How the Internet Changed Music Videos
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
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This series was amazing. Couldn't resist finishing it on Nebula early but i'm back here for the engagement. Thanks Polyphonic!
I truly didnt realize that the MJ tribute night and Kanye interrupting Taylor was the same event until your intro and I watched this live. That's crazy
"this is america" is so visceral and emotionally unnerving that i only saw it once and it still gives me strong feelings when i see it referenced or a screenshot of it is posted somewhere. i was caught so off-guard that now it just lives with me like a bespoke ghost. i can't say that about _any_ other music video, hell i can't say that about most _films_. 25/10
I'm a Childish fan for years but every time I go back and view that video, I notice something I hadn't before. The clip used in this video made me think of a Michael Jackson impersonator we had dance on the top of a car during the Baltimore riots of 2015. He literally kept making news for his dancing on top of a car the first few days while some nearby cars were smashed or overturned. Your wording is perfect though, well thought out. :)
Wow, you must be very sheltered. Nothing too crazy even happens in that video… don’t ever go on any shock sites online, you’ll have a heart attack 😂
Nah you just like it because of the political meaning of the video, the video itself is mid
Yep, it flies under the radar in a way a more explicit video could not. It is subversive rather than merely aggressive.
I'd posit that this Clipping video is in the same universe
th-cam.com/video/s9EsHbqmjN4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=W2yOVhWoqYb7q5IL
Probably my favorite video of this series. This is the era I grew up with. Excellent production and writing. Thank you so much.
This series was seriously so amazing! I got so excited whenever I saw a new episode uploaded, and I was enthralled every second of every episode. Seriously amazing work.
So much better than any doc I’ve watched on Netflix recently. I totally agree
13:00 i was at college at the time this video came out and the school had an art piece that was a ball that freely could swing. People began copying the music video and the campus took it down only to alter it so it wasnt the same thing anymore. They claimed to do it for safety but earlier in that school year, about a half dozen of us in the clarinet section of the marching band stood on it and had photos taken from others in the section.
I had no idea who else Taylor was going up against in 09 there’s no way she should have won that 😭
gonna miss this series
Thanks for this fun retrospective on the ever changing medium of Music Videos.
THANK YOU for this entertaining and educational deep dive into music history. I'm a huge rock fan (and even used to report on music) but I've learned more through your channel than I ever have in my own research and interest. Working my way up to watching every single video on your channel (almost there!!)
We also can't forget the influence of the amv. Anime music video of early youtube
oh lordy! I remember those! back in 2000 I found a Sailor Mercury one and ... things changed lol
As a GenXer, I've had a lot to explain to my Zoomer kids about our time. I think no established characterization of us is as on point as The MTV generation. How do I explain to my kids what that channel meant to us back then? Especially for kids who grew up in areas of strong cultural hegemony (the rural Midwest, say), MTV opened us up to entirely new views of the world...most importantly to our youth culture, the range of what could be cool. I'll always love watching music videos. It's a part of me.
We are all tired of hearing about gen x
@SuperRat420 I leave a comment about love, you leave one about hate. 👀
I'm an older zoomer - tons of parallels between your description and the internet for my generation. I find that extremely neat. It's a part of my being that's virtually impossible to describe to others that didn't experience the same childhood
Another wonderful series from polyphonic, cant wait to rewatch it
Just finished the entire series after it popped up on my feed a few days ago. My goodness this is an academic deep dive into the history of music videos and how it ties into the pop culture and the consensus of society during its time. This series could easily have been included into a media studies class curriculum in college and I need more of this.
16:17 the hard pan between music and narrative was jarring
FFWD to 17:36 to get past the hard panned part.
Loved this series! Couldn't wait for each new episode
DUDE. you are so absolutely phenomenal at this stuff, man. THANK YOU!!!
Just what I needed this Friday afternoon !
Loved the series.
The one thing I think was missed was the arrival of Mash-Ups and in particular the Mash-Up videos.
Daniel Kim’s Pop-Danthology End-of-year mashup was always a major highlight and social media helped raise awareness… only to have the industry clamp down hard.
Other artists, such as DJs from Mars, would mix multiple sources (animation, tv, film, and other videos) inckuding a self-inserted parody of other music videos in “Insane (in da Brain)”.
And I loved your reference to Beat Saber as during the pandemic, the Let’s Play streaming of music became commonplace where people could compete with stars about these songs, officially licensed or otherwise.
Loved the series and would love to see more. Thank you.
This video is mixed like a Nolan movie... Are you trying to blast my ears off with the music videos 🤣
Great series! My cold, dead, GenX heart thanks you!
Thanks Polyphonic, this was a great series :)
One possible suggestion for addendum videos would be the TH-cam parody song scene. More specifically, when Minecraft became a massive hit in the gaming sphere, it attracted all sorts of creatives to YT for the love of the game, and many musicians and animators teamed up to create MC original and parody songs based on the popular music of the time. These videos, receiving millions of views from mostly younger audiences and rivaling the originals, rubbed against YT's DMCA policies, despite an assumption of Fair Use protection. This sometimes resulted in take downs, forcing some creators to make original work. Nonetheless, this short period of adapting songs into the context of MC (often making them PG) made them popular to a wider, younger audience not on the radio, and spurred YT 3D animators to improve their craft. It's an episode of YT history that demonstrates a maturation of the platform and is not unlike the other types of internet expression mentioned in this series like the AMV or the lyric videos.
Absolutely great series! You did an amazing job with this story!
EXTREMELY well-structured. One of your best videos ever
I still remember watching the music video for ready to fall by Rise Against in the mid-2000s definitely was a different time back then before social media and the internet took everything over
That sounds awesome
Seriously, all the series you've released have been so great. This one might be the best, though. Thanks for making such great docs 💜💜💜
Amazing series! I am too young to remember the eras covered in the other videos, but from this episode, I remember watching almost all of the music videos when they came out. So amazing to see all these songs and clips, some of which I watched dozens of time, put into their popcultural context and to reflect on them now.
Man, your videos have always been so masterfully crafted but this series EXCELS! ❤ Thank you, it has been such a rich experience and no doubt we're all eager to see what 2025 brings 😊
This whole series is a masterpiece
I want to take a moment to appreciate the hard work that went into this. Thank you.
This is probably terrible for the algorithm... But I stopped and started this video multiple times to sit down and watch the music videos you referenced. - great history lesson, thank you for sharing. Really enjoy your videos please keep it up.
Dude no joke this is one of the best channels on TH-cam!
I think it's less about audiences caring about music videos and more about TH-cam doing less to promote music videos imo. It's feels hard to find newer music videos because the music page feels obscured from what they promote
Just watched the whole series. WOW. Excellent, outstanding work. Congratulations to all the team involved.
This was an amazing series, truly one of your greatest works you have put out. The script was absolutely incredible and this really culminated the style of videos you have made in the past. This series brought me back to the Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin collections.
Woohoo! What an awesome series ender! Easily one of my most favorite Music related series of videos on TH-cam! So excited for the addendum videos! 🙌
A great series/documentary of the history of music videos. Thanks for doinh these videos. You rock.
Very very interesting. I'm a gen Xer and a child of MTV and you really capture the essence of our experience and at the same time you taught me a lot about the evolution of the music video and new trends I kind of ignored mainly because I did not understand them. I think I'm going to use them in my lessons, I teach English to Italian music college students. Thanks!
such an incredible end to an incredible series.
I watch these over and over! And your book is RAGING 🔥🔥🔥
An amazing series! I first took notice of the music video through an aunt that also introduced the music of the 1990s to me - Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, RHCP, and others. Then got into the videos of the 80s and more. Lost touch in the 2000s and 2010s due to other focuses. My kids are 12 and 14 and have been keeping me up to date now, including he music concerts in Fortnite, an interesting phenomenon. You are a brilliant doc maker. Cant wait to see what you do next.
This series was my favourite thing that you have ever done, and considering how much i love your work, that's saying a lot.
I didn't want it to end, can't wait for the addendums.
Thanks for this masterclass of a series
Bravi bravissimi!! What an amazing series of video essays. Polyphonic at its finest!! ❤
I love this series! Thank you so much for making it!
I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this series, great work!
Been watching your videos for several years now and can’t remember if I have ever commented, but you make great content. Thank you!!
Most of these can not be considered real videos in the sense we experienced them until the end of the naughties. These are more just show clips with the storyboard replaced by mere choreographies which would require a big screen, not a phone display.
This series was great and as a sidenote I just started reading your book, it's great. All I can hear is your voice while I read it so it's like you're at my house talking to me which is funny.
Man I loved this series. Reading it alongside century of song has been such an enriching experience. Jeez this has been invigorating Noah!
Very good series. You hit many high points of the history of the music video and did a good job at tracking its history. I am one of the many mobile DJs in America that still use music videos in my shows and in my area, have brought renewed interest in the forma t and the nostalgia it brings.
Loved the series. These were all some cool memories and interesting information! Thank you for doing all that work!
I missed out on a lot of these artistic music videos because I wrote off the artists as just making whatever was popular, but they in fact were just talented and envisioned with art that is going to hit with people and be popular.
Wonderful series, definitely felt like a huge timewarp seeing how much music videos have evolved.
This is a great vid. Had me hooked from start to finish. Plus wow you covered these 2010s legends.
This was awesome, thank you. I always love your looks at music, so I'd love to see some additional looks at the music video. :)
Would love to see some supplemental videos to follow this series. It was great and I love hearing you talk about music. The way you structure things flows really nicely.
Can't believe that he didn't include OK GO
This series was awesome! Loved every episode!!!
Bro your videos are freaking 🔥🔥🔥 I personally prefer when you cover the older stuff, but either way thanks for the great content!
Hit record was amazing! Thanks for music video history.
Maybe it's just the old&nostalgic in me that can't be controlled, but I keep hearing that music phrase looping continuously in my head… with that… voice!: "I want my MTV"
I said this on one of the videos of “The Merrie History of Looney Tunes,” but I see a parallel between the history of music videos and the history of theatrical cartoon: both existed in a primitive, experimental forms for many years before becoming a cultural mainstay for about 40 years, both gradually became less prestigious once a new, more accessible medium became ubiquitous and both now mostly exist as subversive artistic experiments (like festival shorts in the case of cartoons) rather than pure entertainment.
As if history does, indeed repeat, I anticipate a nostalgic renaissance era of music videos in the next decade!
Loved it! Thank you for making and sharing this
Neat series, lots of good stuff. Thanks!
I'm old enough to remember when music videos were a new and exciting thing. When people flipped over MTV. When a new kind of star happened because they looked good in their videos. I'm impressed by some of the videos I see on TH-cam these days but can't help but wonder about the economics. A video like Illusion by Dua Lipa doesn't come cheap.
Hey just wanted to let you that at around the 15 minute mark the right channel’s vocals cut out. Other than that, awesome video Poly!!!
This series is soooooo good!
Nice man! A very enjoyable video. I was there for the MTV launch and thought things couldn't get better. I was so wrong. I was surprised by your appearance during the outro. First time I've seen you and so different from my internal image of you. Keep up the good work.
great series - thank you
BRAVO!!!
Keep up the AMAZING work! You are truly relevant!
What a great series, thank you!
Great video. I had no idea that 'turn down for what?' and 'everything everywhere all at once' were by the same directors. You can see the connection!
I enjoyed this series immensely. I appreciate how you touched on various forms of music video technology. I do wish you had touched on special genres of music videos that came out in the late 90s and early to mid 2000s though such as AMVs fan-made music videos that pair a song with scenes from an anime...most are millennial cringe but some are art in their own right such as the one that pairs Rammenstein's "Engel" with Neon Genesis Evangelion.
excellent presentation. thank you!
Joseph Khan's Detention is a great film that doesn't get enough love
What a great series. Thanks
Thank YOU. This was amazing.
Your use of language is something to behold.
Love these videos so much, thank you ❤❤❤
Fantastic! Holy cow! ❤
I put on the first episode and just let them all run. Didn't even realize that it was seven episodes. Great stuff, as ususal.
Today, Vevo and TH-cam are the new MTV, taking up the tradition of airing music videos all day everyday, after the old MTV went down the wrong path.
vevo is defunt in 2024 as well
TH-cam bought vevo in 2018, I haven’t even heard people mention vevo since way before then. What are you talking about?
But now music videos are filled with bot views and cheap music videos mostly.
I loved this whole series! Somehow I'd totally missed seeing that Johnny Cash project, so I have something to look forward to watching next. And of course I'm looking forward to your next project!
Great Series....You should do one on MTV2, I do not remember you mentioning it much. Loved watching and I am also enjoying your book :)
OK Go and their amazing videos deserved a spot on this video, they are mythical
There's a strange alienating feeling I get when I see most of these videos. They all blend together for me like the music they're paired with.
I do recognize that it's just me getting older and never really engaging with the format to begin with even when I was kind of following pop more regularly. But it's still a fascinating exploration here to see where things began and where it ended up.
I kind of dropped out of following music videos past MTV, as all became a blur of the same tits-and-ass crap, where women tried justifying behaving like whores by declaring it the pinnacle of female liberation (like Miley Cyrus). I hardly noticed that there was this different movement which managed to connect the ten second attention spans with actually great pictures, even though they hardly allow an interesting narrative and with very generic committee written music. But at least more than the nothing I was convinced it was.
More videos like this, amazing job!
9:31 I learned about this song thanks to a South Korean vlogger channel, before it went viral. I was sent an email from TH-cam saying I was in the first 1% of world viewers who saw it.
Man, that made me feel so good about myself.
Omg no joke would love to hear U talk about stuff like the following:
Vocaloid how virtual artists have risen to power
Anime opening and how tiktok has driven the success of bands like crazy nuts who have two recent hits based on viral appeal.
Your videos on this series were awesome partner showed them to me and I was blown away thanks for great content
Great Channel! Great Voice!
Loved this series!!!!!!
Great capstone to this series.
Why is the audio messed up from about 16:19-17:30
Maybe a noise reduction app put up a little too high
The Avalanches..... "The Was".... another epic video with so many pop culture movie references, it's almost impossible to name/recognize em all
I love every video you have ever made, please never stop also wtf you need more views
Fantastic series.
Amazing series!
13:14 I genuinely like Miley Cyrus but that's some of the most disingenuous horseshit I've ever heard
If Friday was released today, the masses would love the song and you would hear it at your job/grocery store/parks 5+ times a day.
I don't think there is any era of the internet where Friday would be universally loved honestly. At best it is a novelty song, and a poorly one at that, but perhaps it would be received similarly to a song like What Does The Fox Say? I.e. not be met with relentless harassment, but instead a song that goes viral, people find it annoying, and then it disappears.
Loved the series!