Videos set to music

October 27, 2008 8:25 PM

MTVMusic Music to your eyes.
posted by ColdChef (84 comments total)

If you'll excuse me, I'll be looking around in the...ahem...Vintage Videos.
posted by ColdChef at 8:27 PM on October 27, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

There aren't many videos with more than a few dozen views, so I think this is a fairly new rollout.
posted by ColdChef at 8:30 PM on October 27, 2008

About time, why until recently were music videos hard to find. They're commercials. \

In other news: MTV cancels (love it or hate it) the last show to actually have music on it.
posted by ALongDecember at 8:32 PM on October 27, 2008

It's a little herky-jerky on the video side, at least for me. Not sure it'll replace youtube.

This is the video I reflexively search for on these things.
posted by Bookhouse at 8:33 PM on October 27, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Oh man...The Cure. Why are their videos so awesome?

Why is everything about them (well, up until Wild Mood Swings, anyway) so awesome?
posted by greenie2600 at 8:34 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Charts » Most Viewed » All Time - okay, Dire Straits Money for Nothing is comfortably at #1, and the next four are ...

Beyonce, Britney, Britney, and Christina Aguiwhatshernameia. And no songs I've ever heard of, either.

I'd say it still needs to time to rollout!
posted by yhbc at 8:35 PM on October 27, 2008

Copyrights restrict us from playing this video outside the U.S.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:35 PM on October 27, 2008

Oh, and obviously I mean "replace youtube in being the site I visit when I want to waste time watching music videos."
posted by Bookhouse at 8:35 PM on October 27, 2008

I wonder how many kids will think, "Wow, MTV is taking programming in a whole new direction with this 'all videos, all the time' approach." And then I sit back and wistfully recall that time my friend was on "Remote Control."
posted by not_on_display at 8:36 PM on October 27, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Well, I suppose I have a new scraping project... Thanks ColdChef!!
posted by pompomtom at 8:36 PM on October 27, 2008

Sure, it's a good idea, but they'll eventually they'll decide there's more money in running real-time video footage of celebrities attempting to deal with each other and with common household objects, and mostly failing.
posted by ardgedee at 8:38 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Six videos by They Might Be Giants, but no "Ana Ng." Holy cow, though. 87 videos for REM!
posted by ColdChef at 8:38 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

This "copyright restriction" thing is starting to piss me off.
posted by sporb at 8:38 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

"Eat them up, yum."
posted by ColdChef at 8:40 PM on October 27, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Disgruntlement restricts me from viewing their site outside the US.
posted by bonaldi at 8:41 PM on October 27, 2008

Grim Reaper's Rock You to Hell

Views 0

Make that 1! FIRST.
posted by The Straightener at 8:45 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I sincerely apologize to my worldwide MetaFilterian Brethren and Sistren. This is really pretty cool.
posted by ColdChef at 8:45 PM on October 27, 2008

22605 Videos! Nice, I could waste a lot of time on this.
posted by octothorpe at 8:48 PM on October 27, 2008

Who knew that Bob Dylan was still making videos? And with Scarlett Johansson, no less?
posted by ColdChef at 8:49 PM on October 27, 2008

running real-time video footage of celebrities attempting to deal with each other and with common household objects, and mostly failing.

I read this as "attempting to deal with . . . common household objects, mostly falling." I would watch that show. Especially if the household objects were heavy.
posted by bibliowench at 8:55 PM on October 27, 2008

Wait, MTV and music videos are somehow related once again? Please excuse me while I gasp at the sight of snow in hell, marvel at the pigs flying overhead, and laugh myself silly at the visage of all these simians taking flight out of Cold Chef's posterior fundamental orifice!
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:01 PM on October 27, 2008

MTVMusic is an oxymoron.
posted by clearly at 9:03 PM on October 27, 2008

Oh my, This is really good...my favorite Stereolab song. Thank you.
posted by schyler523 at 9:05 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

greenie2600: "Oh man...The Cure. Why are their videos so awesome?"

Heroin.
posted by stbalbach at 9:07 PM on October 27, 2008

Damn, I can't believe I almost doubted you here, Chef.

This is good stuff (provided you're in the U.S., and can access it, of course.)

Somewhat bizarrely, while "Money For Nothing" was the top most-viewed video when I pulled up the page as well, #2 was... "Honestly," by Zwan.

I really like that song, despite wondering how anyone could deal with Billy Corgan for as long as Jimmy Chamberlain has (oh, yeah. Lots and lots of heroin. That's how.) but I can't believe that's the second most-viewed video.

Also, Wild Mood Swings has some legitimately awesome stuff on it, such as "Strange Attraction" and "The 13th".
posted by Navelgazer at 9:08 PM on October 27, 2008

It really brings back some memories, but some of the transfers were really poorly done.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:09 PM on October 27, 2008

Bookhouse, I'm not really sure how to say this, but I am one of the biggest Ween fan around and you have just made my week...that video will now be my benchmark as well.

*bows in thanks*
posted by schyler523 at 9:15 PM on October 27, 2008

Peter Schilling's Major Tom is a shining apotheosis for the cultural history of The West. I loved it on Friday Night Videos, I love it here. It will give me chills until I stop loving this world.
posted by freebird at 9:17 PM on October 27, 2008

Feh. They don't have any Tom Waits.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:18 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I take a strange sense of pride to be the fifth person to view this video and the first to view this one.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:21 PM on October 27, 2008

99 Red Balloons (and I tried every search I could think of) is tragically unrepresented, however.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:29 PM on October 27, 2008

Further evidence of the internet completely owning broadcast TV as a medium. MTV can no longer show music videos all day (unprofitable; so legal obligation to stock holders.) But now I can make it so.

Good thing to, what with some of these video's being so hard to find online lately...
posted by oblio_one at 9:38 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Navelgazer, they should have just had that one on there for a week alone in a sort of homage...
posted by schyler523 at 9:43 PM on October 27, 2008

I'm somewhat surprised this one is on here...I'll stop now.
posted by schyler523 at 9:48 PM on October 27, 2008

DAMN YOU OBLIO_ONE!

That said, these videos here have helped me rekindle the life-threatening crush I had on Tanya Donelly I had when I was 13.

They still don't have the amped-up version of "Angry Johnny" that used to play on my radio station in Tulsa, and which I haven't been able to find since, but still, this is the best (barely late) birthday present I could have asked for, short of the copy of Guitar Hero World Tour I'll be buying for myself tomorrow.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:51 PM on October 27, 2008

We at MTV heard of this new "internet video" thing recently and figured we'd give it a shot. Be sure to check out MtvM_HD, which we'll be rolling out in about five years. We are at the forefront of innovation.
posted by VulcanMike at 9:59 PM on October 27, 2008

Said another way, rolling out a new site with video of this quality as we approach 2009 is laughable. Laughable. HA!
posted by VulcanMike at 10:01 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I have been wondering what this "internet" thing was for. Now I know. For great justice!
posted by SkinnerSan at 10:04 PM on October 27, 2008

MTVMusic is an oxymoron.

I suspect you need to check the definition of "oxymoron."

It is, however, a case for the Redundancy Police for Investigating Redundancy.
posted by Caduceus at 10:11 PM on October 27, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Dude, they should be ashamed about either the file quality or their choice in video format. I'm getting audio skips even after pausing a while for buffering.
posted by Caduceus at 10:13 PM on October 27, 2008

Feh. They don't have any Tom Waits.

here ya go!
posted by SheMulp AKA Plus 1 at 10:20 PM on October 27, 2008

Classic.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:29 PM on October 27, 2008

more like Music Internetvision amirite
posted by Mikey-San at 10:30 PM on October 27, 2008

Plays okay in Australia!!!
posted by tellurian at 10:58 PM on October 27, 2008

Spike Jonze music video collection:

"100%" by Sonic Youth
"Cannonball" by The Breeders
"Buddy Holly" by Weezer
"Ditch Digger" by Rocket from the Crypt
"Divine Hammer" by The Breeders
"Feel the Pain" by Dinosaur Jr.
"Undone (The Sweater Song)" by Weezer
"California" by Wax
"Car Song" by Elastica
"Crush with Eyeliner" by R.E.M.
"Freedom of '76" by Ween
"It's Oh So Quiet" by Björk
"The Diamond Sea" by Sonic Youth
"Drop" by The Pharcyde [my personal favorite]
"Da Funk" by Daft Punk
"Electrolite" by R.E.M.
"Shady Lane" by Pavement
"Sky's the Limit" by The Notorious B.I.G.
"Praise You" by Fatboy Slim
"The Rockafeller Skank" (version 1) by Fatboy Slim
"Weapon of Choice" by Fatboy Slim
"It's in Our Hands" by Björk
"Get Back" by Ludacris
"Y Control" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Flashing Lights" by Kanye West

(okay, so I'm a fan of Spike Jonze, so sue me)
posted by milnak at 12:30 AM on October 28, 2008 [13 favorites has favorites]

OMG IS THIS KIND OF SITE SAFE????
posted by gomichild at 1:02 AM on October 28, 2008

Copyrights restrict us from playing this video outside the U.S.

wonderchicken SMASH!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:36 AM on October 28, 2008

Good lord, they have "Norman Bates."
posted by adipocere at 2:42 AM on October 28, 2008

For people that like MTV and web APIs, MTV in the US has released a public content API for music videos. disclaimer: i used to work for mtv in the US and currently work for them in japan
posted by mexican at 4:03 AM on October 28, 2008

here ya go!

No, I know you can get Tom Waits on YouTube, my point is you can't on MTV.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:23 AM on October 28, 2008

I'll join you, stavros. Stupid MTV.
posted by jokeefe at 4:26 AM on October 28, 2008

Yo La Tengo go to Rock School
posted by chillmost at 5:19 AM on October 28, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Passed my test: She Sells Sanctuary.

And the world...
And the world and the world...
And the world and the world and the world...
And the world and the world and the world and the world...
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:29 AM on October 28, 2008

I'm looking at these videos from Japan, don't know why the copyright stuff doesn't affect me. At least with these videos there won't be a copyright wack-a-mole game, like it is on YouTube. Thanks!
posted by vodkadin at 5:30 AM on October 28, 2008

No - here ya go!
posted by adamvasco at 5:37 AM on October 28, 2008

vodkadin: Yeah, no copyright problems for me in Switzerland either. I've noticed that most copyright protected sites are fine here (lax laws, I guess?) but HULU is a sadly notable exception.
posted by stvspl at 5:55 AM on October 28, 2008

greenie: Why is everything about them (well, up until Wild Mood Swings Disintegration anyway) so awesome?

FTFY. Why am I still bitter about how badly Wish sucked?
posted by pxe2000 at 6:09 AM on October 28, 2008

Oddly enough, I just assumed the usual and listened to what people said about the geographical restrictions, but now that I'm in front of my home PC and actually checked, well, look at that, the site works in Korea. So yay!

Hopefully that wasn't an oversight that gets fixed eventually, and is by design.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:12 AM on October 28, 2008

okay, so not being in the United States I find myself once again blocked. shit, such policies should get links to those sites banned from mefi.

anchorfree's hotspot shield is also no longer the choice for youtube/hulu/etc as video has become excruciatingly slow if it loads at all. anyone know other options?
posted by krautland at 6:31 AM on October 28, 2008

Dang it, I wanted to link to Weapon of Choice! It's my favorite video.

Fine, whatever. Here are some Missy videos with that crazy dancing tween girl in them.
posted by lampoil at 6:41 AM on October 28, 2008

There's Bad Religion, but without the generator era stuff. Kids today, no history I tell you.
posted by drezdn at 7:20 AM on October 28, 2008

It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down
I had the radio on, I was drivin'
posted by Afroblanco at 7:35 AM on October 28, 2008

Absolute shit quality. Figures. I have VHS's from high school that look better than this.

I don't know why, if Vimeo can do it so well, these other sites have to be stuck in 1998.

And hey, here's an idea: How about a place where we can see current videos in decent quality without commercial or text message interruptions? (Don't get me started on MTV.com. Ugh.)
posted by fungible at 7:51 AM on October 28, 2008

OMG IS THIS KIND OF SITE SAFE????

No, unfortunately it's not.
posted by FatherDagon at 8:55 AM on October 28, 2008

Whoa! When did MTV start showing nudity?

I'm sorry.
posted by ColdChef at 9:01 AM on October 28, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Alas, no Orbital or Future Sound of London.
Could use a playlist function too...
posted by Hutch at 9:23 AM on October 28, 2008

New Friday night activity: sit in front of my computer recreating old Handbanger's Ball episodes.
posted by camcgee at 9:54 AM on October 28, 2008

copyrights restrict us from playing this video outside the u.s.

Your system is broken.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:33 AM on October 28, 2008

Dang it, I wanted to link to Weapon of Choice! It's my favorite video.

First one I played, too! That video never gets old.
posted by toastedbeagle at 10:43 AM on October 28, 2008

I have to look for some of their old station IDs, especially with the astronaut. I went through hell getting the hook sampled into my Apple ][e, then trying to do crap visual effects to the MTV logo. Now we just have to figure out how to download all of these. Hello, Nostalgia Jukebox!
posted by adipocere at 11:15 AM on October 28, 2008

Set the Wayback Machine to the beginning.

Missing: Transor-X's "Living on Video"
posted by loquacious at 11:43 AM on October 28, 2008

They must be having some licensing issues – it's strange what's here and what isn't. I mean, okay, I can understand it not having all of my favorite bands that didn't get a lot of airplay (tho I was pissed about 50 ft. Queenie missing grrr) but for example there's no Beastie Boys videos post Licensed to Ill and basically no Smashing Pumpkins on there at all... weird.
posted by furiousthought at 12:10 PM on October 28, 2008

loq: It's Trans-X. It's not on the MTV site, but Google Video has some love to share.
posted by Pronoiac at 12:51 PM on October 28, 2008

Searching for "michel gondry" gives some gems.

(Not just "gondry" because there's some other guy named that too.)
posted by smackfu at 1:26 PM on October 28, 2008

Double letterboxing is awesome!
posted by smackfu at 1:33 PM on October 28, 2008

Little Pig, Little Pig, Let me in!
Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!
posted by schyler523 at 2:19 PM on October 28, 2008

The selection is uneven, but there are gems to be found: three tracks by the KLF, Underwater Love, a Jarvis Cocker-directed video for Aphex Twin, & Underworld, for example. I've been using it for background noise. It's noticeably in stereo, like the HQ Youtube videos (at least, one of the HQ types).
posted by Pronoiac at 3:00 PM on October 28, 2008

Faith No More - Midlife Crisis - "^Yeeeeeeeee_ah!"
posted by Pronoiac at 3:15 PM on October 28, 2008

Nitro - Freight Train

The hardest rocking rock song that ever rocked by a band so full of rock that they had to name themselves after an explosive used to blow up rocks.

You are welcome.
posted by quin at 3:49 PM on October 28, 2008

Besides videos, they've also got some nice MTV-produced content--stuff from Unplugged (here, for example, is Jay-Z, The Roots and Mary J Blige singing 'Can't Knock the Hustle'), awards shows, etc.
posted by box at 4:48 PM on October 28, 2008

No "Peekaboo"...? No Siouxsie at all?
posted by the sobsister at 4:52 PM on October 28, 2008

lampoil: that crazy dancing tween girl...

...is Alyson Stoner, big Disney Channel star. She's BFF with Miley Cyrus. Oh god, my 8-year-old daughter is taking over my brain.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:30 PM on October 28, 2008

Yeah, the selection is very very strange. Lots of obvious stuff missing, but also lots of obscurities that probably only aired a couple of times literally twenty years ago (three Underworld mkI videos, short and long versions of Martini Ranch's "Reach"...). They have five times as much Sparks as they do Thomas Dolby -- definitely didn't see that coming.

I have a feeling they're just ripping everything they have in whatever order they happen to dig up the tapes, and launched the site when they felt they hit critical mass.
posted by Lazlo at 11:08 PM on October 30, 2008

Speaking of nudity on MTV: I'm glad I didn't watch "Womanizer" at work, & "Umbrella" was surprisingly absent yesterday, but it's there now.
posted by Pronoiac at 8:51 AM on October 31, 2008