''Torn''
Natalie Imbruglia
Sometimes the simplest videos say
the most. Director Alison Maclean uses the common technical
interruptions of a video shoot as a metaphor for the fitful
progress of an uncertain love. Imbruglia and a hunk du jour find
themselves fussed over, manipulated, and derailed by makeup
people, lighting designers, and gaffers. The parallels to a
relationship keep mounting: Both situations can make people feel
like they're waiting for cues, following a script written by
others, acting against their will, or cast in too narrow a role.
The result has real emotional weight. It's music video's answer
to Pirandello. A
''Weird''
Hanson
The mainstreaming of director Gus Van Sant
continues with his chaste clip for the world's ultimate Wonder
bread rockers. The only vintage Van Sant touch comes in casting
the kids as homeless subway musicians, giving them the aura of
Port Authority runaways. Weird stuff and borderline pervy, too. B-
''Brown Paper Bag''
Roni Size and Reprazent
If DJs can scratch a record, why can't video makers scratch visual images? Director
Nick Gordon does just that, giving electronica star Size a
device that lets him stop and start the world with a flick of
the wrist. With each turn, the traffic on a full city block
falls into a back-and-forth jig, a TV set tossed from a window
jerks up and down like a yo-yo, even the smoke from an urban
stack snakes in and out of a rooftop. In the process, Gordon
does something wonderful — he makes every object on earth dance. A
''Open Up Your Eyes''
Tonic
This clip doubles as a pop quiz:
While the members of Tonic roller-skate through a Spielbergian
suburb, encoded allusions to other video stars dot the
sidewalks. There's a waif with an apple (think: Fiona), a guy
selling Matchbox cars (a la matchbox 20), someone selling junk
jewelry (for Jewel), plus more obscure references you'll have to
figure out for yourself. The band competes against all of them
for the goal line, emphasizing the pop biz as a race. It's
clever stuff for a video. Too bad the band's music still comes
in last. B
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