The Videography of Michael Jackson
June 27, 2009 2:53 AM   Subscribe

We had a great Obit post yesterday and a great post on the music video work of Michel Gondry. Why not join the two? After all, he was one of the great pioneers and innovators of the format and worked with some of the great film and art directors there were... Here's The complete videography of Michael Jackson to enjoy for your weekend. Actual videos inside:

You know the drill. Some are classic. Some have aged. Some are silly. Some transcend the awesome. But no matter what, anyone can acknowledge that Michael Jackson used the music video to maximum effect for creative output, marketing, spectacle, and even some pesky world issues.

1979
"Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" by Nick Saxton
"Rock with You" by Bruce Gowers

1980
"She's Out of My Life" by Bruce Gowers

1983
"Billie Jean" by Steve Barron
"Beat It" by Bob Giraldi
"Say Say Say" by Bob Giraldi
"Thriller" by John Landis

1987
"Bad" by Martin Scorsese
"The Way You Make Me Feel" by Joe Pytka

1988
"Dirty Diana" by Joe Pytka
"Man in the Mirror" by Donald Wilson
"Another Part of Me" by Patrick Kelly
"Smooth Criminal" by Colin Chilvers
"Come Together" by Jerry Kramer and Colin Chilvers

1989
"Leave Me Alone" by Jim Blashfield and Paul Diener
"Liberian Girl" by Jim Yukich

1991
"Black or White" by John Landis

1992
"Remember the Time" by John Singleton
"In the Closet" by Herb Ritts
"Who Is It" by David Fincher
"Jam" by Michael Jackson and David Kellogg
"Heal the World" by Joe Pytka

1993
"Give Into Me" by Andy Moharan
"Will You Be There" by Vincent Paterson
"Gone Too Soon" by Bill DiCicco

1995
"Scream" by Mark Romanek
"Childhood" by Nicholas Brandt
"You Are Not Alone" by Wayne Isham
"Earth Song" by Nicholas Brandt

1996
"They Don't Care About Us" (Prison version) by Spike Lee
"They Don't Care About Us" (Brazil version) by Spike Lee
"Stranger in Moscow" by Nicholas Brandt

1997
"Blood on the Dance Floor" by Michael Jackson and Vincent Paterson

2001
"You Rock My World" by Paul Hunter
"Cry" by Nicholas Brandt
"Ghost" By


Apologies for any poor quality vids... there was... too... many links [lies down and takes nap]
posted by Lacking Subtlety (62 comments total) 29 users marked this as a favorite
 
Cry and Ghost last, eh?
posted by Mblue at 3:06 AM on June 27, 2009


Don't forget the panther-morphing, solo-dancing, car-smashing, racist–window breaking, inn-destroying coda to Black or White, here.
posted by wemayfreeze at 3:14 AM on June 27, 2009


So there are two open threads on these people and that mandates opening a third to "combine them?"

Why?

Also, "great" seems to be used a little loosely around here lately.
posted by fourcheesemac at 3:21 AM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


Michel Gondry was a great director. He shall be missed.

.
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:24 AM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


Lacking Subtlety Indeed...
posted by dawson at 3:34 AM on June 27, 2009


I remember watching some of Michel Gondry's earlier collaborations with Michael Jackson in a dream I had. It was filmed through an upside down lens, perhaps edited backwards, but it certainly stuck in my mind. Jacko danced as he'd never danced before, or so I believed, but actually it wasn't Jacko. It was three circus lions, perhaps a hippo, and they held hands upside down and perhaps backwards. Jacko danced as he'd never danced before. And Jeff Goldblum's performance in that same Michel Gondry video was unforgettable, though it was but a dream. Which I've forgotten.
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:36 AM on June 27, 2009 [2 favorites]


According to Wikipedia, the Scream video is the most expensive music video ever produced at $7,000,000.
posted by crossoverman at 3:51 AM on June 27, 2009


"This video is not available in your country due to copyright restrictions. "
posted by PenDevil at 3:54 AM on June 27, 2009


I'm gonna miss Gondry and Goldblum even more than Vigoda, my first pick after McMahon and Fawcett.
posted by hypersloth at 4:24 AM on June 27, 2009


http://isabevigodadead.com/ in case you needed help keeping track, hypersloth.
posted by Edwahd at 4:27 AM on June 27, 2009


*whew*
what about Gondry and Goldblum? They're still dead, right?
posted by hypersloth at 4:44 AM on June 27, 2009


btw, I waited on Abe Vigoda a few times when I worked at Denny's in greater San Diego, Rancho Bernardo, around 1995. Each time he came in was with a different...I would say GILF, except I wouldn't like to ___ any of them... But that's just me, and they were all very classy looking. I didn't even realize it was him until some of the Denny's lifer waitresses prompted me to ask. I think we talked about how my name is Hal and Barney Miller was played by Hal Linden.
That's about all there is to this story. Even in 95, he was rumored to be dead, but I was refilling his coffee, while he bounced between NY and CA.
posted by hypersloth at 5:04 AM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


helluva derail, sorry.
posted by hypersloth at 5:09 AM on June 27, 2009


Michael Jackson was, indeed, a talented child molester.

Unfortunately, his satanic music makes old people try to kill each pther.
posted by markkraft at 5:26 AM on June 27, 2009


MJs life in six songs
posted by Artw at 5:32 AM on June 27, 2009


A couple of Jacksons videos would probably be good here, too:

"Blame it on the Boogie" (such joy)
"Can You Feel It?" (such cheese)

I have no idea who directed them, though.
posted by litlnemo at 5:32 AM on June 27, 2009


I *hope* this isn't true...

Michael Jackson to be plastinated, placed in the 02 arena next to his plastinated pet monkey.
posted by markkraft at 5:38 AM on June 27, 2009


Why are Michael Jackson's kids so white?
posted by billysumday at 5:42 AM on June 27, 2009


I don't like it how YouTube pretends to care about copyright these days. I've not managed to get any of the videos to open yet.

For British MeFites, the mtv.co.uk site seems to have most of Jackson's videos.
posted by chorltonmeateater at 5:47 AM on June 27, 2009


"I *hope* this isn't true...

Michael Jackson to be plastinated, placed in the 02 arena next to his plastinated pet monkey."


And thus humanity jumps the shark and fades into oblivion.
posted by HuronBob at 6:03 AM on June 27, 2009


I've not managed to get any of the videos to open yet (chorltonmeateater)

Are you actually clicking the links, or just the little button that makes them pop open here on MeFi? Because that button isn't working for a lot of them, since embedding is disabled on all the videos from the Michael Jackson youtube account. If you just click the link itself, it'll take you to the youtube page.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:21 AM on June 27, 2009


IWatching that, one thing that really does strike me is how adroit Michael Jackson was at effecting simple joy and wonder in others that seemed to evade him, no matter what he tried.

If he was able to live through that persona he crafted on stage, rather than be held hostage by its - and our - expectations, I don't know, he would have been a happier person at least, though perhaps his music would not have been, robbed of its almost painful sweetness.
posted by smoke at 6:38 AM on June 27, 2009


his plastinated pet monkey.

Apparently, his pet monkey is now living in a monkey sanctuary after suffering from a "suicide attempt" in 2003. It's the first thing I checked out when I heard MJ died. I couldn't care less about the rest of it.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:41 AM on June 27, 2009 [3 favorites]


twoleftfeet, that is indeed a great dream - perhaps the greatest - and because of that you should combine it with this post and make a new FPP.

To avoid copyright bullshit, better to just put "Michael Jackson" into the search bar at YouTube.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:44 AM on June 27, 2009


What? No mention of Moonwalker? (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11)
posted by hippybear at 6:51 AM on June 27, 2009 [4 favorites]


No mention of the silly Captain Eo, either.
posted by emelenjr at 7:13 AM on June 27, 2009


Black Or White - The Long Version (with car-smashing, groin grabbing, and Bart Simpson!)

And the rare 16 minute Bad.

And of course,

Weird Al - Eat It
Weird Al - Fat
Bonus: Weird Al - Snack All Night (live) (not on an album because Michael Jackson thought the song was too serious for parody, Al respected his wishes.)
posted by ALongDecember at 7:23 AM on June 27, 2009 [3 favorites]


Well, then... Captain Eo.
posted by hippybear at 7:24 AM on June 27, 2009


(not to double-post one of my links but Part 3 of Moonwalker is the video "Badder", which is the remake of the Bad video done entirely with kids.)
posted by hippybear at 7:44 AM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


"This video is not available in your country."

Fuck you, YouTube.
posted by bwg at 7:57 AM on June 27, 2009 [4 favorites]


Holy shit I had forgotten all about that scene in moonwalker. I saw it when I was 7 or 8, in the cinema. Even then I knew it was a crazy ass movie.
posted by chunking express at 8:10 AM on June 27, 2009


ocherdraco: "Are you actually clicking the links, or just the little button that makes them pop open here on MeFi?"

Sorry, I should've been clearer: I am clicking the links, but falling foul of the copyright restrictions which won't let the videos be viewed in the UK. What bwg said.
posted by chorltonmeateater at 8:12 AM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


i've sort of always felt with MJ. protoype of the tortured genius archetype.
his demise: i think it's good in the bigger picture, he's finally been released.
he WAS the second coming of elvis, no doubt about that in my mind.
i gladly dedicate/introduce my nick to him, triply so.
if there was such a thing as an afterlife, i sure wish you'll find peace at long last.
posted by The Dot at 8:36 AM on June 27, 2009


Don't forget the Sega Genesis soundtrack to Moonwalker. Now with secret bonus Thriller!
posted by Servo5678 at 8:45 AM on June 27, 2009 [2 favorites]


Previously
posted by Artw at 8:59 AM on June 27, 2009


The premiere of Black or White was a television event - see these promos for its simultaneous premiere on MTV and FOX. Read about the immediate aftermath of the video from this 1991 EW cover article and this New York Times article that stated the video gave the young FOX network its highest ratings ever.
posted by ALongDecember at 9:04 AM on June 27, 2009


I think that one good thing which could come of Michael's untimely death and the world-wide media furor which it has inspired could be this: an entire generation who has not known music videos as anything more than shockingly quick cuts with random body movement close-ups strung together disguised as "dancing" might actually (re)discover the magic that is long camera shots of really intense synchronized dancers performing in that famous Jackon Wedge Formation. I've always appreciate MJ for his willingness, a la Fred Astaire, to rehearse and rehearse until the camera can LINGER on the dance routine. As much "energy" and "zazz" as modern editing practices may have imbued musical sequences with recently, there still is nothing that compares to being allowed to truly watch without manipulation.
posted by hippybear at 9:26 AM on June 27, 2009 [9 favorites]


oh, and Part 10 of Moonwalker is MJ covering The Beatles' Come Together live in concert.
posted by hippybear at 9:39 AM on June 27, 2009


Ack. which is exactly the same as the Come Together up in the list.
posted by hippybear at 10:12 AM on June 27, 2009


MichaelJacksonFilter.

Talk about shark jumping.
posted by fourcheesemac at 10:55 AM on June 27, 2009


Michael Jackson to be plastinated, placed in the 02 arena next to his plastinated pet monkey.

Bubbles is alive and Chimps aren't monkeys, people. They are apes. There is a difference. Learn it.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:28 AM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


So there are two open threads on these people and that mandates opening a third to "combine them?"

Why?


Posting all of this in the open threads would garner far fewer favorites.
posted by brain_drain at 12:00 PM on June 27, 2009 [3 favorites]


One of the shocks of Michael Jackson's death is how poorly-preserved the videos they're showing on TV are. Gritty, unrestored tape, mono tracks. Gets me all het up.
posted by mynameisluka at 12:24 PM on June 27, 2009


Not an official video, so maybe it doesn't technically belong here, but I've always enjoyed this demo of "State of Shock" Michael recorded with Freddie Mercury. (MJ ended up singing with Mick Jagger on the official release of the song.)
posted by Oriole Adams at 2:16 PM on June 27, 2009 [2 favorites]


Bob Fosse, from the Little Prince, 1974:

A Snake In the Grass

(start 2m and 35s in). The moves should seem pretty familiar.
posted by empath at 3:06 PM on June 27, 2009


Caveat: Not a big MJ fan.

I forgot was a great piece of pop music Can You Feel It? was. Very atmospheric. I probably haven't heard that since I was 8 years old. Thanks, litlnemo.
posted by droplet at 3:16 PM on June 27, 2009


Thriller just makes me miss Vincent Price. :-(
posted by Decimask at 3:30 PM on June 27, 2009


"$"

Classy.

"I can't imagine what made him agree to doing all those gigs in London (two shows a day at weekends?), which his family are blaming for his death."

I imagine half a billion dollars is a pretty good motivator.
posted by Mitheral at 7:48 AM on June 26 [+] [!]


Hmm, who's being "classy," exactly?

Snark at my shorthand version of the exact point you make in the next sentence.

Look how fast this has become all about monetizing all the "grief" people feel over losing someone they never actually knew. A global media/infotainment feeding frenzy is underway, wringing every last cent out of a dying music industry's last truly successful product before it hits a final expiratin date. Someone has to say it, though: MJ's death was the best thing that could have happened to the music biz at this moment. MJ is worth far more dead than alive, just like Elvis.

Call me cynical. I am. All this "love" for Jackson is no less exploitative than anything his father ever did to him.

Here we are now. Entertain us.

(Not to mention that this is the very best thing that could have happened to Governor Sanford, who is no doubt kicking himself for not staying in Argentina for the full 10 days he had planned.)
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:09 PM on June 27, 2009


Aww, check plus post, imo. It's a lot of work (and a major labor of love and respect) to compile these YouTube link posts. My motto is that it's best to embrace nostalgia (with enthusiasm). I haven't watched any MJ music videos in years, but I've been enjoying revisiting the classics the past few days. Nothing wrong with that.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:49 PM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


According to Wikipedia, the Scream video is the most expensive music video ever produced at $7,000,000.

I can not for the life of me imagine how it could possibly have cost so much, unless there was a shipload of cocaine involved.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:56 PM on June 27, 2009


Michael Jackson was, indeed, a talented child molester.

Really? I don't recall him every having been found guilty of such a thing, despite enormous efforts to do so.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:00 PM on June 27, 2009


I regret that I won't be alive 150 years from now, because I won't be able to see some film studies professor try to explain the Micheal Jackson/Paul McCartney video to his class.
posted by Kronoss at 10:32 PM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


"Someone has to say it, though: MJ's death was the best thing that could have happened to the music biz at this moment. MJ is worth far more dead than alive, just like Elvis."

At the record company meeting
On their hands - a dead star

And ooh, the plans that they weave
And ooh, the sickening greed
At the record company party
On their hands - a dead star
The sycophantic slags all say: "I knew him first, and I knew him well"
Re-issue! Re-package! Re-package!
Re-evaluate the songs
Double pack with a photograph
Extra Track (and a tacky badge)
A-list, playlist
"Please them, please them!"
"please them, please them!"
(sadly, THIS was your life)
But you could have said no
If you'd wanted to
BPI, MTV, BBC
"Please them!, Please them!"
(sadly, this was your life)
But you could have said no
If you'd wanted to
You could have walked away
...couldn't you?
posted by markkraft at 11:05 PM on June 27, 2009


Jacko Under Pressure: mashing up MJ and Queen to fabulous ends.
posted by hippybear at 2:08 AM on June 28, 2009


Thanks for the extra video posts everyone. I was tried to compile as many as I could but knew I was missing "the complete works" if you will.

and i wrote this somewhere else, but basically here's my opinion on the whole matter.

The reaction to Michael Jackson’s death has been just about perfect; just the right blend of shock, respect for his passing, respect for his great music, reflection over his effect on society, righteous indignation, funny jokes, obvious jokes, funny tasteless jokes, and tasteless jokes so bad as to enlighten you to who is truly an asshole.

But for me it did something different. It wholly clarified the fact that I unabashedly like Michael Jackson.

It’s amazing how many people forget that not only was this guy a megastar, he was the biggest personality on the planet. He simply dwarfed everyone. Madonna didn’t even have half is popularity. He wasn’t just talented. He wasn’t jus a great dancer. He was a great song writer. He was an innovator. He never settled for second rate. He worked harder then everyone else. He pushed the envelope. He was incredibly optimistic. I’ve spent the day watching all his old videos and that’s the thing I noticed the most. He was so, so optimistic about life, even when it was about dark subjects. He wanted people to have fun. He wanted them to conquer demons. He wanted people to be kind. He gave an absurd amount to charity. He embraced working for racial causes. Heck He was post-racial before anyone was post-racial. He popularized MTV. Fuck. Popularized doesn’t do it justice. He made MTV. He set every trend. He came up with entire worlds. He could move like no one else could move. He was shy. He loved involving other stars in his work. And he was a damn nice guy.

The fall of Michael Jackson can be associated with three things in my mind.
1) Them Daddy issues. The abuse he suffered is now well known, but there’s no doubt that these things, plus his becoming famous at such an absurdly young age laid the groundwork of a troubling adulthood. Matt Damon once said you stop aging at the moment you get famous. Michael Jackson was 3… It explains a lot.
2) His skin condition, where the white splotches left him with the option of either leaving it as (probably the right choice. America would have just had to deal), constantly covering with quality black make up, or simply bleaching his skin to match the white spots. Which is what his bad doctors advised for him. It started his whole movement toward looking weird and white.
3) If he hadn’t fallen off stage and broke his nose, he never would have gotten that first botched nose job. Which he then tried to fix and fix and fix because “it didn’t look right.” Coupled with the bleachings to come later. It basically destroyed his face.

And those things affected him. They really did. It sent his introverted nature over the edge because he was terrified of being seen in that sort of light. He had to constantly monitor his appearance. It made him a shut in.

And then it got sad. He had odd sham marriages. The creepy stories about his behavior with children surfaced. He build that Graceland west called the Neverland ranch. He had children stay there. Then the lawsuits came. Look. I have no idea what happened. It sure as shit wasn’t proper. But I’m not sure as shit it was anything insidious either. As far as we really and truly know he was just kind of this weird asexual introvert with arrested development. His Peter Pan like personality (the Neverland ranch, ahem) suddenly became his real identity. And most people just assumed he was a pederast. Logically, there’s great merit to that, I’m not naïve or anything. It was basically impossible to like Michael Jackson in a true sense anymore. He hase made the divide. Whether it is truly legit we don’t really know… Maybe he could just be Peter Pan.

Either way, He stopped making music. He started relating to monkeys more than people. He never learned to be an adult. His public appearances became utterly bizarre. My favorite crazy story is when he went down to the local city hall and demanded they put more Taco Bells near his house… he did this in a spider-man mask by the way… yeah… He basically went crazy. It happens. People just go batshit insane sometimes.

And it kind of sucks it was this guy. But then again that’s possibly how it had to be. The 80s and early 90s were just so fucking weird there was no way what was considered cool then could really translate into the following generations. But still. Those great, great songs and performances will live on.

The thing I don’t get is people saying “what’s the big deal? He was a fucking pederast nutball. Just cause he’s dead doesn’t mean you have to be all nice now. You’ve been just as critical as anyone.” And to a degree that is correct, but how it is wrong is the fact that now that because he is dead we finally have the stopping point where we can sit down with body of work. Everything is on the table. The good. The bad. The ugly. It’s all there. And believe me. Another 20 years of crazy could have made a difference. But now he’s dead at 50, of a rather sad cause too. And when looking at it, all the negative stuff (what we know at least) just doesn’t outshine the truly good (or at least entertaining) stuff he gave to the world.

And if you don’t really see that, that you’re just way too fucking cynical.

posted by Lacking Subtlety at 2:12 AM on June 28, 2009


"And when looking at it, all the negative stuff (what we know at least) just doesn’t outshine the truly good (or at least entertaining) stuff he gave to the world."

Also known as the "If the sequined glove fits, you must acquit" defence.
posted by markkraft at 2:43 AM on June 28, 2009


I'll be honest. I think Dark Side of the Moon is worth a hundred dead kids. There. I said it. _Bill Maher
posted by Meatbomb at 2:47 AM on June 28, 2009


It's worth noting that Bill Maher doesn't have kids himself. He is, however, on the Board of Directors for PETA.

If he did have a kid, he would presumably be willing to sacrifice a hundred dead kids that belonged to someone else for his precious grooves.
posted by markkraft at 3:20 AM on June 28, 2009




hippybear, that was sublime! thank you!
posted by sleep_walker at 6:04 AM on June 28, 2009


It basically destroyed his face.

Seeing this comparison again makes me sad.

If only.
posted by bwg at 7:02 AM on June 28, 2009


The moonwalk is a weapon. It can stun at 20 paces.
posted by ...possums at 12:54 PM on June 29, 2009


« Older "Unquiet meals make ill digestions." --William...   |   Flake and chips, thanks Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments