If you hadn't already guessed from the title, I am a massive Peter Gabriel fan. I love pretty much every song of his, ever! I love the creative intensity of his live shows. And I absolutely adore his music videos. His videos are some of the weirdest, mind-boggling, visually amazing and awesome things I have ever seen. And I think this largely comes from Gabriel having a lot of say when it comes to what happens in them. They often reflect the mood of the music rather than what's happening in the lyrics, and like the music he puts out, they are a crazy bunch of eclectic epicness and produced to perfection.
This is my list of the top ten best of his videos. And this was very hard to put together. Mainly because there are so many videos that I could've put on here, and there were some really hard decisions involving the final few. So, if you don't agree at all with my list, I understand. And that's why I'm just going to name a few of the runners up before we get down to the top ten itself. These didn't make it not because they're bad, but because the others are just better.
Shock the Monkey
I Don't Remember
In Your Eyes
Modern Love
All of his videos are excellent in their own way, but some just stand a cut above the rest and are more memorable than others. Some were chosen on a more personal level, some on a purely technical level, and some just because they were weird enough to have a lasting impression. So, without further ado, Showtime!
10. Father, Son
Simplicity is sometimes the best way to go, especially with slow songs. And this has to be Gabriel's simplest video. There's no weird or shocking imagery and no crazy animation. It's just him sitting at a piano performing his song, with clips of him and his father interspersed throughout. It's the most normal out of his videos, and yet also one of the most emotional. The song itself is very simple and the video suits it magnificently. But why did I choose this one and not one of his older ones, like 'Shock the Monkey'? Well, this is the only one of Gabriel's videos that brings me to tears every time, and that has to count for something.
9. Lovetown
I showed this to my friend, and he thought he was on an LSD trip. This is a fucking bizarre video, inspired by the artwork of Yayoi Kusama (who likes polka dots... a lot!), but it is incredibly memorable. I think it's meant to represent the loneliness that can sometimes be found within families, and the monotonous time that happens in the suburbs. I think. It's fairly cryptic, going more for fitting the mood of the music and changes that happens in the song. It was a tough call between this one and the little known video for 'Come Talk to Me', but in the end, this one proved to be the more interesting choice, mainly cause it's so fucking insane!
8. Solsbury Hill
It's impossible for me to pick a favourite Peter Gabriel song, but this one comes pretty close. There are about five different versions of the video around, so I have to be specific and say that the original promo cut (I think that's what it is) is the best one, and not the newer one that's filled with cabbages. 'Solsbury Hill' was Gabriel's first solo single after leaving Genesis, and is actually about what he went through after he quit the band. The video isn't really about that, it isn't really about anything. It's more of a mood piece. This came out in 1977, when music videos were still taking baby steps, but you can still see a lot of classic Gabriel-isms in it. The close up shots of his face, random imagery that just seems to fit perfectly, even some really basic animation. The thing that stands out for me is the way it captures the coming of age feel of that the song brings. It's about welcoming the new, while looking back at the past.
7. Digging in the Dirt
If you know anything about the 1992 album Us, you'll know the back story to this song. This is a very angry song about Gabriel's failed first marriage (and the other songs from the album reflect this as well) and the video explores what things contribute to an end of a relationship, but in a more exaggerated manner. At least, that's what I get from the car and beach scenes. The parts with Gabriel buried in the dirt (an apparently grueling shoot, with the poor dude having to lie in the same position for days on end) seem to reflect the soul-searching he was also going through at the time. The fact that those parts take place during the quieter chorusof the the song seems to enhance that theory. In all honesty, I think this video suits the song that it's for better than most of the others. Though the sight of Peter Gabriel being buried alive scared me when I was a kid.
6. Growing Up
Now, this video makes slightly more sense than some of the other videos (like 'Lovetown') and has more of a story as well. It seems to be about how our modern lives are isolating us from others, and also how we keep growing up as a society and are taking over the world with our cities. The changes between the city and the pebble beach suit the changes in the tempo of the song so well. The songs lyrics seem to be about moving through life without really living it, so again, everything fits perfectly. This was Gabriel's second major music video in around ten years after Us (the first being the Sean Penn directed 'Barry Williams Show') and is much better than it's predecessor. It harks back to his earlier days of crazy imagery videos, and if you watch back to back with 'Solsbury Hill' you can really see how far Gabriel has come since then.
5. Blood of Eden
Religious imagery abounds in this obvious comparison between Gabriel's personal life and the relationship between Adam and Eve. The video also features Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who provided vocals on some of the tracks from Us. This video is the the most like a film. An art-house film, where every frame means something and not a single second is wasted in trying to put across the message. And the message is that while two people may love each other it doesn't that they can work well together and last the distance. Using the biblical story of Adam of Eve proves that Gabriel really is a musical genius, but in the video I do think that O'Connor gives a better, more ambiguous and underrated performance.
4. Big Time
Yes! We have made it to the stop-motion/claymation videos!! At long last, the technical genius of this video will be known! Well, only to those who can be bothered reading this. This one came after 'Sledgehammer' and both have amazing technical achievements, but I do have to give props to 'Big Time' especially for the moving pile of earth at the beginning. It's awesome! And that's really all this is too. A silly, fun music video to suit a bombastic, over the top song about selling out and enjoying it. Plus, it's got a bobble-head Peter Gabriel driving a stop-motion car. How awesome is that!
3. Steam
The epicness of this video appears within the first 30 seconds. Peter Gabriel gets out of an over-stretched stretch limo dressed as a Pimp. Fuck. Yeah. This is a song about sex in relationships, with a video about sex. And also a little bit about how sex is seen through different symbolistic images. Instead of the stop-motion of his earlier years, the animation is very early CG-I, and is laughably bad in some parts. But then, if it's bad why is it so high on the list? Well, this is the very first music video I remember watching, so there is a big bag of nostalgia tied to this for me. Also, Gabriel seems to having the most fun in this video, like he knew it was silly and kinda stupid. Like in 'Big Time', this is just pure fun, and I love every fast-paced minute of it!
2. Red Rain
In this song, I think Gabriel gives his most emotive performance. His eyes give this look of askance as he raises them to the heavens as if to ask the gods "Why?" This is a fairly simple video, just a spotlight that highlights different parts of Gabriel's face while an African dancer gives off a truly moving performance with an amazing dress as a prop. The fantastic opening (which is really hard to explain in words so watch it!) grips you and draws you in from the get go. Because the song could be interpreted in many ways, having an ambigous music video was an excellent choice to make, and this becomes one of the most powerful music videos made.
1. Sledgehammer
Honestly, if you didn't see this one coming, then you cannot call yourself a fan of this man. His most famous video, the most played video on MTV and if you ask anyone what their favourite P.G music video is, 9 times out of 10 they will say this one. It's the most recognisable, the weirdest, the most technically brilliant and one of the best music videos ever! I don't even need to go into the details of this video, everyone knows what happens in it! Oh, and the song is pretty awesome too. Like 'Steam', it's about sex (Hooray!) but it could also be taken as a slightly weird love song. I can't really say much else. This was always going to be number one. I love the balls off this video and it looks like the rest of the world does too.
Sorry for the epic length of this. I got writing and couldn't stop. I hope at the very least you like some of the songs here, even if you don't agree with some of the choices or the order. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a living room that needs to be filled with crazy embarassing dance moves!
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