It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly FIFTY years since The Monkees burst onto the scene, fully formed, as if out of the skull of Zeus himself. In that time, the manufactured nature of the group has become the norm, their focus on creating a musical “brand” has become the pathway to success, and the music video phenomenon they pioneered spawned first a network and then an entire programming genre. (Ironically, said network is not so much with the music any longer, but progress, as always, marches on.) Putting images to music wasn’t a new idea, even in 1966, but the near-seamless integration of the visual and aural forms made for a whole new world of experiences, which in turn begs a query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) reminds you that our last number is a combination of two pieces of music so utterly different in construction and mood that they set each other off perfectly. Musically and dramatically, we have here a picture of the struggle between the profane and the sacred, asking: What’s the most perfect synthesis of music and images you’ve ever encountered?
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Baraka. The jarring juxtaposition of the beautiful and serene images in nature with the bleakness of the urban jungle combined with the pitch-perfect music and complete lack of narration made this one of the most powerful visual experiences of my life. It has its issues, but still absolutely the only choice I have for this question.
For me, it was Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe tour back in ’98. It was equal parts watching the band and a stage show, with a really elaborate set constructed and lots of background “characters” (ranging from costumed monsters and robots to scantily clad goth dancers and so on). For certain songs, there were even characters fitting to the theme of the song (such as “Living Dead Girl”). It was just so far beyond what you normally get out of a concert, even those that use pyrotechnics and flashy visuals.
And that doesn’t even include the cheerleader stripper that Monster Magnet had dancing around to “Space Lord” as part of the opening act (that part doesn’t have anything to do with the QOTD, I just like mentioning it).
As a long time snowboarder I recommend “The Art of Flight.” It’s a pseudo-doc about pro-boarder Travis Rice trying to find the most epic places to ride. The soundtrack totally compliments the hi-def imagery of folks hucking themselves off mountains.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog. Musically, many of the songs are really, really good, but the lyrics and what is going on in the story on screen is so zany and crazy, yet it all works so well.
I would have to agree. and also, heck yeah! love this thing. the two best parts are the duet and the one about how he finally has a reason to kill Captain Hammer.
Brand New Day is amazing!
This documentary called ‘What about me?’
It’s of music and philosophy and is utterly magical. I’d have more words but it’s 4 am
I’m partial to the video album that Eurythmics made with Sophie Muller for their album Savage. It’s an amazing pairing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_%28Video_Album%29
The school festival episode of “And Yet the Town Moves” – the inserted song is hilarious, and also the music matches the animation perfectly, so you know it was animated to the actual song. I’ve never seen a musical number done better in an animated show.
Yellow Submarine!
The opening intro to Final Fantasy 8! It absolutely perfect and from that moment your hooked into the game!
“Once more with feeling” for Buffy season 6. The characters’ emotions are so expertly and heart-rendingly displayed, especially the twist about Buffy’s existence post-death.
pink floyds the wall
The first teasers for “Man of Steel” with the LOTR music and voiceovers by Jor-El or Pa Kent.
Fantasia. Visually interpreting music with animation was the whole point of Fantasia.