The best music videos of the 1990s

14 September 2024, 13:00

From Radiohead to Foo Fighters and beyond. Here are some of the best videos of the 90s, the decade where MTV came into its own.

By Radio X

@RadioX

1. Radiohead - No Surprises

   Director Grant Gee stuck Thom Yorke's head in a bowl full of water and filmed the result. The film was shot at high speed and then slowed down, but the Radiohead frontman was still taking a risk.

   

   Radiohead - No Surprises

2. Daft Punk - Around The World

   French director noted the repetition involved in the electroncia duo's big tune, and translated that into a hypnotic, looping video.

   

   DAFT PUNK – AROUND THE WORLD (Official Music Video)

3. Massive Attack - Teardrop

   This memorable video featuring a singing foetus was directed by Walter Stern, who helmed the equally famous clips for The Prodigy's Firestarter and Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve.

   

   Massive Attack - Teardrop (Official Video)

4. Foo Fighters - Big Me

   

   Foo Fighters - Big Me (Official Music Video)

   Big Dave Grohl and the boys deliver a perfectly-observed spoof of a TV ad, cheesy smiles and all. The bleakness of Nirvana never seemed further away.

5. Fatboy Slim - Praise You

   Director Spike Jonze takes his fictional Torrance Community Dance Group to the forecourt of the Fox Bruin Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles, California for some impromptu moves. Oddly compelling.

   

   Fatboy Slim - Praise You [Official Video]

6. Alanis Morissette - Ironic

   Alanis recreates her childhood car jouneys for this classic video, where she plays all the parts herself.

   

   Alanis Morissette - Ironic (Official Video)

7. Blind Melon - No Rain

   Heather DeLoach plays the "Bee Girl" in this charming clip that took on added poignancy following the death of Blind Melon frontman Shannon Hoon in 1995.

   

   Blind Melon - No Rain (Official Music Video)

8. Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo

   Video production duo Hammer & Tongs (aka director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith) cooked up this hilarious fantasy in which the Britpop trio are depcited as impossible Muppets, courtesy of some old school trickery.

   

   Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo (Official HD Video)

9. Beastie Boys - Sabotage

   Another Spike Jonze classic. MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D play cops on the trail of some baddies in a hilarious parody of 1970s crime TV series.

   

   Beastie Boys - Sabotage

10. R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts

    A traffic jam on a Texas highway is depicted as the thoughts of the imprisoned passengers flash up via onscreen subtitles. The ending is unexpected.

    

    R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts (Official Music Video)

11. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

    Three musicians, some kids, a school gym and a janitor. Who would have thought this would have been one of the most iconic videos of the 90s?

    

    Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Official Music Video)

12. Weezer - Buddy Holly

    Rivers Cuomo and co insert themselves into an episode of the long-running 1950s-set sitcom in another inspired Spike Jonze clip.

    

    Weezer - Buddy Holly (Official Music Video)

13. The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony

    In a tribute to Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy, Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft barges his way down a Hoxton street with little regard to his fellow pedestrians.

    

    The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony (Official Video)

14. Blink-182 - What's My Age Again?

    The trio of Mark Hoppus, Tom De Longe and Travis Barker "streak" down a Los Angeles street in this hugely popular video - although Blink were later concerned that it made them look like a "joke" band.

    

    blink-182 - What's My Age Again?

15. Guns N'Roses - November Rain

    One of the most overblown, ridiculous, pretentious - and therefore brilliant - music videos ever made, this epic cost $million, which included the hire of a helicopter to swoop around Slash as he played his majestic guitar solo. It's never been matched.

    

    Guns N' Roses - November Rain