Foo Fighter is a great band. Grohl and company know how to rock out. But for my purposes they are even better at making music videos. The Foo Fighters really seem to understand that a music video should add a dimension to the experience for the viewer that isn't available to the listener.
I am not saying a concert or performance video does not work. I discussed this topic the last time I did this experiment so I will try not to repeat myself. You can read what I wrote already if you are interested in such a discussion. (BTW take the time to enjoy You Can Call Me Al because it is really a good video.) Today I want to talk about the Foo Fighters specifically.
Ok I will repeat myself a little because I have not thought of a way to say this better:
To make a truly great video you need to do something that takes advantage of the video medium. This is usually accomplished in one of two ways. Either the video short movie or it is conceptual. Thiller by Michael Jackson is a short movie. Conceptual videos take many forms and some can be pretty bizarre like Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.
The Foo fighters actually excel at all aspects of video making. It helps that the Foo Fighters put out so many strong songs. A good video needs a good song. The Foo Fighters can make a great performance video. All My Life is a fine example of a performance video. The concept is simple and minimalistic. The band is performing a dress rehearsal for a concert. The Foo fighters can also tell an elaborate story in a mini movie style video. Learning to Fly is a self contained comedic story of drug smuggling. On mute it is the second best video I have discussed this month finishing ahead of Paris Hilton's Come Alive but finishing behind Blurred Lines because Emily Rajakowski is just that hot.
What I really like about Foo Fighters is how well they blend the three basic forms of videos. The Pretender starts out as a relatively simple but effective performance video. Then about halfway through the video, the band is confronted by an aggressive looking man man decked out in riot gear. The solo aggressor is soon joined by about two dozen similarly attired companions who proceed to charge our heroes. The Guys use the power of their music, visualized as a torrent of red liquid to push back the hostile forces. Good stuff people.
Everlong is a fine example of high concept and cinematic narrative. I won't even try to interpret it for you in prose. I would do it no justice. Neil Gaiman used to tell stories this powerful about dreams, but now he just drones on about his girlfriend.
Walk is a another example of cinematic narrative and concept. If you have never seen the movie Falling Down, you will miss how good the concept of this video is. The video works just fine if you haven't seen the movie. Dave is having a bad day and refuses to just be another steer to be herded with the other cattle. Very Punk. If you like the vid, wait to you meet William Foster. Every time I want to crucify Joel Schumaker for putting nipples on Batman and refusing to put them on Batgirl I try to remember two things. First, Joel has apologized for Batman And Robin, and second Schumaker made Falling Down.
You can watch any of these great Foo Fighter videos for free by following the links. If you want to watch Falling Down it'll cost you $2.99 on Google Play or Amazon. Trust me, it's three dollars well spent.
Later
Bob
* Todays title is a Quote from Dave Grohl.
"Had I imagined that it would last more than a month-and-a-half, I might have named it something else," Grohl says in the above video. "It's the dumbest band name ever." --The Rolling Stone
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