12 Legitimately Innovative, Groundbreaking Music Videos
Way before the official terms “music video” and “music television” existed, artists were known to put out promotional clips to help their single’s success. Musical short films have been around since the 1890s, and once TV hit peoples’ homes in the 1950s, it really helped hawk the popular music of the time. Especially if the artist happened to be decent looking and charismatic. Lookin’ at you, Elvis. The Beatles had a couple of the very first color (sorry, they’re British… colour) promo videos, but they didn’t become what we know them as today until the mid ‘70s. You’ll see.
Since then, the popularity of these full-on “music videos” have helped fans connect with their favorite artists.
Before social media, unless you went to see musicians live, the only way to see them was the pic on the album cover and this 3 minute window into their world. We caught a glimpse of their style and their overall vibe, and once artists and directors got involved, we got cinematic storytelling and legitimate works of art. Here are 12 of the most innovative and groundbreaking music videos of all time.
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Hmm, it seems as though this whole “music video” thing is here to stay.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan/YouTube
Of course it was Bowie.
David Bowie/YouTube
There’s a lot of debate about when the “promo clip” became the “music video.”
Thriller
Depending on who you ask, every Madonna video could be on this list.
They can be cartoons too, you guys!
We don’t think we’d even know this song if it weren’t for the video.
Arcade Fire
Yes, “America” can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
Honestly, pick any OK Go video, and we’ll prove its innovation.
OK Go/YouTube
That’s a lot of clapping along.
