ah retro music capturing the classic
energy of the past in a modern setting
all it doesn’t close it try to move
ahead GP set out me instead welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’ll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
retro themes and music videos for this
list we’ll be examining the finest in
music videos that pay tribute to earlier
eras
then one mixup
we’ll be excluding videos with a retro
fantasy or futuristic setting
so unfortunately works such as David
Hasselhoff’s true survivor
and the Smashing Pumpkins tonight
tonight won’t be on this list
number 10 the ghost of you My Chemical
Romance
fear of loss combined with the suffering
inherent to war a potent combination
directed by Marc Webb the music video
for the ghost of you appears to be set
in World War 2 showing the members of my
Chemical Romance as United States
soldiers
the video jumps back and forth between a
USO dance and a scene reminiscent of the
Normandy landings on d-day paralleling
the songs mournful lyrics with actual
scenes of loss and pain
this mixture of elements makes for a
compelling if ultimately tragic music
video
number nine in bloom nirvana
bizarre yet fascinating is an
appropriate way to describe this one in
bloom serves primarily as a parody of
live performances on 1960s variety shows
with Nirvana’s members in respectable
attire and the footage in black and
white
however the video takes a turn when
Ravana starts acting out flips of the
band wearing dresses and smashing up the
set are intercut with the performance at
hand
so goes the story frontman Kurt Cobain
wanted to show fans Nirvana’s humorous
side however it came into being will
certainly never forget this
monochromatic marvel
number eight magic Coldplay magic call
it – speaking of black and white music
videos here’s one that walks a careful
line
Coldplay’s video for magic tells a
moving tale of a magician’s assistant
seeking to intervene in the marriage of
his employer a stage magician played by
actress Zhang Ziyi
don’t move when anybody else but you the
videos lack of color simple
cinematography and other restrained
elements draw from early silent films
while the video subject matter deals
with more contemporary matters such as
spousal abuse
this quiet yet effective contrast gives
Coldplay song all the more weight while
building to a heartwarming conclusion
gimme gimme gimme attention baby number
seven treasure Bruno Mars between this
and uptown funk Bruno Mars has shown his
talent for retro style music treasure
has a simple enough premise Bruno
singing to a girl about how wonderful
she is while accompanied by backup
dancers
however it’s the style that makes the
video incredible the set costumes
lighting and special effects draw
heavily from 1970s disco music from
Bruno’s leopard print shirt to the use
of psychedelic visuals everything is
designed to embody the easy energy of
disco we tip our hats to you Bruno
number six Candyman
Christina Aguilera
the pop song Candyman drawing from jazz
blues and swing influenced has Christina
Aguilera as three different versions of
herself singing for us officers go to
candy
yeah as the video jumps from stage
performance to diner to aircraft hangar
its routes and World War 2 era culture
is clear Cristina’s singing trio act
appears to be a tribute to the Andrew
sisters and the costumes and color
palettes feel at home in a 40 setting
with a real man
combined with the plentiful innuendo and
provocative dance it makes for an
all-around engaging video number five
smooth criminal’ Michael Jackson he’s a
real moon Walker so we here originally
intended to pay homage to westerns the
video for smooth criminal was changed to
a 1930 gangster theme after Michael
Jackson saw the third man
stunning heartbeats intimidations the
video in question follows Michael as he
enters a shady bar easing the tension of
his patrons the only way he knows how by
dancing to a fast beat from the costumes
to the staging of the scenes smooth
criminal’ truly embodies its era of
choice while also remaining a stylish
and memorable site
number four hey-yah outcast
all down
nothing says retro like polaroid
pictures that’s just part of Outkast
hi-yah which put singer Andre 3000 in
the role of eight members of the band
the love below performing for a live
studio audience
the setup up the bad stage performance
coupled with occasional black and white
footage was meant to pay tribute to the
Beatles 1964 appearance on The Ed
Sullivan Show after that the pleasant
use of green as a color scheme and you
have a smartly crafted gem of a video
number three first date blink-182
on our very first date long live the
1970s set in the middle of that decade
first date cast the band blink-182 as
stereotypical young adults of the era
let’s go Yahweh
on it that’s me
long hair tight t-shirts and
bell-bottoms abound in this visibly
saturated video about the band’s travels
through a standard suburb
the sheer lived-in and era-appropriate
feeling to this video cannot be denied
just that it’s hard to deny that the
songs balance between relaxed lyrics and
lively beat fits the visuals
number two sabotage Beastie Boys
intensity pulsates through this video
like few others directed by Spike Jonze
the music video for the Beastie Boy song
sabotage commences in splendid fashion
with the band the street cops chasing
down criminals
reminiscent of popular seventies crime
dramas sabotage doesn’t yield with its
throbbing tempo nor with its quick
editing jumping from action scene to
action scene in a snap
the look of the video is fittingly aged
yet energetic and the atmosphere is
thick with tension but not to the point
of unnecessary grimness it’s played
straight but all in good fun
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
I’m in such a drag all down in the dumps
man
and begin
fees
okay kids Arnold’s is proud to present
Kenosha Wisconsin zone Weezer number one
Buddy Holly Weezer
it’s a tribute like none other Buddy
Holly clearly referencing the famed
musician of the same name also draws
influence from another source the 70s
television show happy days
the show was impact can be felt on all
fronts Weezer’s professional attire
clips of characters from the series and
even a cameo by cast member al Molinaro
the entire video embodies the charm and
seeming happiness of a bygone time
serving as a beautiful encapsulation of
1950s culture courtesy of Spike Jonze
this is a winner
so do you agree with our list stay tuned
for more happy days what is your
favorite retro themed music video for
more retrospection bass top tens
published daily be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com don’t go you turn me on so
with your bee sting yes
you
energy of the past in a modern setting
all it doesn’t close it try to move
ahead GP set out me instead welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’ll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
retro themes and music videos for this
list we’ll be examining the finest in
music videos that pay tribute to earlier
eras
then one mixup
we’ll be excluding videos with a retro
fantasy or futuristic setting
so unfortunately works such as David
Hasselhoff’s true survivor
and the Smashing Pumpkins tonight
tonight won’t be on this list
number 10 the ghost of you My Chemical
Romance
fear of loss combined with the suffering
inherent to war a potent combination
directed by Marc Webb the music video
for the ghost of you appears to be set
in World War 2 showing the members of my
Chemical Romance as United States
soldiers
the video jumps back and forth between a
USO dance and a scene reminiscent of the
Normandy landings on d-day paralleling
the songs mournful lyrics with actual
scenes of loss and pain
this mixture of elements makes for a
compelling if ultimately tragic music
video
number nine in bloom nirvana
bizarre yet fascinating is an
appropriate way to describe this one in
bloom serves primarily as a parody of
live performances on 1960s variety shows
with Nirvana’s members in respectable
attire and the footage in black and
white
however the video takes a turn when
Ravana starts acting out flips of the
band wearing dresses and smashing up the
set are intercut with the performance at
hand
so goes the story frontman Kurt Cobain
wanted to show fans Nirvana’s humorous
side however it came into being will
certainly never forget this
monochromatic marvel
number eight magic Coldplay magic call
it – speaking of black and white music
videos here’s one that walks a careful
line
Coldplay’s video for magic tells a
moving tale of a magician’s assistant
seeking to intervene in the marriage of
his employer a stage magician played by
actress Zhang Ziyi
don’t move when anybody else but you the
videos lack of color simple
cinematography and other restrained
elements draw from early silent films
while the video subject matter deals
with more contemporary matters such as
spousal abuse
this quiet yet effective contrast gives
Coldplay song all the more weight while
building to a heartwarming conclusion
gimme gimme gimme attention baby number
seven treasure Bruno Mars between this
and uptown funk Bruno Mars has shown his
talent for retro style music treasure
has a simple enough premise Bruno
singing to a girl about how wonderful
she is while accompanied by backup
dancers
however it’s the style that makes the
video incredible the set costumes
lighting and special effects draw
heavily from 1970s disco music from
Bruno’s leopard print shirt to the use
of psychedelic visuals everything is
designed to embody the easy energy of
disco we tip our hats to you Bruno
number six Candyman
Christina Aguilera
the pop song Candyman drawing from jazz
blues and swing influenced has Christina
Aguilera as three different versions of
herself singing for us officers go to
candy
yeah as the video jumps from stage
performance to diner to aircraft hangar
its routes and World War 2 era culture
is clear Cristina’s singing trio act
appears to be a tribute to the Andrew
sisters and the costumes and color
palettes feel at home in a 40 setting
with a real man
combined with the plentiful innuendo and
provocative dance it makes for an
all-around engaging video number five
smooth criminal’ Michael Jackson he’s a
real moon Walker so we here originally
intended to pay homage to westerns the
video for smooth criminal was changed to
a 1930 gangster theme after Michael
Jackson saw the third man
stunning heartbeats intimidations the
video in question follows Michael as he
enters a shady bar easing the tension of
his patrons the only way he knows how by
dancing to a fast beat from the costumes
to the staging of the scenes smooth
criminal’ truly embodies its era of
choice while also remaining a stylish
and memorable site
number four hey-yah outcast
all down
nothing says retro like polaroid
pictures that’s just part of Outkast
hi-yah which put singer Andre 3000 in
the role of eight members of the band
the love below performing for a live
studio audience
the setup up the bad stage performance
coupled with occasional black and white
footage was meant to pay tribute to the
Beatles 1964 appearance on The Ed
Sullivan Show after that the pleasant
use of green as a color scheme and you
have a smartly crafted gem of a video
number three first date blink-182
on our very first date long live the
1970s set in the middle of that decade
first date cast the band blink-182 as
stereotypical young adults of the era
let’s go Yahweh
on it that’s me
long hair tight t-shirts and
bell-bottoms abound in this visibly
saturated video about the band’s travels
through a standard suburb
the sheer lived-in and era-appropriate
feeling to this video cannot be denied
just that it’s hard to deny that the
songs balance between relaxed lyrics and
lively beat fits the visuals
number two sabotage Beastie Boys
intensity pulsates through this video
like few others directed by Spike Jonze
the music video for the Beastie Boy song
sabotage commences in splendid fashion
with the band the street cops chasing
down criminals
reminiscent of popular seventies crime
dramas sabotage doesn’t yield with its
throbbing tempo nor with its quick
editing jumping from action scene to
action scene in a snap
the look of the video is fittingly aged
yet energetic and the atmosphere is
thick with tension but not to the point
of unnecessary grimness it’s played
straight but all in good fun
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
I’m in such a drag all down in the dumps
man
and begin
fees
okay kids Arnold’s is proud to present
Kenosha Wisconsin zone Weezer number one
Buddy Holly Weezer
it’s a tribute like none other Buddy
Holly clearly referencing the famed
musician of the same name also draws
influence from another source the 70s
television show happy days
the show was impact can be felt on all
fronts Weezer’s professional attire
clips of characters from the series and
even a cameo by cast member al Molinaro
the entire video embodies the charm and
seeming happiness of a bygone time
serving as a beautiful encapsulation of
1950s culture courtesy of Spike Jonze
this is a winner
so do you agree with our list stay tuned
for more happy days what is your
favorite retro themed music video for
more retrospection bass top tens
published daily be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com don’t go you turn me on so
with your bee sting yes
you
Please follow and like us: