Perhaps realizing that a good chunk of the people who still care about its brand wouldn’t know a 3OH!3 from a GaGa, MTV has added a new, retro-tastic category to this year’s Video Music Awards: Best Video That Should Have Won A Moonman, in which an overlooked clip from years gone by gets its space-statue due. (I do wonder if the presentation of said award will be shown on VH1, if only because it can then be blown out into an hour-long special about Loving The Videos That Lost At The Video Music Awards or somesuch.) There are 10 clips up for this honor, and they hail from eras as long-ago as MTV’s earliest days and as recent as the YouTube Age. My biases in this category are probably given away by the above screen grab, but you might think* differently!
BEST VIDEO (THAT SHOULD HAVE WON A MOONMAN)
Beastie Boys: “Sabotage”
Bjork: “Human Behavior”
Dr Dre: “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang”
Foo Fighters: “Everlong”
George Michael: “Freedom ‘90″
OK Go: “Here It Goes Again”
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: “Into The Great Wide Open”
Radiohead: “Karma Police”
David Lee Roth: “California Girls”
U2: “Where The Streets Have No Name”
I would like to call BS on OK Go being in this category, since that video’s ascent was not really MTV-related. If anything, it should get some sort of lifetime achievement award for Best Evidence That MTV Wasn’t The Only Game In Town When It Came To Pumping Up Videos’ Popularity?
Also, surely I’m not the only person who thinks that “Just” is the superior Radiohead video—it was nominated for Breakthrough Video in 1996, but lost to the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight Tonight.” Regardless of my personal preferences, though, something tells me that Radiohead’s going to take this—and by “something” I mean the “democratic” aspect of the proceedings, ahem.
Earlier: 2009 Video Music Awards Nominations
* Just in case you were wondering, the Cars clip of that name is ineligible, since it won the inaugural Video Of The Year award.
not my favorite song on the list, but the everlong video has more of a right to a moonman than any other. not that anyone involved will give a shit about a fuckin’ moonman in 2009. are they actually going to go back to 1997 to present the award when it sorta mattered?
BJORK FTW!
Wow. This just serves to remind me how awesome music videos used to be. I still see a fair number of them on youtube and fuse, but the ones for major label artists are rarely as interesting or creative as the ones from back when MTV was the only place to see music videos.
Also: between Beasties, DLR, and Radiohead I don’t think I could pick the superior video.
@revmatty: I too love music videos. Just hooked to MTV Latino when it actually played music in my teens. Things do change, after all.
I was so confused by the fact that “Sabotage” didn’t win a Moonman that I felt compelled to see who did win that year.
AEROSMITH – “CRYIN’”
The other losers that year:
Nirvana — “Heart-Shaped Box”
R.E.M. — “Everybody Hurts”
My head hurts all of a sudden.
@fre2daa: MTV Latino had a great run there for awhile. I even convinced myself I was a Marta Sanchez fan back in 1995.
I’ll trade their “Into The Great Wide Open” for a “Yer So Bad”.
“Nuthin but a G Thang” seems kind of out of place. All of those other videos are pretty rad even if you turned the sound off, but “..G Thang” wouldn’t work in that way for me. Except for the part where the dude pulls the volleyball-playing girl’s top off.
I mean, sabotage is gonna win this easily, right? Especially with Adam’s illness?
But overall, at least they picked really strong videos. Human Behavior and Everlong are awesome but too arty to win this, I think. Karma Police is great the first time you watch, but maybe doesn’t hold up. (Just is amazing, obvs) U2 is bleh – do they have a great video? Dre and Petty videos are both good but not great. In terms of re-watchability, i gotta go with Freedom 90 and California Girls. I guess I just like watching hot chicks? Who knew.
Yeah, “Sabotage” in a walk. I have to admit, when this posted with the other nominations, I thought it was an Idolator joke.
no Will Smith “Miami” (he lost to Fatboy Slim and looked all pissy)
@Dan Gibson : Yesterday I listened to her cover of “Lili Marlene” (from her Ole Ole days)… pure gold, sort of. And yeah “Sabotage” for the win.
I just hope you understand, sometimes the clothes do not make the Moonman.
Should win: Diamond Dave. I would argue that that video had FAR more cultural impact at the time than any of the other videos.
Will win: Sabatoge. Safe, but you still get to feel hip for voting for them.
Do the Johnny Depp fans of the world unite and vote for TP & the HBers to see if he’ll show up at the awards?
My personal vote would be for “Freedom 90,” because I am easily entranced by videos in which the artist does not appear.
@Dan Gibson: Me too! LOL. It’s like, they had to have a requisite “pop star” among all the ‘rock en español’ thing they had going a the beggining of the channel, and they chose her, God knows why.
@Dan Gibson: I think Crying is a great video that can hold its own to those competing with it that year.
I am a big fan of Michel Gondry and he lucks out with two great videos here – Human Behaviour and Everlong. I think Spike Jonze’s work on Sabotage will provide a good race, though. Plus there will surely be some extra votes for Adam Yauch and the boys.