World music videos today.

Henderson, David

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Over thirty-something years of music video, we have gotten what we might have expected of a new (?) art (?) form (?): the sedimentation of practices, followed by the stirring up of new possibilities; an ever-changing relationship with the technologies of production, distribution, and consumption; the formation of unanticipated links with other media forms; and an uneven but steady proliferation worldwide.

Like other short-form media, the music video is fairly amenable to experimentation. Yet it also grew up in the world of 1980s pop and rock, a world that, while liberating in some ways, was highly conventional in others. The music video early on took on two looks: the performance video and the concept video. Almost never entirely exclusive, these two approaches have persisted to the present. One might say that the stylistic history of the music video is a history of directors weaving performance and concept together in increasingly skillful and intriguing ways.

Looking at music video across the globe, performance tends to outweigh concept. Here, though, are three videos that effectively combine the two; all can be viewed on YouTube.

Karacoma, "I.K.T.S."

(Brunei)

Set alongside this metal band's performance is a straightforward concept of love gone wrong. Karacoma's energy lashes out from its tight corner, a small studio simply decorated with two ornately patterned rugs, psychedelic wallpaper, and a red ceiling. Occasional use of a fish-eye lens cramps the room even further. This seething, claustrophobic space contrasts with the black-and-white unfolding of the tortured love story of singer Sam and bassist Wayne. About halfway through this video I found myself thinking, okay, haven't we seen enough already of women being objectified and abused in music videos? Here the violence is rougher and the ending unexpectedly satisfying.

Kiscsillag, "Legyszives"

(Hungary)

Bundled up in a fur-lined coat and a long red and white scarf, actress Kriszta Wieden forlornly drags a wooden sled through Budapest. Her demeanor lightens as she escapes the city and traipses through the snowy woods. This is an unusual take on the performance video, for while the band does appear, it is Wieden who lip-synchs almost all of the lyrics--and interspersed across the video are a few shots of her on a concert stage, as if she is the lead singer of the band.

Lochan Rijal, "Paurakhi"

(Nepal)

Decades before Bhusan Dahal introduced Kathmandu TV viewers to the videos of Michael Jackson and others, Nepali filmgoers saw the songs of Bollywood and the occasional Nepali film on the big screen. Film set the stage for local music video production, and even stand-alone music videos often look like they were lifted from films. But Lochan Rijal is no ordinary singer, "Paurakhi" no ordinary song. Rijal studied and teaches at the Department of Music of Kathmandu University and plays the archaic arbaja and the more widely known sarangi on this track. "Paurakhi," a song about Nepali migrant laborers in India, appears not in a feature film but in the documentary Leaving Nepal, directed by Gopal Koirala.

Visit WLT's website for a more extensive selection of--and links to--music videos from around the world.

David Henderson teaches music and film at St. Lawrence University.