Melo's Recommendations for Long Form Visuals
The art of making music videos is not something that anyone can easily perfect. It is even harder if that video goes beyond 5 minutes. Those projects can be hit or miss, depending on what they are trying to accomplish, but for the most part they set out to give the artist a bigger space to elevate their musical projects to the next level. Conventional music videos only give you so much time to get your ideas across. A long form music video project allows the exploration of a song or even an album. It basically creates the world that an artist imagines for that specific era.
For this feature, I’ve compiled some of those long-form music videos that have captured my interest over the years. I’ve always been fascinated by artists that continue storylines with their music videos or take a lot of creative effort to bring their music to life through video. This list in no way is representative of a collective opinion, rather my opinion on these music video projects.
Blue Neighborhood Trilogy (2015) by Troye Sivan (CW: violence, implied suicide)
Being on Tumblr during the early to mid 2010s was an interesting experience. Those teenage years really are something, but it was through this that I came across Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighborhood Trilogy. This was all to promote his upcoming album Blue Neighborhood (2015) at the time and to promote the songs “Wild”, “Fools”, and “Talk Me Down”. It was through this trilogy that a sad gay love story is told.
It was through LGBTQ+ media like this that I truly felt somewhat represented. My politics of around representation have evolved for sure, but at the time being 16 and queer this did wonders for me. Pop music was finally being used to reflect a part of my identity that I often have to suppress. Although there are cliché tropes within the project, there is something there that Troye Sivan is able to touch with his lyricism in the song and artistry within the video.
Fairy Dust (2016) by Tove Lo (CW: Sexual content, drug usage, flashing/strobing effects, violence)
Back in 2016, Tove Lo released her second studio album Lady Wood. The album is divided into two chapters “Fairy Dust” and “Fire Fade”. To coincide with the album’s release, she also debuted her first short film titled after the first chapter of the album. The film sets out to give a music video for the first chapter of Lady Wood, totaling in 5 music videos that weave into one storyline.
Tove Lo falls into the small category of artists that successfully set the imagery for her music. I was so wrapped up in each element of this short film, especially the music and the writing in between the scenes. Tim Erem, the co-writer of the screenplay, and Tove Lo wrote some beautiful dialogue and monologues that carefully examine the darkness of the emotions that come with being trapped in your own self-destruction and how a mind can be manipulated to think that it is beautiful. There are beautiful tidbits about the ways pleasure and pain mix or become non-differentiable. The film truly shows us how destructive our minds can be when influenced by the wrong things or people. While watching it, it made me uncomfortable not only because of what I was watching but also because of how some of the themes rang true. The themes of self-destruction really are present throughout the film. I do not think it glorifies anything, but rather shows us how volatile emotions can be and how ugly it can get.
Whack World (2018) by Tierra Whack
Probably one of the most underrated artists in the music scene right now, Tierra Whack’s creative mind gave us one of the best visuals of 2018 with Whack World. This music video project is titled after her critically-acclaimed debut studio album of the same name where each of the 15 songs on the album is only a minute long. I strongly recommend listening to the album since it is only 15 minutes.
For Whack World, Tierra Whack gives us a music video for each of the songs. Each of them isa different creative, cartoonish view into the mind of Tierra Whack. From the beginning of the short film, you see how colorful her world is. Everything is exaggerated and made in a cartoonish-way. There are moments, like in “4 Wings”, “Dr. Seuss”, and “Waze”, where her stylings provide a juxtaposition from the colorful world she has created to the somber lyrics she is rapping. Other times, like in “Pet Cemetery”, “Fuck Off”, and “Sore Loser”, where the cartoonish styles serves as a way to amplify the cartoonish way she decides to rap on those tracks. Whack World is an excellent introduction to the world of Tierra Whack and her style, leaving us wanting more and more with the small snippets of those songs.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983) by Michael Jackson (CW: horror themes)
This video would probably be the original blueprint to music videos that we see to this day. Thriller (1982) is one of the most impactful albums to come out of the last century and Michael Jackson solidified his position in the pop world through the album. Although the album was full of hits, none of them can compare to the cultural impact that was Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Staying true to the horror theme present in the song “Thriller”, Michael Jackson creates a true music horror spectacle for 9-minutes. I remember watching this at the age of 7 and being so scared of the video but at the same time intrigued by the fact Michael was telling a story. It informed what I believe is a good music video. It needs to tell some kind of story, whether abstract or not. It needs to give us a look into the world of the song or album. “Thriller” is just one of those music videos that everyone HAS to watch. Anyone who is invested in music needs to see this visual.
Fire Fade (2017) by Tove Lo (CW: sexual content, flashing/strobing light effects)
A few months after the release of Fairy Dust, Tove Lo brings us the second chapter of Lady Wood with Fire Fade. Similar to the first film, she uses the Fire Fade chapter of her album and gives them each a connected music video. The difference, however, is that Fire Fade is a more abstract examination into the themes of this chapter rather than having a set storyline.
This abstraction of the last half of the album gives a much more reflective Tove Lo. She really takes that part of her life into fictional media and is able to translate those dark emotions into the music and monologues. In a way, this is a performance art piece that tries to really explain and demonstrate her emotions that she wants to put on display through this album. Fire Fade was truly a good way to conclude her Lady Wood era. It demonstrated the depth that Tove Lo is able to express her emotions and showed us that Tove Lo is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to artistry in the electropop world.
Black is King (2020) by Beyoncé
Black is King (2020) poster provided by Disney+
Beyoncé continued her legacy as a creative force with the release of Black is King. After her role as Nala in The Lion King (2019), she abstracted the storyline of the same film to create The Lion King: The Gift (2019). The album itself was a creative effort from Beyoncé and other African artists like Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Shatta Wale, etc. to bring forward modern elements of Afrobeats into hip-hop.
Like on The Gift, Beyoncé utilizes Black is King to abstract The Lion King (2019) storyline into a visual form. The film is full of African symbolism while also giving us the top tier visuals that Beyoncé is known for. Although not a perfect, realistic perspective of the continent (read about that perspective here), Beyoncé gives us a glimpse into her views of African culture and how it has influenced her, while trying to uplift Black people. Every time you go back, there is something to catch and learn from its symbolism and lyricism.
Marry The Night (2011) by Lady Gaga (CW: depictions of psych wards, character having a breakdown)
There is something about the early Gaga era that kept people coming back for more. The conclusion to the Born This Way era came with the release of “Marry The Night”, before she embarked on the Born This Way Ball World Tour. Although not her most memorable video when it comes to cultural impact, it is probably one of her best music videos.
The 13-minute video provides a semi-autobiographical look at Gaga’s toughest moment as a rising pop star. In 2006, she was signed but dropped three months later by Def Jam Records, where she had her lowest point. “Marry The Night” became her artist interpretation of that time in her life. Through it, she shows us her time in a mental hospital, her breakdown after being dropped, and the moments where she decided to pick herself back up. It is her most honest moment during that era where you could see through all the glamour she loves to put up. That part is real, but so are the sad moments that Gaga had to go through to become the pop star she is today.
Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) by Janet Jackson
Everyone knows about Janet Jackson and the song “Rhythm Nation”. Everyone knows the album of the same name. What a lot of people don’t know, however, is that Janet also released a short film to promote the album. The music videos to “Miss You Much” and “Rhythm Nation” were all part of this project, with “The Knowledge” being used in the film but not released as a single.
The black-and-white visual drives the tone for the entire album and gives us a social justice message that was groundbreaking at the time of the release. While doing that, Janet delivers her iconic dance routines like the chair dance at the end of “Miss You Much” or the introduction to “Rhythm Nation”. To me, this was a spectacle in dance and artistry that has definitely influenced the model of female pop stars. Janet Jackson started to solidify her position as a music icon with the release and promotion of Rhythm Nation 1814.
Beyoncé: Lemonade (2016) by Beyoncé
There was no way that I was going to do a list of music video projects without including the most powerful and influential musical project that is Lemonade by Beyoncé. Nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Music Film, Beyoncé firmly solidified her position as not only a singer-songwriter but probably one of the most innovative/creative artists in the modern era. In a time where artists have album cycles that mirror each other, Beyoncé set out to do something different, a film.
Although abstract with no storyline, Beyoncé takes us through 11 “chapters”: Intuition, Denial, Anger, Apathy, Emptiness, Accountability, Reformation, Forgiveness, Resurrection, Hope, and Redemption. These “chapters” each are representative of a song on the album and give us a glimpse into the cycle of learning how to love again after being wronged. She also does this all through the eyes of Black feminism. Visually-stunning, Beyoncé also utilizes the writings of Warsan Shire to amplify her messaging. Through Lemonade, Beyoncé gave us a rare look into her life while also trying to empower Black women who are in similar situations such as her. There is something to learn from Lemonade for everyone who watches and pays attention to the lyrics and imagery.