for Garth Brooks, his video always showed what a limited thinker he was. Example- “The Dance”- great song- bad video- He claims that he admires Dr. King and John Wayne- both men had very conflicting views of America – It made Brooks look like he was just trying to impress instead of making a point. All of videos strike me that way.

  16. I personally think that every single should have a video. Not that I think that’s necessarily possible, but I think there should be an effort to make a video for most singles. My reasoning behind this is all about the fans. I mean the true fans of an artist. What do they get when a single gets released? Nothing. They get to hear a song they’ve heard a million times from the CD they bought… a million more times! So if there is a music video to go with it, it gives the fans something to look forward to with each new single, to regenerate interest.

  18. I actually agree with Craig R. about Garth’s “The Dance” video; I always thought the concept seemed more than a little forced. I do love “The Dance,” though.

    I just looked over the list of videos they’ve chosen for this edition of the countdown and it doesn’t look too promising; they’ve all but obliterated most of the older, interesting videos in favor of stuff made in the last four years. Really? Are Martina McBride’s “How Far,” Carrie’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” or Keith Urban’s “I Told You So” really among the very best videos ever made in the country format?
    Check it out: http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/greatest_series/133273/episode_videos.jhtml

    Anyway. I haven’t been around long enough to be exposed to too many of the low-budget videos Kevin talked about (though I quite like that K.T. Oslin one), but my all-time favorite video definitely fits that description: Mary Chapin Carpenter, “I Feel Lucky.”

    Some other ones I really like which also add to their respective songs:
    LeAnn Rimes, “Nothin’ Better To Do”
    Dierks Bentley, “Long Trip Alone”
    Keith Urban, “Somebody Like You”
    Martina McBride, “Concrete Angel”
    Alison Krauss & Union Station, “Let Me Touch You For Awhile”

  19. What can I say? Everything is relative and you weren’t cool if you didn’t have a coonskin cap:

    You shoulda’ never axed! :-o

  20. Paula Abdul – Promise of a New Day… uNF

    Kasey Chambers – Cry Like a Baby
    Lee Ann Womack – Hate Myself in the Morning
    Jessica Andrews – There’s More to Me Than You
    Chely Wright – It Was
    Suzy Bogguss – Drive South
    Patty Loveless – Lonely Too Long

  21. Kevin- I think this has to be followed up by the awesomely awful videoes we all love post. I could go for hours on that one.

  22. In “The Dance” Garth was trying to say that he thought that people like MLK and JFK wouldn’t have changed the way they lived their lives and the great things they did even though they paid the ultimate price for those accomplishments. “They could’ve missed the pain but they would’ve missed the dance.” I also have to second the vote for “The Red Strokes” awesome video that I forgot about last night.

  23. Seconds for LeAnn Rimes “Nothing Better To Do”.
    Shout out to the past few from Dierks Bentley. I have to admit that the videos got my attention long enough to actually hear the songs.

    Re: Garth and Reba videos: Yeah, they were good… to a point. Then they both got way too into the melodrama (IMHO). It was almost as if the video and them making a production out of it was far and above any subtleties the song could offer. Even their latest videos continue the tradition.
    Perhaps if they had made such productions the exception over the rule, I would be a tad more impressed (personally).

  24. My favorites are Terri Clark’s “Girls Lie Too” because it makes an already funny song even better, and Eric Church’s “Lightning” because it makes me think about all of the different people involved in a situation like that.

  25. Good idea, Charlie. I can think of one perfectly awful country video now. It’s so bad, it kind of ruins the song for me – even when I’m only listening. I’ll hold my fire on what it is, though, in case it becomes a topic. But I imagine it’d rate up there with the worst of the worst. from other folks

  26. Don’t know if this is one of the greatest but I sure love the song.
    Delbert McClinton – Lonestar Blues

  27. A lot of Reba’s videos are great cuz they tell stories :) (Fancy is probably my fav)

    Some of my favs include
    “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!” and “Up!” by Shania Twain
    “Stay” and “Baby Girl” by Sugarland
    “Don’t Forget To Remember Me” and “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood
    (Although I’ve noticed in Carrie’s recent vids she has been poking fun @ “BHC” LOL)
    “This Kiss” and “Cry” by Faith Hill
    “Nothin’ Better To Do” by LeAnn Rimes

    I like unique videos and videos that really touch you (like “I wonder” by Kellie Pickler and “Concrete Angel” by Martina McBride) also I am interested in the big buget videos too! :)

  29. Definitely Sugarland’s “Stay”.
    I can’t believe I forgot that one… I’ve only been listening to them like crazy lately! :-)

  32. I gotta say- idk if this is true or any of u know this but I think that Trisha Yearwood’s videos aren’t even on the countdown (CMT’s top 100) and I think others like Garth Brooks and Pam Tillis aren’t on there… Dolly isnt too i think… (I think 9 to 5 would have been a great video LOL)

    Also I want to say that I also love Reba’s “Does He Love You” but a friend of mine said Reba looked like $*** in the white turban! LOL (Srry for the language)

    I am a big Reba fan anyways :)

  33. Funny sidenote on the turban in the Reba video: She had some sort of bruise or cut on her forehead when it came time to shoot the video, so they had to find elaborate ways of hiding it.

  34. Yeah.. I remember after my friend said that I told her that fact and she felt really bad for saying that cuz I think I remember reading that the scar was from a removement of some kind of cancer or something…. But we had a laugh about it! :)

  37. One of my all time favorite videos — is a very old one — and a not very popular song – Cheap Whiskey by Martina McBride – which also goes along why another recent list – which I believe is a song that helped to get me to listen to country music —

  38. to jR journey:

    “To Scott: ‘Tell Me I Was Dreamin’ was the sequel to Travis Tritt’s stellar ‘Anymore’ video, which also deserves a mention here”

    Agreed 100% I just think the “tell me” video is a little more emotional, give the death, and birth.

  40. I consider Reba at the top of my video watching, she had and still has some great music videos. After her I love Shania, Trisha, Garth(although there are some there that are better just to skip.), Faith, Martina, and Patty.

    Some from Patty that are worth watching are “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am”, “Nothing But The Wheel”, and “How Can I Help You Say Goodbye”

    Carrie Underwood has good videos, just needs to work on her songs, luckily Just A Dream will be one of the exceptions to that.

    Also, I forgot who said it but I also love Jessica Andrews “There’s More To Me Than You”, I love both versions of the video and song, and both are great to listen to back to back.

  41. Reba would have to be considered THE video artist of country music. She was the first to realize the power of the video medium in the genre and has continually put out videos that help to take the songs to new levels.

    Just think about her catalog of videos:
    Fancy
    Does He Love You
    Why Haven’t I Heard From You
    The Heart Won’t Lie
    Take It Back
    What Do You Say
    And Still
    The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia
    Cathy’s Clown

    As for other artists, Shania makes the most of the medium for sure. Without video I’m not sure that she would be nearly as huge as she is. Others I usually enjoy are Garth, Martina (though more in the early part of her career), Brad Paisley.

  43. “Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss was pretty good. So was “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie Chicks.

  44. My very favourite video is Reba’s “What Am I Gonna Do About You. Of the more recent years, “Nothin’ Better To Do” from LeAnn is a worthy challenger.

  45. Reba, in addition to her own videos has a great cameo in Vince Gill’s Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin Away, as does Patty Loveless and a slew of others.

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