Music Commentary

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A wartime drama, an erotic thriller, a sci-fi spectacle... and they're not even movies! Check out our favorite music videos that tell tales, from Green Day, Madonna, A-Ha, and others
| Sep 30, 2005
The best music videos that tell tales | 93517__opener_l
Green Day: Marina Chavez

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Who needs to trek to the cineplex, spend $10, and give up two whole hours of the day to see a movie when you can watch mini-dramas like Green Day's ''Wake Me Up When September Ends'' for free, from the comfort of your own home?

The latest from the California rockers (above) is just one in a long line of music videos that take an idea from the song's lyrics and expand it into a tale with genuine theatrical impact. EW.com's list of the 10 best movie-like videos excludes clips in which the visuals are a literal translation of the lyrics (sorry, Aerosmith's ''Janie's Got a Gun''), and clips that merely set a scene instead of presenting a coherent story arc (like the Beastie Boys' ''Sabotage'' or Weezer's ''Buddy Holly''). Check out the videos that made the cut — and then let us know if we left anything out.

(Oh, and please don't ask us to revisit R. Kelly's ''Trapped in the Closet.'' In some cases, one viewing is more than enough.)

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