Spike Jonze’s Top 5 Music Videos

Spike Jonze is the acclaimed director of films such as the brilliantly eccentric Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, which holds the unique distinction of providing us with Nicolas Cage playing identical twins.

Jonze is also however an accomplished and prolific music director – he’s dabbled in all styles and genres from Bjork to Kanye West. To mark the release of his new film Her, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson, now is a perfect time for a countdown of his five greatest music videos.

5. Weezer – Buddy Holly

‘Buddy Holly’ sees Jonze transporting Weezer into the 1970s sitcom Happy Days. Their upbeat, optimistic style of music works perfectly in this world and Jonze seamlessly blends footage of the show and the band to make the video seem completely authentic. It was one of the most popular videos of the 1990s, cementing Weezer’s reputation as one of the geekiest and most imaginative bands around and establishing Jonze as a director that the best artists wanted to work with. ‘Buddy Holly’ should be admired for providing a video just as quirky as its song but also for Jonze’s creative and technical abilities.

4. Kanye West – Flashing Lights

Anything that Kanye West does comes with a huge wave of expectation; this is partly due to the consistent quality of his music but also comes from his ambitious nature and claims of being as great as Steve Jobs and Michael Angelo. Luckily for West, he has the help of Spike Jonze to ride this anticipation and together, they create a sublime music video which successfully captures the song’s mood. Its use of lighting, cinematography, pacing and setting come together to form an atmospheric and oddly melancholic story. Here’s hoping that if West decides to release ‘Blood on the Leaves’ as a single from his brilliant album Yeezus, he’ll employ Jonze again.

3. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Is there a band more perfect than Arcade Fire to make a video based on the optimism of childhood and growing up as well as the pain of growing apart from friends? The video for ‘The Suburbs’, which is essentially a preview for Jonze’s half-hour short film Scenes from the Suburbs, sees all of these things explored in the political backdrop of an alternative reality where all towns are separated by checkpoints and armed guards. There is a sense that Arcade Fire and Spike Jonze have a lot in common; while both are interested in the surreal and dystopian, they both embrace a sense of earnest, heartfelt optimism, which is what makes this video as brilliant as it is. ‘The Suburbs’ sounds cheerful and hopeful but it also has a reflective feel to it and both of these elements are translated into the video. Jonze’s new film Her also promises to mix this sense of an alternate reality with heartfelt emotion.

2. Beastie Boys – Sabotage

There really is nothing not to like about the concept for ‘Sabotage’; it sees The Beastie Boys cast as moustache-toting, rooftop-jumping, suspect-beating cops. This anarchic and chaotic homage to Starsky and Hutch matches, if not surpasses, the song’s energy and fits well with the band’s persona. The Beastie Boys have always proved adept at being funny as well as making great music and this talent is on full display here. Spike Jonze’s technical precision is also very present – he retains great pacing by syncopating all the edits to the song’s ragged beats. Jonze and the band tried to make a film together for years and after watching this video for the first time in a while, I can’t help but wish for that project to finally come together.

1. Fatboy Slim – Weapon of Choice

Whoever thought of having a music video centred on Christopher Walken dancing deserves some sort of award. I genuinely can’t think of anything more entertaining than watching Walken dance and eventually fly in his home. There are countless reasons why this video is considered to be one of the best music videos of all time, as voted by the music channel VH1. Walken, who was originally trained as a musical-theatre dancer, gives an unforgettable and mesmerising performance (if only there were more awards given to music video actors). The video also features a number of creatively inspired flourishes which elevate it past just being a cool concept: his stance at the beginning and end, his dance on the escalator, and a portrait of Fatboy Slim AKA Norman Cook about two minutes in to name just a few. Other videos are closely following at its heels but for me, Weapon of Choice is the definitive Spike Jonze music video.

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