“Everybody Hurts” - R.E.M.
Back in my day, bands routinely made short films to accompany some of their more popular songs. These short films were called “music videos,” and there were entire television stations devoted to playing nothing but these short films - music videos, that is - all day long. Some music videos were little more than footage of a band performing live, but others were more artistic and thought-provoking.
And when something in one of these videos piqued our curiosity, we couldn’t just hop on Wikipedia and find out, for example, who arranged the song’s string section or if the video’s director happened to be related to Ridley Scott. Most of us didn’t have the internet, and those who did certainly did not have a connection that was always on and ready to go. But now that I think about it, we really didn’t need the internet back then. We had something better. We had VH1’s Pop Up Video.
“Santeria” - Sublime
The most interesting thing about the “two-year experiment to increase his creativity” story that MTV After-School Specials use to explain away the heroin habit that cost Brad Nowell his life is not the fact that it is most likely bullshit, but that it is hardly a cautionary tale.
Suggesting that 40oz. to Freedom - a wildly inconsistent collection of derivative takes on Jamaican dub and uninspired covers that is at best mildly interesting, and at worst completely pedestrian - was recorded before Nowell started using and that the Robbin’ The Hood sessions - which produced not only an operatic DIY tour de force that is a masterpiece in its own right but also laid the groundwork for many of the high points on Sublime’s self-titled breakout - took place during the height of his addiction is about as ringing an endorsement for the artistic utility of heroin as I’ve ever seen.
“Nothing Compares 2 U” - Sinead O’Connor
I once got banned for life from a bar in Philadelphia for playing this on the jukebox. And singing along. And dumping my beer on the bartender when she objected. And flipping over a table when the bouncer asked me to leave. And spitting on the front door on my way out.
“Shine” - Collective Soul
In college, my friend Tim and I started a semi-comedic acoustic cover band. Even though he possessed 98% of the combined musical talent of the group, he graciously let me pick all the songs. In a career that spanned about 14 months, this is the only one of my suggestions he ever vetoed.
“Mr. Jones” - Counting Crows
In a decade infamous for songwriters that laughably overreach in their attempts to craft earnest, deep, clever or otherwise emotionally resonant lyrics, Adam Duritz is in a class by himself. While Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Monica Potter, Nicole Kidman, Winona Ryder, Samantha Mathis and Emmy Rossum may disagree, it is hard to make the case that a line like “gray is my favorite color” is anything short of completely hilarious.
“El Scorcho” - Weezer
I want to be as unequivocal as possible here: I greatly dislike Weezer and disagree with everything for which Rivers Cuomo stands. But even uninspired, formulaic, insincere squirrels find a well-crafted, witty, and altogether awesome nut every now and again.
“Longview” - Green Day
My mom confiscated Dookie from me because of her objections to the questionable content found in many of the songs. I am sure she would not have noticed anything if I had not made a habit of blasting this song over and over again everyday after middle school for about a month straight.
“Big Me” - Foo Fighters
Are the situations in this video any more absurd than a guy in a new suit rolling around on a freshly painted park bench right before a job interview? I think not.
“Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” - Spin Doctors
I frequent one particular coffee shop in the Lower Garden District solely because over half the times I’ve walked in the door, this song was playing on their stereo. It is not about my affinity for the Spin Doctors as much as it is about my appreciation for a barista who unapologetically cranks his one favorite mixtape every chance he gets.
