by: Sabrina G
The 90s were a really excellent time. Especially for weird, bizarre, unsettling, surreal, and just plain creepy music videos. I spent far too long watching music videos (I’m pretty sure I’m scarred for life thanks to Aphex Twin) to decide on my top something. I did top twenty.
Why? I like my numbers to be intervals of five and this gave me plenty of room to include all the creepy videos I have a fondness for.
I allowed myself a small commentary on each video, simply because what I find to be unsettling might not be what others do (apparently I have a thing about children and dolls?). And I tried to arrange them in a rough non-creepy to creepy order. I may or may not be serious about the top spot.
There were a lot of solid runners up but I didn’t want to go TOO overboard with my list. So, without further ado… here are my picks for the weirdest music videos of the 90s!
20. My Cat – Jack Off Jill
While Jessicka Addams is totally on my “cutest people to have ever lived” list, she doesn’t distract from the doll madness. Dolls can either be kind of precious or incredibly disturbing. This one edges on the latter.
19. Everlong – Foo Fighters
This one is pretty surreal. Which makes sense because it’s pretty much few dream sequences all tied together. The enlarging hand, giant phone, legs becoming firewood… standard dream stuff. But at least we can appreciate the fact that Taylor Hawkins makes a very pretty girl.
18. Basket Case – Green Day
The color was added in post-filming in black and white, which gives it a hyper technocolorific acid trippy look. It doesn’t help that it was filmed in an abandoned mental institution. Plus those masks. Eh.
17. Jeremy – Pearl Jam
Admittedly… the creep factor is a bit low here. That kid is largely why it’s making this playlist. That kid and strobe light Eddie. And actually it’s the story behind the song that’s a bit more unsettling than anything.
16. In Bloom (alternate version) – Nirvana
Nirvana isn’t really notorious for having creepy music videos. I think the safe answer for which of their videos falls into the disturbed category is Heart Shaped Box (and that one is pretty freaky). But I have to favor the alternative version of In Bloom (probably because I’m secretly hipster scum or something). But let’s face it… between the color (or more so black and white) effects, those weird plastic masks, and a bald Krist… it’s pretty strange.
15. Clown – Korn
The literal clown in this video pretty much terrifies me enough. But then add in some creepy looking baby dolls, a few saturated scenes, and the whole hellish nightmare high school thing and yep. Sufficiently unsettling.
14. Warped – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Reasons this disturbs me: one, what are they wearing and why. Two, I see way too much of Dave Navarro’s tongue for this to be fully ok. Three, blonde Chad. But hey, that kiss at the end. That’s something, isn’t it?
13. Know Your Chicken – Cibo Matto
Well for starters there’s a gigantic chicken. But I don’t want to spoil anything. It’s just weird.
12. Galaxie – Blind Melon
That child scares me so… it’s creepy. Blind Melon, as a general rule, are really precious though. So I was torn on this one. But that damn kid… he’s making something evil. I know it.
11. Human Behavior – Björk
As we all know, Björk is a bit on the zany side. This video, while maybe not the most unsettling in her repertoire… is simply bizarre. The animal costumes and the giant moth are weird. The fact that she gets eaten by that giant bear is weird. It’s just typical weird (but great) Björk.
10. I Stay Away – Alice in Chains
Holy puppets. Holy evil puppets. I really don’t know what else to say about this one except PUPPETS.
9. The Beautiful People – Marilyn Manson
Yeah this one. It’s one of Marilyn Manson’s better known tracks. But the video is… yeah. That’s all I have to say about this one. It’s just kind of bizarre and mildly disturbed. Except how adorable is Twiggy Ramirez? Very.
8. Shiny Happy People – R.E.M.
Something can’t be this shiny happy and not make you deeply unsettled.
7. Ava Adore – Smashing Pumpkins
Again, more so surreal. Its’ a really awesome video and a really good song. It’s mostly the fact that it’s a continuous shot with the camera moving at a static speed and yet the band members/scenes being filmed have bursts of faster/slower motion. Plus (excuse the tired joke) Billy Corgan looks especially like the love child of Count Orlok and Lord Voldemort in this video. But I really mean that in a nice way!
6. He’s My Thing – Babes in Toyland
Look. More dolls. This one happens to be a little homicidal.
5. The Hearts Filthy Lesson – David Bowie
I really have no idea what’s going on but I think it’s sexy? David Bowie is weird. In a good way. The 90s were kind of a strange time for him. This video is (to me) almost like the sister to another on this list… Nine Inch Nail’s Closer. That makes sense, given an apparent level of friendship between Bowie and the band.
4. Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden
I’m pretty sure that the people they cast for this video were good enough at supplying heavy creep factor BEFORE the facial effects. With that 90s green screen background going on, the band looks oddly two-dimensional. And the slow-mo/strobe effects towards the end are just a bit strange.
3. Push It – Garbage
This one definitely falls into the surrealistic creepiness category. I really don’t know what’s going on. Between the light bulb head guy, faceless nuns, and half dozen creepy children… it’s a little unsettling. Definitely a really cool video… just a weird one.
2. Closer – Nine Inch Nails
This one is creepy in an artsy vintage type way. It’s actually a pretty neat video, weird as hell… but neat. I just can’t deal with those roach type bugs… or that much of Trent Reznor’s tongue.
1. Bye Bye Bye – ‘N Sync
Yeah ok. I had to put one of those fun boy bands on here. For the most part, they’re shiny and pretty. But this… is weird. I mean that puppet thing. What the hell. Frosted tips adds onto the creepy factor, for some reason. But also the way that chick is like out for blood… what is wrong with her/what did they do??
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